Secretary of state says he's just following law; campaign threatens suit

08:28 AM CST on Tuesday, February 28, 2006

By WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – Carole Keeton Strayhorn's campaign has accused the secretary of state of putting obstacles in the way of her independent candidacy for governor to benefit Rick Perry's re-election.

Campaign manager Brad McClellan said Monday that Secretary of State Roger Williams, a major Republican fundraiser and Perry appointee, won't allow petition-gathering to begin immediately after the polls close in the March 7 primary.

He said the secretary of state's refusal is part of a broader effort to slow verification of signatures that Mrs. Strayhorn and fellow independent Kinky Friedman need to get on the November general election ballot. He warned that the Strayhorn campaign might sue over such issues.

"It's absolutely political," Mr. McClellan said. "All these interpretations seem to be in favor of Rick Perry."

A spokesman for Mr. Williams said the secretary of state was simply following the law.

"There's nothing political about it," said Scott Haywood. "In Texas, there are certain requirements for independent candidates to get a place on the ballot, and our office is applying those to each candidate this election cycle."

At issue is a desire by the Strayhorn campaign to jump-start its petition-gathering with an event starting immediately after the polls close at 7 p.m.

State law requires that independent candidates for governor collect 45,540 signatures from registered voters who did not vote in the primary. They have until May 11 to submit their petitions.

Also, Mr. Williams' office won't accept small groups of signatures on a "rolling" basis, which the Strayhorn campaign says would speed verification of petitions

Both independent campaigns say the faster the petitions can be verified, the better for fundraising. But the Friedman campaign is not joining Mrs. Strayhorn's efforts to begin collecting signatures on March 7 or to have names verified on a rolling basis, said spokeswoman Laura Stromberg.

The Friedman campaign plans to begin collecting signatures after midnight March 8 outside the secretary of state's office.

Mr. Haywood said state law requires that candidates turn in all their petitions at once, at which point the secretary of state will begin verifying signatures. He defended the estimate that the process could take two months.

"We will work to get this done as quickly as possible, but our primary concern is to get it done right," he said.

E-mail wslater@dallasnews.com