Anne Brensley, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, has not secured enough signatures to make it onto the ballot this fall, she said Wednesday.
Brensley, who earned about 56% of delegates’ support during the MassGOP convention, told the News Service that her campaign has secured about 8,000 signatures – short of the 10,000 she needs to secure a spot on the September primary ballot.
The Wayland Republican is blaming her signature collector, Joe Bronske, for the shortage. Her campaign alleges Bronske lied about the number signatures he collected, failed to gather the number that he was paid to collect, and turned in some that were forged.
Bronske, a former chair of the Weymouth Republican Town Committee, offered signature gathering services, which she took him up on, Brensley said.
“He was just very well known and respected,” she said.
Brensley’s campaign collected 7,500 signatures before paying Bronske for services, said Jason Ross, Brensley’s campaign manager. Bronske was hired to collect 6,500 signatures at $5 per signature, Ross said. Bronske delivered less than 1,000 signatures and it’s not clear how many signatures were fraudulent, he added.
Ross said Brensley’s campaign heard from Secretary of State William Galvin’s office that clerks from three towns had raised concerns about fraudulent signatures, including some that were suspected to be forged. Deb O’Malley, a spokesperson for Galvin’s office, confirmed that “a few local clerks” had contacted the secretary’s Elections Division with concerns surrounding the signatures they received.
Bronske has not responded to the News Service’s requests for comment.
Harold Hubschman, founder and president of the prominent signature gathering firm SignatureDrive.com, said he has not heard of this level of alleged signature collection fraud in the state.
“I am unaware of something of this magnitude happening. The process by and large is very clean,” he said.
Brensley has filed 4,058 signatures with the Secretary of State’s office as of Wednesday afternoon, O’Malley said. The Wayland Republican says she plans to file about 4,000 more.
Candidates for statewide office had a May 5 deadline to file signatures with local election offices. Then, campaigns have until June 2 at 5 p.m. to bring them to the Secretary of State’s office, according to O’Malley.
Brensley said she plans to file a request to get the deadline extended. O’Malley said the secretary’s office doesn’t have the authority to alter or extend candidate deadlines, which are determined by state law.
Bronske told Brensley’s campaign that he collected 6,203 signatures and was on track to reach 7,000, according to an April 30 email obtained by the News Service that he sent to Brensley and Ross. In the email, Bronske also said he had collected $15,000 from the campaign. Brensley’s campaign finance filings through April don’t indicate her campaign has paid Bronske.
Campaign finance filings show two other candidates paid Bronkse for signature collecting: Michael Walsh, a Lynnfield attorney and Republican candidate for attorney general; and Anne Manning Martin, also a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor.
Jim Conroy, spokesperson for Manning Martin’s campaign, said she’s confident they will file the necessary 10,000 signatures. As of Wednesday afternoon, Manning Martin has not filed any signatures with Galvin’s office, according to O’Malley.
Manning Martin’s campaign finance filings show she has paid Bronske’s company, Ancestors’ Trail Genealogy, at least $5,650 for signature gathering.
Walsh has filed 1,757 signatures so far, O’Malley said. Walsh did not respond to a request for comment.
Walsh’s campaign finance filings indicate he paid Ancestors Trail Genealogy $20,000 for signatures.
MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said the party is in “active discussions” with the Secretary of State’s office and campaigns involved to “understand the ramifications.”
“The MassGOP supports a transparent investigative process moving forward,” Carnevale said in a statement.
Brensley said she has asked Bronske for her money back and has not determined if she will take legal action.
Brensley said she plans to run as a write-in candidate.
“So we are full steam ahead. If anything, I think we’re just determined to work that much harder,” she said.
Katie Castellani is a reporter for State House News Service and State Affairs Pro reach her at kcastellani@statehousenews.com.
