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Freddie Ramirez
Freddie Ramirez was a 2017 Democratic special election candidate for District 197 of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Ramirez was removed from the ballot after Judge Anne Covey determined that Ramirez did not actually live in the district.[1]
Elections
2017
A special election for the position of Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 197 was called for March 21, 2017.[2]
The seat became vacant following Leslie Acosta's (D) resignation on January 3, 2017. In late September 2016, it was revealed that Acosta had pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, a federal felony, in March 2016.[3][2]
Lucinda Little (R) was the only eligible candidate filed for the district. Democrat Freddie Ramirez was removed from the ballot via residency challenge. Democratic Party officials then nominated Emilio Vazquez, but did so past the filing deadline. Commonwealth Court Judge Anne Covey rejected efforts to see Vazquez added to the ballot. Green Party candidate Cheri Honkala was also denied a spot on the ballot after her nomination was submitted a day past the deadline.[4][5][6] Honkala and Vazquez both pursued write-in campaigns.[7]
On March 24, 2017, the Philadelphia Election Board tallied the write-in votes and found that Vazquez had won the special election.[8]
District 197, which includes most of North Philadelphia, had an 85 percent Democratic constituency at the time of the election.[9] The 2012 election was the most recent election in which two major party candidates faced off in the district prior to 2017. The Democratic candidate won that election with 95 percent of the vote. In 2016, Acosta ran unopposed.
Heading into the special election, Republicans controlled 121 seats in the 203-member state House. The special election, therefore, had no chance of shifting the chamber's balance of political power. Republicans, at the time, had a 34-16 majority in the state Senate, while the governorship was held by Democrat Tom Wolf, making Pennsylvania one of 19 states under divided government.
| Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 197, Special Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Emilio Vazquez (Write-in) |
73.2% | 1,972 | |
| Green | Cheri Honkala (Write-in) | 10.6% | 286 | |
| Republican | Lucinda Little | 7.5% | 201 | |
| Write-in | Write-in (Scattered) | 8.7% | 235 | |
| Total Votes | 2,694 | |||
Recent news
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See also
- Pennsylvania House of Representatives
- Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 197
- State legislative special elections, 2017
- Pennsylvania State Legislature
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Philly Voice, "Too few flushes get Philly Democrat kicked off ballot," February 24, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pocono Record, "Election set to replace lawmaker ensnared in embezzling case," accessed January 19, 2017
- ↑ Philly.com, "Brady on State Rep. Acosta: 'She should resign now' after guilty plea," accessed September 28, 2016
- ↑ Philly Inquirer, "Convicted legislator Acosta gets her wish for special election candidate to replace her," accessed February 2, 2017
- ↑ Philly Record, "Pols on the Street: Honkala's smart move," accessed February 10, 2017
- ↑ philly.com, "Democrats go to court, trying to get back on the 197th District ballot," February 27, 2017
- ↑ CBS Philly, "Special Election For The Pennsylvania House Gets Even More Special," March 19, 2017
- ↑ NBC 10, "Democrat Wins Surprise Write-In Election in North Philadelphia's 197th District," March 24, 2017
- ↑ PoliticsPA, "HD-197: Supreme Court Keeps Democratic Candidate Off the Ballot," March 13, 2017
