City Council incumbents Aidee Nieves and Maria Valle on Thursday filed a complaint with the State Elections Enforcement Commission charging their East Side Democratic primary opponents, Ismael Sanchez and Isaac Dickerson, violated state law by submitting fraudulent and forged signature petition sheets to qualify for a September primary.
In addition, they allege, attorney Dennis Bradley, scheduled for trial in December to face federal election charges for his 2018 run for state senate, notarized the petition sheets in question, “certifying that (Sanchez) personally witnessed each and every signature that was contained on those petition pages.”
The council incumbents also maintain that former Democratic Town Committee member Tony Barr and Maria Hernandez who was recently arrested on state charges for alleged absentee ballot fraud during her 2023 support of John Gomes for mayor, were among campaign operatives that circulated most of the petition sheets.
Last week, local election officials certified that Sanchez and Dickerson had provided sufficient signatures – five percent of electors in the district – to qualify for a primary.
Nieves, City Council president, and her long-running partner Valle, did some follow-up work with district voters that “signed affidavits alleging that Ismael Sanchez was not the circulator of many of these petition sheets and did not personally witness their signature.”
Sanchez and Dickerson have been certified for the September ballot so the only way they can be removed, at this point, is voluntarily or by state court action.
The State Elections Enforcement Commission has civil authority over Connecticut elections to mete out fines and refer complaints for potential state criminal probe, but no juice to knock candidates off the ballot.
From the complaint:
III. VIOLATIONS ALLEGED
Ismael Sanchez, Jr. of 1569 E. Main Street and Isaac Dickerson of 132 Shelton Street submitted 12 pages of signatures to the Democratic Registrar of Voters in order to qualify as City Council candidates for the 137th District for the upcoming September 9, 2025 Democratic Primary.
Although extremely unlikely to be the case, Ismael Sanchez claims that he circulated all 12 petition sheets himself. Sanchez signed the back of all 12 petition pages under penalty of perjury, and his attestation was notarized by Attorney Dennis Bradley, certifying that he personally witnessed each and every signature that was contained on those petition pages.
However, several of the Democratic electors that signed these petition sheets have now come forward and have signed affidavits alleging that Ismael Sanchez was not the circulator of many of these petition sheets and did not personally witness their signature. Instead, other election workers circulated many of these petition pages outside of the presence of Ismael Sanchez, and then Sanchez signed as the circulator in violation of state election law.
Furthermore, in a clear attempt to cover up Sanchez’s malfeasance, the petitioning candidates crossed off the name of one of the electors on who signed Petition Sheet #12—Maria Andino—likely after finding out that she is a relative of their opponent, Aidee Nieves. The petitioning candidates likely realized that if Nieves learned that her relative had signed the petition, she would ask about the circumstances under which her signature was procured, which in turn would uncover their impropriety.
Finally, in addition to fraudulent attestations on many of the petition pages, there is clear evidence that some of the signatures on the petition pages are forged. In at least one case in which Ismael Sanchez is known to have been the circulator, he knowingly encouraged an individual to sign his petition sheet multiple times on behalf of three other family members in violation of state election laws and represented to her that such action was legal and proper (see signature sheet #7).
We therefore ask that the State Elections Enforcement Commission immediately take up an investigation into this matter and bring appropriate action against the petitioning candidates Ismael Sanchez, Jr. and Isaac Dickerson, Attorney Dennis Bradley, and any other election workers who may have violated state election laws with respect to the petitioning process.
We also seek disqualification of these two candidates Ismael Sanchez, Jr. and Isaac Dickerson from the September Democratic Primary ballot. Case law from the Connecticut Supreme Court makes clear that petition pages will be disqualified in their entirety if there is not at least substantial compliance with the state laws governing the petitioning process. Because of the clearly fraudulent attestations that have been made on many of the 12 petition pages submitted, the petitioning candidates have failed a sufficient number of valid signatures to qualify for the Democratic Primary ballot.
The allegations on this complaint sounds very familiar–The 2019 Marilyn Moore mayoral primary petition signature process.
Primary petition solicitors must be registered with the party for which the primary pertains to. In 2019, Saudi Baracka who was a registered Republican and BOE member, and the Working Family Party, circulated most of the petitions. The Bridgeport Registrar of Voters, completely missed the clear inelegibility of many of the circulatory and certified the petitions.
When I examined the petitions, it was clear that they where erroneously certified. I visited voters who appeared as having signed the petitions. Most of the petitions where notarized and showed Marilyn Moore as the circulatory. Most of the people who signed the petitions allegedly circulated by Moore stated that Moore was not the person who asked them to sign (the circulator) and in most of instances, the circulator was an African American male or a person who was NOT Senator Marilyn Moore (I showed them Pictures of the Senator). Most of the people I interviewed expressed concern about speaking with investigators. So, I concentrated on several folks from out of town and out of Moore’s dustruct who had signed despite not meeting the qualifications. I found a couple from FAIRFIELD and they where the ones who were ultimately interviewed by SEEC investigator. MOORE was fined $300.
“Furthermore, in a clear attempt to cover up Sanchez’s malfeasance, the petitioning candidates crossed off the name of one of the electors on who signed Petition Sheet #12—Maria Andino—likely after finding out that she is a relative of their opponent, Aidee Nieves.”
Small world! This has got to be a violation. I am not aware of any language in our State Statutes addressing this specific act. It must be addressed. No circulator should be allowed to cross out the name of any eligible voter signing a petition to qualify for a party primary. Only the Registrar of Voters is authorized to disqualify such a signature.
From the 2019 SEEC complaint findings:
“18. Accordingly, the Commission concludes that Respondent Moore violated General Statutes
§ 9-453j for falsely signing a sworn circulator statement on a page containing at least two
signatures that she did not collect.”
I believe Nieves and Valle have 10 days from the day the signatures were certified by the Registrars to file a complaint with the court. Connecticut General Statute 9-453j is the Statute that must be listed as the violation.
By the time the SEEC meets to decide whether or not to investigate, the primary will be all done. The only way to throw a wrench in the process is before the deadline. Where’s the Democratic Town Committee Chairman? It’s not hard to file a court challenge without an attorney, this is a simple case. Yet, it’s an important one as the State Elections Enforcement Commission have in the past erroneously ruled that a person who is not the circulator can claim to be the circulator as long as the person claiming to be the circulator is in the immediate area. This ruling/ finding was applied to the first of two (2) SEEC complaints I filed against Moore in 2019. She wasn’t able to explain away the testimony “The circulator was a Black man” by the Fairfield couple.
Any type of voter fraud, especially in Bridgeport, would be hard to believe!
That only happens in shithole city’s!
😂 😂 😂 😂 😂
Pension fraud is the way to go. “Cheers”–after receiving the checks.
What would happen if an online class for circulators of petitions for primaries or for absentee ballots were required attendance to learn “the do’s and don’ts” were presented, courtesy of City governance that must have had enough “bad press” for continuing to show election weakness and reasons for distrust through the years? Whether a circulator is a “paid professional”, hired to circulate paper for signatures and to attest to such activity, or merely a volunteer offering door knocking and a form to registered City voters, their ‘conscious competence’ is a matter of concern to all taxpaying citizens of Bridgeport.
Why face the continuing oversight, which turns negative with personal results, as well as for the community at large when failure to follow the rules is observed, or alleged, and then will be investigated? Taking a class, perhaps with a quiz attached, in our two most frequently understood languages might be a start. If the Town Committees of the two “major” parties are not interested in this subject, perhaps the City Council will fund a line item for such education. If the Town Committees fail to have websites that allow info flow and two-way communication can they just step aside from the training responsibility? What do the State party Committees say? What do our local legislators opine? Time will tell.