SUNBURY – Northumberland County District Attorney Tony Matulewicz will remain off the May Primary Election Ballot following a court ruling Friday.
Northumberland County Solicitor Frank Garrigan told WKOK Friday the ruling was made by a Columbia County judge in Northumberland County Court. Matulewicz offered no comment on the matter.
This comes after the DA filed an immediate injunction last week to have his name put back on the ballot over confusion of the deadline to file his election petition.
Garrigan says the judge ruled Matulewicz did not file his petition ‘by the end of ordinary business hours,’ despite there being ‘activity’ in the building after the county elections office had closed. The county deadline was 4:30 p.m. March 7. The judge also ruled the Matulewicz off the ballot for also not handing in his filing payment at the time either, according to Garrigan.
Garrigan says, in his opinion, Matulewicz can still run as an independent and still has time to do so, or the DA can run as a write-in candidate.
Garrigan told WKOK last week he filed a proposed answer to the DA’s lawsuit after receiving a copy of the petition, as did the attorney for Mike O’Donnell, who’s now the only candidate for DA on the Republican ticket.
