Just The Robinson's Affair

Although Massachusetts Republican Jack E. Robinson appears to have collected the 10,000 signatures necessary to challenge U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., his fight may not be over yet.

Secretary of State William Galvin said Monday that some of the signatures that have been turned in and now must be submitted to the state, could be disqualified, or at least questioned, by rivals hoping to knock him out of the race.

"I have not seen a single signature. When they come in here, there may be technical problems," Galvin said. "The indication from the clerks is that there appears to be 10,073 signatures, but I can't say whether he'll be on the ballot."

Signatures may be challenged for a number of reasons ranging from the signer's party registration - only registered Republicans or independents can sign Republican papers - to questions about whether the signer truly lives at the address given.

Nonetheless, Robinson, who he said he turned in about 13,000 signatures, called the latest total a vindication against those naysayers who predicted he would not break the 10,000 mark.

"We never lost faith. We knew we would pull it off. We knew it would go down to the wire, but we never wavered," Robinson said Monday.

Robinson also dismissed the possibility of a challenge to those signatures by either of the other candidates running for the seat: Democrat Sen. Ted Kennedy and Libertarian Carla Howell.

While Kennedy has "no plans to challenge" any signatures according to spokesman Will Keyser, Howell's campaign will study Robinson's signatures if he is slightly over the 10,000 mark and if no one else does, according to Michael Cloud, CEO of Howell's campaign. Cloud said he believes some of Robinson's signatures might have been certified after the May 9 deadline and should be disqualified.

"If he has any illegal signatures, we would challenge illegal signatures," Cloud said. "If he's just a few signatures over, he's in trouble."

Robinson said he has hired a lawyer to fend off any challenges. "Why would anyone want to keep us off the ballot? What are they are afraid of?" Robinson said.

Both Howell and Kennedy have more than enough certified signatures to guarantee themselves a place on the ballot, Galvin said.

Robinson said he has identified up to 1,000 rejected signatures he wants reconsidered and sent a letter to Galvin's office Monday saying he wants to inspect disqualified signatures.

Since its inception, Robinson's campaign has been plagued by controversy. Top Republicans, including Gov. Paul Cellucci, at first embraced the campaign and then withdrew their support after Robinson revealed embarrassing details of his past.

In an 11-page report, Robinson outlined a drunken-driving arrest, of which he was eventually cleared, and a relationship with a girlfriend who took out a restraining order against him.

Robinson, pesident of Stamford, Conn.-based National Telecom, said he spent $100,000 of his own money to gather the signatures and has accused Republican Party activists of trying to thwart his campaign.

Since 1916, when U.S. senators began being popularly elected, a Massachusetts Democratic Senate candidate has never run without Republican opposition. If Robinson fails to get on the ballot, it would be a first.