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Fall River write-in state rep candidate faces outstanding felony Child Abuse Case

fall river write in state rep candidate faces outstanding felony child abuse case
The Herald News

FALL RIVER — A self-described “official” Republican candidate in the race for the House 7th Bristol District, the seat currently held by Democrat Alan Silvia, is facing a felony criminal case for alleged assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a child. 

Angel Pantoja Jr., 39, received a summons to court for the alleged assault and battery in Fall River District Court on Dec. 6, 2021, according to court records, redacted to conceal the identity of the alleged victim. 

Last October, police and the Department of Children and Families were notified of the alleged assault by staff from the Fall River School Department and an investigation was conducted, which included an interview with the alleged victim at the Children's Advocacy Center. 

Pantoja is accused of hitting the victim with a belt and belt buckle in several instances. 

“That’s not something that the campaign is ready to release just yet,” said Pantoja regarding the pending court case. “I don’t think any story should be written just yet because there have been no dispositions on anything just yet. Right now, they are just accusations.” 

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Pantoja ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Fall River City Council race last November as a Democrat, coming in 18th place out of a slate of 18 candidates.

Pantoja is being represented in the criminal case by Fall River attorney Patrick McDonald, court documents indicate.

Why he won't be on 7th Bristol District ballot in September

Pantoja, who is fundraising and has a campaign website, said he will be conducting a write-in campaign for the September Republican primary. 

While Pantoja has announced his intention to run as a Republican against Silvia, his name will not appear on the September primary ballot.  Pantoja first announced his intention to run on social media on April 1, and even collected the required 150 certified signatures of registered Republican voters.

However, in a letter obtained by The Herald News through an open records request to the city Board of Elections, Pantoja was notified that he did not meet state law party enrollment requirements. 

The issue, wrote Michelle Tassinari, legal counsel for the Secretary of the Commonwealth Elections Division, was that between July 14, 2021, and Sept. 17, 2021, Pantoja was enrolled as a Democrat. State elections law requires that a candidate cannot be registered with any other party one year prior to the filing deadline for public office.  “Accordingly, given the foregoing information, you do not qualify to have your name printed on the Republican primary ballot. However, you may run as a write-in candidate in either the state primary or state election,” wrote Tassinari. 

Pantoja will need 150 write-in votes in September to get on the Republican ballot in November. 

Silvia said he was unaware of the pending case against Pantoja whom he said he’s never met. 

“He lives in the district, but I’ve never laid eyes on him or had a conversation with him,” said Silvia. “I know he tried to get on the ballot, but was unable to.”

Fundraising  

On his campaign website, www.angelforrep.com, Pantoja describes himself as a “Hispanic compassionate conservative Marine Iraqi & Afghan combat veteran,” a single father who has lived in Fall River since 1996. 

The website indicates Pantoja’s campaign is seeking volunteers and donations. 

According to the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, Pantoja notified the agency on March 29 that he was changing his City Council political committee to a campaign for the House 7th Bristol District. 

During his campaign for a seat on the City Council, Pantoja never raised more than $390. According to the latest OCPF-required monthly reports, Pantoja raised $2,249 for his House write-in race in the month of May. 

Candidates for House and Senate are not required to disclose the names and addresses of their April, May and June donors until July 20, according to Jason Tait, OCPF spokesman.

Authored by Jo C. Goode via The Herald News June 16th 2022

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