RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - A real estate agent who failed to get enough verified registered voters to sign his petition for Richmond mayor is mounting a legal challenge to get his name on the November ballot.
"For me, it's been kind of hurry up and wait," said Michael Ryan Jr. "It's only fair that if you're disqualified that we sit down and look at why you're disqualified, because people do make mistakes,” said Ryan.
According the City Registrar, the 46-year-old did not turn in enough verified registered voters on his petition in several districts. And since there is no appeals process, he and his attorney's filed suit last month.
Kirk Showalter, an attorney for the city registrar, denied that Ryan was wrongfully kicked off the ballot. In a response to the candidate Friday, Showalter said the lawsuit be thrown out.
"It's unfortunate because it's a waste of people's time, energy, and taxpayer's money,” said Ryan.
Goldman believes they can reach an agreement with the city registrar's attorney to review Ryan's signatures. After all, that's what officials did with Tichi Pinkney-Eppes, a Richmond school board candidate who was told her signatures weren't valid.
"They did the same thing in the previous case with Ms. Eppes that we won," said Paul Goldman, Michael Ryan’s attorney. "They made the same denials and then they were forced to change their mind. I think the same thing is going to happen here.”
However, a judge could decide in Ryan's case if the attorneys for the city registrar and Michael Ryan Jr. fail to reach an agreement.
"It's unfortunate that when you're trying to enforce you basic rights that all citizens should have [and] there doesn't seem to be any real interest among the leadership in the city of Richmond to make this happen,” said Goldman.
Goldman said he is confident Michael Ryan will get the review that he is believes the candidate is entitled to.
CBS 6 News' Sandra Jones tried to reach William Turner, an attorney for the city registrar, but he had not yet returned her phone calls.
Stay with CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for the latest updates on this story.
