BY WENDY Luzerne county Common Pleas judge Patrick Toole found Brady should have disclosed pension contributions the carpenters union makes on his behalf on his candidate?s statement of financial interests.
But Toole said Brady acted ?in a reasonable and responsible manner? in filing out the form and should be
allowed to amend his filing.
?Whenever possible, election contests should be decided by the hand of the voter in the election booth and not by the pen of the judge in a judicial chamber,? the judge found.
He concluded that Brady was not required to disclose his city pension, because he found it falls under an exception in the disclosure requirements for ?government-mandated payments.?
In a prepared statement, Brady said he was continuing his campaign, and said rival Tom Knox had ?crossed the line with mean-spirited personal attacks on me and thousands of working men and women.?
After Brady?s less-than-stellar performance on the witness stand in the case, Knox said of Brady, ?if he can’t fill out a form, he shouldn?t be mayor.?
Today, the Knox campaign is deferring comment to its attorney Paul Rosen, who said in a telephone interview that Judge Toole had ?created a special exception for Brady that’s never existed for anyone else.?
Rosen plans to appeal the decision to commonwealth court.
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