Herb Hoffman

DENVER -- There was one delegate who didn’t come to Denver.

David Bright, a delegate for Barack Obama from Dixmont, said that with all the rain Maine has been hit with, he had to stay home to take care of his farm.

He said he is working on a number of construction projects that need to get done, and they affect the long-term productivity of his business.

The Maine Supreme Court granted Herb Hoffman a one-week stay on a recent decision that, when enacted, will take him off the ballot as an independent running for the U.S. Senate.

The decision was announced yesterday, the same day U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter denied an application to order the state’s high court for the stay.

Hoffman’s candidacy was challenged by the Maine Democratic Party on the grounds that he did not personally witness each of the signatures on his petition sheets. Both the Secretary of State and Superior Court ruled in his favor, but the Maine Supreme Court ruled against him.

He hopes to challenge incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Bangor) and U.S. Rep. Tom Allen (D-Portland) in November.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Bangor) is up in the polls and U.S. Rep. Tom Allen (D-Portland) secures a prime speaking slot at the Democratic convention in Denver. Workers at BIW get some good news and two Maine natives bring home the gold.  You can see this week's winners along with the losers in our weekly Winners & Losers list. | CLICK HERE

Herb Hoffman’s application to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied today.

Hoffman went to the Court in hopes of getting a stay on a recent Maine Supreme Court decision that invalidated enough of his signatures to take him off the ballot.

He had filed to run for U.S. Senate as an independent against incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Bangor) and U.S. Rep. Tom Allen (D-Portland).

Justice Souter: U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter has jurisdiction over the Hoffman case.Herb Hoffman, an independent hoping to run for U.S. Senate, claims his First Amendment rights were violated when the Maine Supreme Court ruled against him last month.

The decision disqualified him from the ballot, but according to his campaign he hasn't been removed yet.

It’s not certain if the Court will hear the case, however Justice David Souter has acknowledged the petition and has requested several briefs in response to the petition that were filed today.

Souter oversees emergency petitions from this region.

The Hoffman petition could be considered in two stages, one contingent on the other.

Herb Hoffman, the independent U.S. Senate candidate who was booted off the ballot by the Maine Supreme Court, hopes to bring his case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Attorney John Branson took the first steps toward doing so by requesting the Maine court delay the implementation of a decision that removed the independent U.S. Senate candidate from the ballot.

Hoffman had qualified to compete against incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Bangor) and U.S. Rep. Tom Allen (D-Portland) for the U.S. Senate seat. His qualification for the ballot was challenged by the Maine Democratic Party, who petitioned that three signature sheets be disqualified because Hoffman did not witness all of the signatures, instead using assistants.

Matt Wickenheiser of the Portland Press Herald took an interesting look at the adverse effects of a recent ruling by the Maine Supreme Court that took independent U.S. Senate Herb Hoffman off the ballot.

The court ruled that the individual signing the back of the petition must personally witness each of the signatures being signed. If the petitioner can prove that one signature cannot meet that requirement, this violates the oath on the back of the sheet therefore invalidating the full petition.

It will likely affect referendum and people’s veto petition drives. Wickenheiser wrote:

The Brunswick Times Record Editorial Board, taking a different perspective on Hoffman ballot story, took an opportunity to urge Democrats to use their support of the Maine Supreme Court decision to finally put to rest their obsession with the 2000 presidential vote in which the U.S. Supreme Court handed George W.  Bush a victory. 

"For the sake of consistency, Democrats who swallow [Maine Democratic Party spokeswoman Rebecca] Pollard's assertion should immediately and henceforth acknowledge that the U.S. Supreme Court's 2000 decision to award Florida's Electoral College votes to George Bush represents an equally valid affirmation of that same "rule of law."

The State Senate leadership gets a nod this week for filing candidates in every district, while former Independent candidate Herb Hoffman's electoral woes gets him a spot on the loser list. Check out all of this week's Winners & Losers. | CLICK HERE