DA: Lynn signature case sans timetable

SALEM – Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett is reviewing the results of a Lynn police investigation into allegations that Lynn Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. wrongfully affixed mayoral candidate Judith Fla-nagan Kennedy’s signature to his campaign literature in violation of state law.”Members of the Lynn Police Department came to our office today and met with several senior staff members,” Blodgett spokesman Steve O’Connell said Monday. “They turned over materials to us and we will review those materials.”O’Connell declined to say which members of the Lynn department met with the district attorney. Asked when Blodgett might return his findings, O’Connell said, “There is no timetable.”Kennedy last month filed a criminal complaint with Lynn police over a flier mailed by the Clancy campaign. The flier replicated a North Shore Labor Council survey sheet that asked mayoral candidates how they might raise municipal revenues. The property tax choice was highlighted. Kennedy’s signature appeared beneath the survey question.The actual survey sheet provided no place for a signature. Kennedy had signed the labor council’s petition in support of workers’ right to organize. Clancy acknowledged his campaign workers designed the flier by merging the two documents. The mayor said doing so seemed acceptable since the petition and the survey were part of the same package.Residential property taxes have been a flash point of contention in the mayor’s race, with Clancy accusing Kennedy of being pro-taxation, primarily due to her response on the survey.Election fraud is a crime punishable by a fine or imprisonment.