"Del. Glenn Davis, R-Virginia Beach, said he was surprised to find his name — misspelled and with an incorrect address — on a petition. The petition was gathered by a man whose father received a $200 fee for campaign consulting for the Taylor campaign a few days later, Federal Election Commission reports show.

[...]

Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin Stolle’s request Tuesday for a special prosecutor was granted within hours. That prosecutor will be Roanoke’s longtime commonwealth’s attorney, Donald Caldwell.

In his petition, Stolle said his office was investigating potential violations of election law and of forgery."

More complaints of false names on petitions for Hampton candidate

BY DAVE RESS, DAILY PRESS

A special prosecutor will look into reports that false names were entered on ballot petitions gathered for Shaun Brown to run as an independent in the 2nd Congressional District.

The names were gathered by paid staff and others associated with the re-election campaign for Rep. Scott Taylor, R-Virginia Beach.

Taylor has said his staff did nothing wrong and only wanted to assure Brown a place on the ballot with him and Democrat Elaine Luria.

Four paid Taylor staffers gathered the signatures in a two-day blitz shortly before the deadline for turning in ballot petitions and two months after Brown dropped her bid for the Democratic nomination in the wake of her indictment on federal corruption charges.

Meanwhile. Del. Glenn Davis, R-Virginia Beach, said he was surprised to find his name — misspelled and with an incorrect address — on a petition. The petition was gathered by a man whose father received a $200 fee for campaign consulting for the Taylor campaign a few days later, Federal Election Commission reports show.

“I believe everybody should be on the ballot; I’ve even signed petitions for my opponents,” said Davis — whose actual signature was gathered on a separate petition by one of Taylor’s paid staffers.

Virginia Beach resident Tony Flores said he learned his name was on a Brown petition when someone with the local Democrats called his parents — whose names were listed on the same petition as his — to ask if they had really signed it. That petition was gathered by another of Taylor’s paid staff.

Flores said that he did not sign the petition, nor did his parents and three friends whose names were on the same petition as his.

Flores said he and one of his friends had been contacted by an investigator from the office of Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin Stolle.

Stolle’s request Tuesday for a special prosecutor was granted within hours. That prosecutor will be Roanoke’s longtime commonwealth’s attorney, Donald Caldwell.

In his petition, Stolle said his office was investigating potential violations of election law and of forgery.

He said a special prosecutor was needed because his office is “so situated with respect to potential witnesses in this matter as to render it improper for this office to make any potential charging decisions or to prosecute such potential charges.”