In re Nomination Petition of Guzzardi

I respectfully dissent. The majority holds that Pennsylvania courts may never, under any circumstances, invoke equity, specifically nunc pro tunc principles, to excuse a candidate’s untimely filing of a statement of financial interests with the Ethics Commission because to do so would override the Legislative pronouncement in Section 1104(b)(3) of the Ethics Act that such omission “shall ... be a fatal defect to a petition to appear on the ballot.” 65 Pa.C.S. § 1104(b)(3). Adoption of such a harsh and inflexible rule runs counter to this Court’s pronouncement that the strict disclosure…