Commonwealth Court has come to the rescue of Bob Brady and ruled that he can stay on the Democratic ballot for mayor in the May 15 primary in Philadelphia.
The court ruled that although the candidate should have listed state and city pensions he receives and payments made to his union pension fund on his state ethics disclosure form, the instructions on the form are so confusing who can blame him for omitting them.
To me, it is a weak ruling that smells of politics and uses tortured logic. It puts the onus for Brady's failure to report on the State Ethics Commission, which devised the disclosure form. That may hold water if this was a new law with new requirements. But this form and this language have been in use since 1978, for gosh sakes.
Besides, the language the court finds confusing, I find to be inclusive. It is an attempt by the Ethics Commission to include virtually every form of payment known to man under the title "Direct and Indirect Income."
The exact language from the Ethics Commission form tells candidates and public officials to disclose "any payments, fee, salary, expense, allowance, forebearance, forgiveness, interest income, dividend, royalty, rental income, capital gain, reward, severence payment, prize winning and tax exempt income" in excess of $1,300 or more. (You do not have to list the total, just the source.)
On the other hand, the court has opened a new line of defense for folks caught hiding income. Maybe you can try the argument out with the IRS. Gosh, your form and instructions were so darned confusing, I forgot to include that income!
Regardless, the ruling is a boon to Brady. The congressman and Democratic party chair could use for good news. He's been frozen in his tracks -- not only his campaign, but probably his fundraising -- since the issue arose last month.
It is now up to Knox, who filed this legal challenge, to decide is he will appeal to the state Supreme Court. Even if his does, I doubt the court will rule before the May 15th primary, so Brady will be on the ballot for sure.
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