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Small says State Police harassing campaign workers
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ATLANTIC CITY - Failed mayoral candidate Marty Small publicly criticized state authorities Thursday, accusing State Police of harassing his campaign workers.
Small, a 2nd Ward councilman, sounded off in an interview with The Press of Atlantic City after one of his workers told him he was followed from campaign headquarters to his home and questioned by troopers.
"This is crazy," Small said. "We say we want to keep involving young people in the political process. They're doing me a favor and this is the damn harassment they get?"
Atlantic County election officials confirmed the start of an investigation by the state Attorney General's Office on Wednesday after members of the Atlantic County Clerk's Office, the Board of Elections and the superintendent of elections were issued subpoenas to testify before a grand jury later this month.
The investigation centers on the large volume of messenger ballot applications delivered to the county for the city's primary Tuesday. Messenger ballots are reserved for voters who are "sick and confined," but 874 signed applications were submitted out of the resort's 22,915 registered voters. Atlantic County Clerk Ed McGettigan rejected 332 of the applications for various problems.
State Police would not discuss the investigation. A spokesman for the Attorney General's Office did not respond to an e-mail late Thursday.
The worker Small referred to Thursday, whose name was not released, is the son of LaQuay Q. Zahir, a campaign worker for Small who collected more than 100 messenger applications. Zahir said his son was driving his car home when he was confronted by investigators.
"They're treating it like it's the 1950s, questioning people about their vote," said Zahir, adding that investigators have not interviewed him. "It's bad enough they disenfranchised 300 people right out of the gate."
The rest of the ballot messengers were either friends or relatives of imprisoned former City Council President Craig Callaway, who has faced questions about improperly collected ballots. Small has also faced accusations.
In 2005, a state grand jury indicted Small on voter fraud charges that were related to messenger ballots. Small turned down various plea deals and was eventually aquitted.
"We've been down this road before," Small said. "This stuff gets old real quick."
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Posted in ATLANTIC CITY on Friday, June 5, 2009 3:10 am
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