Ward 6 D.C. Council candidate Will Cobb had another bad day.

Yesterday, he missed the deadline for filing the petition signatures required to get on the ballot for the Democratic nomination. Cobb figured out his mistake after hearing from the Washington Post.

Cobb called the oversight “an administrative glitch” and basically blamed his staff for the snafu, despite the fact that the due date appears on every petition.

Today, Cobb took care of business. He announced the firing of Jessica Strieter, his one and only campaign employee and the person who he says advised him that he had more time to turn in his petitions. Strieter could not be reached for comment.

Cobb also spent part of the day taking calls from a curious press corps who couldn’t figure out how a guy who had emerged as a somewhat serious challenger to D.C. School Board member Tommy Wells could pull such a boneheaded move. When asked to comment on his opponent’s difficulties, Wells had little to say except “I don’t really know the guy.”

Cobb says he even started contemplating returning contributions he had received after weighing his options. An appeal to the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics is a longshot. The board has never accepted late petition signatures because a candidate simply failed to turn them in on time. Cobb has no illusions about winning that battle.

But after talking with supporters, Cobb says he won’t end up as a cautionary tale in D.C. political history—at least not yet. “I plan to be a factor on Sept. 12th,” says Cobb, who says he’s weighing a write-in campaign for the Democratic nomination. He also did not rule out an independent run for the seat come general-election day.

“People make mistakes,” he says. “What is important is to look at how those mistakes are dealt with.” Cobb claims that his backers “are now more inspired then ever,” and says he’s received an outpouring of support from those who want him to stay in the race.

“We’re just going to do the best we can to keep inspiring people,” says Cobb.