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The innumerable D.C. Council at-large candidates don’t need to turn in their petitions to get on the ballot for another three weeks, but hopeful Elissa Silverman says she’s already got that covered. Silverman became the first at-large candidate to turn in petitions today, handing in 4,534 signatures that she says will guarantee she makes the ballot.
Silverman, one of LL’s predecessors at Washington City Paper, needs 3,000 valid signatures to make the ballot. Silverman attributes her swift signature-gathering to a volunteer-built voter database and signatures gatherers experienced from her previous at-large run last year.
Next up for Silverman: actually running for Council. She claims that getting her petitions in early gives her a three week head-start on her opponents.
“We don’t think it’s a sleepy time in the summer,” Silverman says.
Certainly not with petition challenging season right around the corner. The sizable field is likely to be winnowed down when candidates challenge one another’s petitions next month, and one candidate—-Christian Carter—-already dropped out of an earlier race when his petitions were challenged. Silverman, who challenged other candidates’ petitions in her race last year, didn’t commit to challenging any candidates’ petitions, but says her campaign will be reviewing what’s turned in by the Aug. 6 deadline.
Photo by Darrow Montgomery