Lentz's Republican opponent, Patrick Meehan, accused Democrats and Lentz campaign volunteers of organizing behind Schneller, an independent candidate with tea-party attributes, in an effort to split the Republican vote in what could be a close race to replace U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak.
Several Democratic Party members in various Delaware County municipalities circulated petitions for Schneller, including Colleen Guiney, head of the Swarthmore Democrats whom Lentz this year called "the hardest worker on my campaign."
Democrats collected about 4,800 of Schneller's 7,900 signatures, pushing him past the 4,200 he needs to get on the ballot, according to the Meehan campaign. Guiney – who Lentz said is a volunteer for his campaign, not a paid worker - helped Schneller collect 503 signatures.
Guiney and the majority of the Democratic petition circulators pointed out by the Meehan campaign have not responded to requests for comments.
Lentz would not say whether he knew that his campaign volunteers were collecting signatures to put Schneller's name on the ballot. He would not say whether he authorized or helped to organize the signature-gathering effort.
Asked to respond to Meehan's allegations that this was a political dirty trick, Lentz cited Meehan's own petition woes. Meehan referred his nominating petitions to law enforcement after a neighbor informed him that his name had been forged. The petitions were riddled with problems, and the Lentz campaign said it showed a pattern of deceit and fraud. The Attorney General's Office is investigating the allegations.
"I am not going to be lectured by Pat Meehan," Lentz said, adding that he believed Meehan's campaign "engaged in criminal conduct" and "forged hundreds of signatures," an allegation the Meehan camp has denied.
