Councilman Manning to run for reelection as independent
Washington City Councilman Joe Manning filed paperwork Friday to withdraw his name from the primary and now plans to run in the November general election as an independent candidate.
Manning requested Senior Judge Katherine Emery to pull his name off the ballot after he appeared to come up short of the 100 signatures needs to be nominated in the Democratic primary on May 18.
Manning said he later visited the elections office and switched his party affiliation from Democratic to independent, signaling his intention to run for reelection on council in the fall. He said once his voter registration change is processed, he will begin circulating nominating petitions – which can be signed by any registered voter – before the Aug. 2 deadline to get on the ballot as an independent.
He said he is frustrated with the closed-party primary system and is looking forward to running as an independent if he can get on the ballot.
“To be honest with you, this situation is unfortunate, but the more I’ve thought about it, it’s been a blessing in disguise,” Manning said. “This will give me the opportunity to engage with more voters, as it should be. I’m dedicated to retaining my seat on council because I think there’s a lot more I can accomplish.”
City resident Georgianna Farkas filed paperwork Tuesday challenging Manning’s nominating petition with the assistance of attorney Sean Logue, the solicitor for the Washington County Republican Party. Manning appeared to have four signers from the West Middletown area, along with three others from South Strabane, which would leave him shy of the 100 needed to get on the primary ballot.
Manning has served on council since 2010.