State: Schenectady elections board did not comply with law

The state Board of Elections says the Schenectady County Board of Elections did not comply with the law when it failed to notify Schenectady mayoral hopeful Roger Hull and four City Council candidates to accept nomination for the Alliance Party.

John Conklin, spokesman with the state Board of Elections, said he was incorrect when he told a Daily Gazette reporter on Wednesday that the county board was not required to send notice of the Aug. 21 deadline to accept nomination for an independent nominating body.

“The boards are required to send that notice,” Conklin said. “But the courts view it as a hard requirement by the candidates. They can raise it in court. But the lawyers are telling me it’s settled based on previous case law.”

Hull, who is challenging Democratic incumbent Gary McCarthy, said he did not know he had to accept the nomination for the Alliance Party and that he believes the county Board of Elections did “a major disservice” by not sending notice to do so.

Failing to accept the nomination means Hull and City Council candidates Vince Riggi, Mike Cuevas, Tom Verret and Ann Rigley will not have the Alliance designation on the ballot in this year’s general election.

“I could raise it in court but from what we’ve seen there isn’t really any recourse,” Hull said. “It’s a question of fairness. This was an unfair process. You have a Democratic election commissioner saying they were wrong. You have to ask the question whether games were being played.”

Hull could not have the Alliance Party as a separate line because, according to Election Law, he cannot have more than two major party lines on the ballot. He will be running on the Republican and Conservative lines, plus the Reform line.

But Hull, who was one of a handful of people in 2009 who founded the Alliance Party, and the City Council candidates, could have had the Alliance designation on the ballot next to another line, like the Reform line.

“It will still be the Alliance-Reform,” Hull said. “The Reform will be the line on which we run and we will be running on all three lines. But I will just be talking about Alliance for Reform. We want to see change.”

Democratic Election Commissioner Amy Hild said she accepts responsibility for the error, adding that the political calendar is published May 21 that lists the deadline to accept nomination.

“We should have sent a letter informing them,” Hild said. “I still believe that it was their responsibility to file the certificate of acceptance. I believe the court appearances on this matter accept that belief.”

Hull and the council candidates received 920 signatures for the Alliance Party, more than the required 543 signatures for an independent nominating body. The filing period was from Aug. 11 to Aug. 18.

With the deadline to accept nomination Aug. 21, Hild said even if notice was sent to the candidates it might not have gotten to them in time. The county Board of Elections sent notices to candidates to accept or decline nomination for other lines, except the Alliance.

“It’s very suspicious,” said Councilman Vince Riggi, who is not registered with a party and is seeking re-election. “I think the oversight was allowed to happen. It’s hard for me to believe that whoever is in charge down there that they both forgot about it.”

A Democratic and Republican election commissioner oversee the County Board of Elections. Hild was appointed as Democratic commissioner after Brian Quail resigned last September.

Darlene Harris is serving as acting Republican election commissioner after Art Brassard resigned last month. State Police are investigating allegations that Brassard tampered with petitions.

The commissioners are chosen by the county Democratic and Republican committees. Jim Buhrmaster, chair of the county Republican committee, said the committee is still collecting resumes for Brassard’s replacement.

Hull said he does not believe the absence of “Alliance” on the ballot will affect his run for mayor. He said his campaign would focus on crime, education, taxes and home values.

McCarthy is seeking a second term and is running on the Democratic, Independence, Working Families and Women’s Equality party lines in the general election.

There are four open seats for City Council with Democratic council members Ed Kosiur and Leesa Perazzo seeking re-election in addition to Riggi. Also running are Democrats John Polimeni and Karen Zalewski-Wildzunas, along with Cuevas, Verret and Rigley.

McCarthy and Hull will participate in a forum on Monday sponsored by the League of Conservation Voters. The forum will be from 6 – 8 p.m. at Proctors’ Fenimore Gallery.

The Daily Gazette is hosting a debate between the mayoral candidates next month. The event, which is free to attend, will be held on Oct. 7 from 7 – 8:30 p.m. at Proctors’ GE Theater.

Categories: News, Schenectady County