Petition Launches

By [Dan Rivoli] The grueling, costly, time-consuming petition drive for public office started June 8. On the East Side, Rep. Carolyn Maloney and insurgent challenger Reshma Saujani kicked off their petitioning to get on the September primary ballot. Saujani"s campaign and her volunteers have been hitting train stations, bus stops and parks to collect the 1,250 signatures from district residents to get on the ballot. Her campaign is aiming for thousands more than the threshold to withstand possible challenges from Maloney. â??Reshma"s tremendous grassroots support has enabled our campaign to collect thousands of signatures and ensure that the incumbent will not be able to resort to her usual tricks, loopholes and obscure legal maneuvers to prevent her constituents from having a choice, said Saujani campaign spokesperson James Allen, referring to the Maloney campaign"s [history of challenging opponents" petition signatures](http://www.observer.com/4451/when-carolyn-maloney-didnt-like-primaries). Saujani"s campaign is pushing for a debate with the long-time incumbent, accusing Maloney of dodging the request. Maloney"s campaign spokesperson, Alix Anfang, retorted with a statement: â??While the Congresswoman is creating jobs and working to get our economy back on track,â?¯her opponent is engaged in yet another political stunt that deflects from the issues the constituents really care about. Meanwhile, Maloney started her petitioning with the help of local Democratic clubs, unions and volunteers, her campaign said. Maloney petitioned in Midtown Manhattan and went door-to-door in the western Queens part of the district June 13. "We have a strong organization in place and we are running an old-fashioned, neighbor-to-neighbor grassroots campaign, said Matt Tepper, Maloney's campaign manager in a statement. Updated.