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An Allentown Democrat whose nominating petitions were questioned will stay on the ballot, a state Commonwealth Court judge ruled Thursday. “The long and short of it is that [the challengers] had a whole bunch of people who had assumptions, but not facts,” Horton’s lawyer, Timothy Brennan, said.

An Allentown Democrat whose nominating petitions were questioned will stay on the ballot, a state Commonwealth Court judge ruled Thursday.

Senior Judge Barry F. Feudale ruled that candidate Mike Horton, who’s running against Rep. Karen Beyer, R-Lehigh, in the 131st District, lives at a home in Allentown and not at his fiancee’s home in Emmaus, as two local Democrats who filed the challenge had claimed.

“The long and short of it is that [the challengers] had a whole bunch of people who had assumptions, but not facts,” Horton’s lawyer, Timothy Brennan, said.

The people who filed the challenge, Ernest Kaiser and Janet B. Keim, have 10 days to file an appeal to Feudale’s ruling. Their contention was that Horton lives outside the district.

“I think the judge has set a dangerous precedent where anyone can set up a fictitious address, keep his toothbrush and his car there, and run for office,” Beyer said.
No decision has been made on whether to appeal.

Beyer, we should note, faces a GOP primary challenge from a fellow named Justin Simmons.