A time-honored way of personalizing the ballot
Citywide ballots on Tuesday will be organized into four party columns: Democratic, Republican, Green and Vote for Ines. Who is Ines and what did she do to score such impressive real estate?
Citywide ballots on Tuesday will be organized into four party columns: Democratic, Republican, Green and Vote for Ines.
Who is Ines and what did she do to score such impressive real estate?
"I got 500 signatures and sent my paperwork in on time," said Ines Reyes, a Cheltenham resident running in her first race for state Senate.
As the only nonpartisan candidate running in any race this year, her self-penned party name stands out among the traditional classifications.
Reyes could have claimed the Independent party designation - with no Independent primary it's first come, first serve. But she opted for 'Vote for Ines.'
Hers is the fourth column from the left and it will appear on every ballot citywide. She was limited to three words for her party name.
"It's a directive," she said. "I figured, people will know exactly what it means."
Having nonpartisan party names on the ballot is common said City Commissioner Al Schmidt, though he was surprised more independent candidates hadn't filed this year.
Two years ago Warren Bloom ran on the "Warren Bloom Party" ticket. In 2010 some candidates for the city's election worker's board decided to register under the Whig Party. In New York City's 2012 mayoral race, Jimmy McMillan ran on the 'Rent is Too Damn High' ticket.
"You can technically name your column whatever you want," Schmidt said. "Though I'd think there would be some profanity restrictions."
To register as an Independent, a candidate must gather enough signatures to equal two percent of the tallies obtained by the highest vote-getter in the previous election, or 500 votes - whichever is higher. Reyes, 44, canvassed the fourth district to collect her signatures and discovered in August she was the only Independent on the ballot.
The fourth district includes eight Philadelphia wards and the Montgomery County municipalities of Abington, Cheltenham, Jenkintown, Springfield and Rockledge.
Ballots outside of the fourth district will list the "Vote for Ines" party column but none of the candidate names for her race.
Reyes, originally from Brooklyn, has lived in Cheltenham the past 20 years and works as a fiscal consultant for Early Head Start and Head Start, the federally funded preschool programs.
Reyes said until recently, she spent most of her life a registered Democrat voting the party line.
"I'd go into the ballot box and push one button. I didn't know their name or who they were or what they were going to do. I learned as I got older. I'm not just going to push one button, I'm gonna know who I'm voting for," she said.
Reyes faces two other Cheltenham residents; Republican Robin Gilchrist, 43, an emergency room nurse, and Democrat Art Haywood, 57, a Cheltenham Township Commissioner, who defeated the incumbent LeAnna Washington in the May primary.
Washington was arrested in March on charges she used state-paid employees during work hours to fund raise for her campaign. Her attorney said in court Friday that she plans to plead guilty.
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