Because of the nature of their work, tax collectors must be bonded. Access to candidate's financial disclosure forms allows voters to determine whether candidates are, like Kris Laubscher, qualified for the job's requirements. Last month Nether Providence residents filed a motion to remove the Republican candidate for Nether Providence tax collector from the ballot for failure to file this paperwork with the township as required.
Judge Chad Kenney, a Republican like every other judge in Delaware County and a former leader of the Nether Providence Republican Party, ruled that candidates that reach the ballot by write-in are not required to file financial disclosure forms. It means that a candidate that fails to meet a threshold requirement as a candidate can bypass that requirement by getting on the general election ballot as a write in. This is bad law and yet another example of the lengths to which Republican judges will go to support fellow Republicans. This is why we need to elect fair judges like Kelly Eckel to the bench.
