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Dennis Lee, Candidate for Philadelphia City Commissioner, Knocked Off Ballot

By Steve Tawa

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Two months before the Democratic primary, one candidate for city commissioner -- part of the office in charge of elections and voter registrations -- has been kicked off the ballot.

A judge says the  nominating petitions of Dennis Lee were defective.

Common Pleas Court judge Chris Wogan ruled that he was removing Lee from the ballot because of "fatal defects" in nominating petitions and in Lee's financial statement.

Lee acknowledges failing to note his income when he was chief deputy commissioner in the Office of the City Commissioners.  He says he simply forgot to fill it out, and had no intention to deceive.

"It was an oversight on my part, a human mistake, and the judge is holding me to a higher standard than anyone else," Lee said today.

The judge also said Lee's notary public mishandled petitions, but Lee says he didn't realize they were incomplete.

"The notary was responsible for what the notary needed to do," he says.

And Lee says he intends to appeal to Commonwealth Court.

"I'm not ruling out a write-in campaign.  We could do that.  We just have to regroup," he said.

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