MARTIN TELLS LALLY DISMISS THE SUIT

3rd Congressional Libertarian Candidate Ed Martin sent this out in response to the Lally campaign apparent attempt to try and get him off the ballot. Here is the press release.

Martin Urges Lally Campaign to Ask for Dismissal of Suit

LOUISVILLE - On Thursday, the Ed Martin campaign called upon Republican Todd Lally to publicly ask for a voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit attempting to keep the Libertarian candidate, along with independent candidate Michael Hansen, off the ballot.

Martin received notice of the suit on Tuesday. The complaint, filed by David Caldwell and Jefferson County Republican Party vice chairman Cordell Lawrence, challenges Martin’s eligibility to appear on the ballot in the race for the Kentucky 3rd Congressional District seat currently held by Democrat John Yarmuth. The suit alleges that at least 115 signers of Martin’s petition for inclusion on the ballot are not registered in the district and that several signatures did not belong to the person listed on the petition.

Caldwell has since had his name removed from the suit.

Martin asserts that the suit lacks any merit.

In an email to Lally, campaign manager Jay Hill, Martin campaign chairman Ron Seiter called upon the Republican to publicly ask that the suit be dismissed.

"When Ed filed his paperwork, Jay told cn2 politics that Lally welcomed us into the race and even said it would be good for America," Seiter said. "Well, if that’s the case, it would seem Todd would be eager to see this lawsuit dismissed so we can get on with the campaign and the work of presenting Louisvillians with some real solutions to their problems."

In a Courier Journal story published Thursday, the Lally campaign denied any connection with the suit. But Hill admitted that Martin could pull some conservative votes from Lally, telling the paper, "Martin certainly won't take votes from John Yarmuth."

And Vincent Heuser Jr., the attorney who filed the suit, admitted to the Courier Journal that one of the motivators for legal action was fear that Martin and Hansen would take votes from Lally, and that the ideal outcome was to have both candidates off the ballot.

This stands at odds with Hill’s statement when Martin entered the race back in June.

"At this critical junction in our country’s history, we need people with great ideas and we want to welcome Mr. Martin to the race," he told cn2 Politics. "Because in the long run this race is about Americas future and we need all the ideas we can get."

Seiter said that he just wants to get the issue behind him so he can get on with presenting Martin’s solutions to the problems facing citizens in the 3

"The GOP in this city needs to quit these desperate tactics. Let's all run a nice clean campaign, and for once, stick to the issues. While the GOP is focusing on 'winning', people can’t find jobs, businesses are going under, and none of the politicians are offering any solutions. It is getting disgusting."