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Mayoral Candidate Diop Olugbala Fights To Get His Name—Or, The Name He’d Prefer—On The Ballot
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Candidate
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| Contributor | RBH |
| Last Edited | RBH Oct 23, 2011 07:28pm |
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| Category | News |
| News Date | Wednesday, September 28, 2011 01:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Independent mayoral candidate Diop Olugbala was scheduled to hold a press conference this morning outside the Fox 29 studios in Old City to demand inclusion in the Oct. 4 mayoral debate, which the station is hosting. Mayor Nutter and Republican challenger Karen Brown are already set to square off, but Olugbala—the third candidate on the ballot for the Nov. 8 election—says he’s yet to receive an invitation to the festivities.
However, a more pressing matter brought Olugbala to the front of City Hall this morning—his name isn’t on the ballot. Well, kind of. It’s like this: Diop’s birth name is Wali Rahman. He adopted the name Diop Olugbala several years ago, but never had it legally changed. When he announced his candidacy this summer, Olugbala filed papers to get on the ballot using his legal name, as per campaign rules, so that’s the name that’s currently on the ballot. But he recently filed a petition with the courts to have the name on the ballot changed to Diop Olugbala, arguing that that’s the name by which he is known by potential voters due to his community activism work under that moniker (and Diop is the name he’s been campaigning under for mayor for the past month and a half).
But Court of Common Pleas Judge James M. Lynn has rejected Olugbala’s petition, and outside City Hall—flanked by supporters with duct tape sporting the words “free” and “speech” covering their mouths—Olugbala characterized the decision as “sabotage” by a judge he alleges has close political ties to Nutter. |
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