Report: Philadelphia Election Official Hasn't Voted in Years
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A published report finds that one of the people who oversee elections in Philadelphia has not bothered to vote in the last five elections.
And now the city's election watchdog group is calling on him not to seek re-election.
The weekly City Paper examined the voting records of the three city commissioners, who oversee elections in Philadelphia, and found that the chairperson, Anthony Clark, a Democrat, has not bothered to vote since 2011 -- the last time he himself was running for office.
Ellen Mattleman Kaplan, interim head of the watchdog group Committee of 70, says she is mortified.
"I was shocked. I was shocked!" she tells KYW Newsradio. "One would assume that the person who runs local elections would be the first in line to vote. In an age where there's such low voter turnout, when the head of the local elections board does not vote himself, I think it sends a very poor message to city voters. If he doesn't care enough to vote, why should they?"
Kaplan is calling on Clark not to seek another term in his post.
Clark is up for re-election next year, and earns more than $130,000 per year.
The City Paper found that the other two commissioners, Democrat Stephanie Singer and Republican Al Schmidt, have voted in every election since 2005, the earliest date for which records are available.
Clark did not return our call seeking comment.
