Former Wayland Select Board member Anne Brensley, the Massachusetts Republican Party’s endorsed candidate for lieutenant governor, said on May 13 that she failed to collect enough certified signatures to qualify for the September ballot. As of that night, her website included a copy of a planned lawsuit againsst the leaders of the state House and Senate (www.annebrensley.com/audit/lawsuit).
Brensley said she needed 10,000 signatures to secure a place on the ballot but fell short after problems with a consultant hired to gather signatures. Accoring to news reports, she accused consultant Joe Bronske, chair of the Weymouth Republican Town Committee, of failing to deliver the signatures she paid for. Bronske did not respond to requests for comment, the Boston Globe said.
Brensley also said local clerks in Scituate, Hanover, and Rockland raised concerns about possible forged signatures submitted by her campaign. A spokesperson for Secretary of State William F. Galvin told the Globe that the filing deadline is established by law and cannot be extended.
Brensley won 56% of delegate support at the state Republican convention in Worcester last month. She said she plans to petition for additional time and may continue her campaign as a “sticker candidate.” A sticker candidate is a write-in candidate whose supporters place stickers with the candidate’s name on ballots rather than selecting a printed name already listed on the ballot.
The Globe also reported that two other Republican candidates who hired the same consultant said they were reviewing their signature submissions.
Brensley completed a single term on the Select Board in April and did not run for reelection.
