EASTON, Pa. — A court ruling over a part of speech may bar a former city councilwoman from appearing on the Democratic primary ballot for a Lehigh Valley state senate race.
Commonwealth Court Judge Anne Covey ruled Wednesday that Taiba Sultana broke state election law when she listed her occupation as "self-employed" on her statement of financial interests last month.
Sultana intended to run for Pennsylvania's 18th Senate District, and the form is part of a packet that election hopefuls must submit to make the ballot.
"This Court concludes that [Sultana's] failure to specify on the Nomination Petition the occupation in which she is self-employed had the potential to mislead electors and, thus, is a material defect."Commonwealth Court Judge Anne Covey
But Covey determined that "self-employed" isn't a job but a description — an adjective and not a noun. By not stating what job she performs, Sultana failed to offer important information on which voters may rely when they head to the polls, Covey ruled.
While some errors or flaws on paperwork can be amended after submission, Covey determined that Sultana's response on the form was a more serious violation.
Even after being challenged in court about her occupation, Sultana offered no evidence or testimony about how she earned a living, Covey found.
"This Court concludes that [Sultana's] failure to specify on the Nomination Petition the occupation in which she is self-employed had the potential to mislead electors and, thus, is a material defect," wrote Covey, a Republican who's served 14 years on the bench.
'Technical interpretation of single word'
Sultana, who represented herself in court, vowed Wednesday night to appeal the ruling.
"This decision is deeply disappointing because it removes a candidate who met every substantive requirement to be on the ballot," Sultana said.
"There was no fraud, no wrongdoing, and the court confirmed that we had more than enough valid signatures. This comes down to a technical interpretation of a single word."Taiba Sultana
"There was no fraud, no wrongdoing, and the court confirmed that we had more than enough valid signatures. This comes down to a technical interpretation of a single word."
Sultana had planned to challenge state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Lehigh/Northampton, a longtime incumbent who's earned a reputation as a political maverick willing to break with her party.
Boscola has aligned herself with the Forward Party, a political movement that focuses more on good government practices than on partisan policy.
The petition challenge is the latest chapter in an ongoing feud between Boscola and Sultana.
Boscola accused Sultana of fraud in 2024 after Sultana submitted a candidate petition bearing Boscola's forged signature.
Boscola did not live in the state House district Sultana was seeking and supported her opponent, state Rep. Robert Freeman.
Sultana called Freeman and Boscola part of the gerontocracy — meaning rule by the elderly — that needed to be removed from office.
'Not merely a technicality'
Celeste Dee, Boscola's campaign manager, was among four Lehigh Valley women who challenged Sultana's petition to appear on the ballot.
The other three are Patti Bruno, Patricia Hitzel and Pamela Panto, the wife of Mayor Sal Panto. Mayor Panto and Sultana frequently clashed during her tenure on city council.
"Election law and transparency to voters is not merely a 'technicality' as Ms. Sultana suggests. Today, a well-respected judge in our commonwealth made that clear."Celeste Dee, state Sen. Lisa Boscola's campaign manager
"Election law and transparency to voters is not merely a 'technicality' as Ms. Sultana suggests," Dee said in a statement Thursday night.
"Today, a well-respected judge in our commonwealth made that clear."
The four women had also argued that Sultana's should be kicked off the ballot because she did not collect the necessary 500 valid signatures.
Hundreds of names on the ballot could not be read, appeared to be written in the same handwriting or were people who were not registered Democrats in the district, they argued.
While those would not be enough to get Sultana below the 500-signature threshold, more than 100 other names were submitted by a circulator who provided a bad address for herself, the women argued.
Covey, however, determined the names collected by the circulator were valid and that Sultana had more than enough signatures in place.
The 18th District represents the Easton, Bethlehem and Slate Belt areas of Northampton County plus the neighborhoods of Bethlehem in Lehigh County.
If Sultana's appeal to stay on the ballot is unsuccessful, Boscola will run unopposed in the primary and likely face Republican Scott Janney in the November general election.
