Republican Congressional Candidate Anticipates
Democratic Support For Inclusion On Revised Ballot
Mark Otto, the Republican Congressional challenger to incumbent Democrat Robert Andrews in the 1st District, called upon Andrews and the Democratic Party today to assist him in giving the voters of the 1st District a real choice this November.
Otto, who is waging a write-in campaign, admittedly failed to muster the required number of votes to qualify for the General Election ballot in June's Primary. "Unfortunately, I did not garner enough votes to qualify to be legally entitled to be placed on the ballot, and so, in accordance with New Jersey state law, at least as I then understood it, I took the only other route available and launched a write-in campaign," said Otto. "Had I known the law was merely a guideline and not to be taken literally, I most certainly would have immediately pursued a different path to get my name on the ballot. However, I have now analyzed the Democratic Party's impassioned arguments as to the Torricelli-Lautenberg swap, and read the swift decision of the New Jersey Supreme Court, which held that voters must have a representative from each of the two major parties regardless of any arbitrary dates or deadlines.
"Based upon the foregoing, I call upon Representative Robert Andrews, the Camden County Democratic Party, and the Democratic State Committee to immediately, explicitly and without reservation, support my inclusion on the ballots which are now apparently to be reprinted, in order to truly offer the voters of the 1st District a real choice as to both the Senate and Congressional races," Otto said. Otto also noted that there should be absolutely no difficulty in accomplishing this amendment to the ballots, if it is in fact permitted to go forward pending further legal action.
Otto, who is a member of the Camden County Young Republicans, began his write-in campaign after learning the Republican Party had, through a minor legal technicality, not timely submitted a name to be placed on the ballot to challenge Andrews. Mark decided to launch a write-in campaign only three days before June's primary but fell 74 votes short of making the ballot. Attorney George Gallenthin missed by only two votes.
After consulting with officials of the County GOP organization, Otto's spirited attempts to file a challenge with the Courts were rebuffed. "The law is the law, they told me." said Otto. "I came to understand that we can not, and should not, try to evade it or change it simply because it would arguably benefit us politically at this moment. We cannot compromise our fundamental beliefs in the American system of law to which our nation owes its very existence." Says Otto, "I find it difficult to believe that while voters apparently deserve a choice in a Senatorial race, they would not enjoy the same privilege in the 1st District Congressional race. I trust that I can count upon the Democratic Party to be consistent with the arguments they made only yesterday before our Supreme Court," Otto said. "I look forward to receiving their expression of support."