Carl Romanelli

Wilkes-Barre's own Carl Romanelli is keeping his chin up.


Romanelli hopeful run not over yet

BY ELIZABETH SKRAPITS
STAFF WRITER

"Rick is one of my longtime conservative friends," said Carl Romanelli Jr., the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate, indicating his dining companion Rick Berry. "I wasn't created by Karl Rove last month. Honest." Romanelli laughs and launches into a description of a Saturday Night Live sketch he'd like to do, with actors portraying Rove as Dr. Frankenstein and himself as the monster. Berry shakes his head and smiles.

Commonwealth Court Judge James R. Kelley ruled Monday that Romanelli was 8,931 signatures shy of the 67,070 he needed to get his name on the ballot. Romanelli is appealing the ruling that ejected him from the race, hoping to get a response before Oct. 4, the "drop-dead date" for counties with electronic machines to ready their ballots....

Romanelli got home and started making phone calls, eventually finding three volunteers to raise money for his campaign. All three were Republicans. "Because of that, I knew the 'spoiler' issue would come up," Romanelli said....

"It would be one thing if there was an organic effort by Green Party supporters... but it was a firm paid for by Rick Santorum's supporters," Casey campaign spokesman Larry Smar said.

Spoiler is one way of putting it. The perception is that Carl sold his soul for a ballot spot and that doesn't help his credibilty. The good thing about this saga is that people realize that the signature requirements for third party candidates are so unfair that maybe they will be changed. Not that I'm optimistic that the legislature will alter the rules. I personnaly like having the option to vote for a Green, Libertairian or Constitution Party candidate. Russ Diamond got over 30,000 signatures and it wasn't enough. That's just wrong. Even everybody's favorite political expert, Dr. G. Terry Madonna, agrees:

"That's just a flat-out unfair number," Madonna said. "The legislature needs to reduce it... so third-party candidates can get on the ballot."

Are Madonna and Tom Baldino the only "experts" on PA politics?