OntheWilderSide

I found this story at Ballot Access News. Gathered info from other sources, notably Elizabeth Benjamin’s page at the Daily News and the Queens Chronicle.

While this all happened related to a City Council race in the Howard Beach area of New York, it is interesting to see the audience at a debate respond so strongly to one candidate challenging another candidate’s right to run. As someone who has been kicked off the ballot many times, I can relate…

from Ballot Access News:
New York City Council Candidate Heckled at Debate for Removing Her Opponent from Ballot
February 21st, 2009

New York City is holding a special election to fill the vacant City Council seat in the 32nd district in Brooklyn. The election is February 24. At a debate among the four candidates held on February 19, the audience expressed hostility toward one of the candidates, Professor Geraldine Chapey, because she had successfully challenged the ballot access petitions of one of her opponents, Frank Gulluscio. See this article.

Ironically, a few days later, [Chapey] the candidate who had successfully challenged one of her opponents off the ballot, also succeeded in knocking another of her opponents off the ballot. See this story. Glenn DiResto was removed from the ballot because his partisan label, “Families First”, was deemed too similar to “Working Families”, and in special elections, candidates cannot use the name of a qualified party as a ballot label.

[Note at other times, in an even a similar race for this election cycle, when a candidate makes such a mistake as duplicate party name or duplicate ballot symbol, they are allowed to simply change to something different. The judge was going to give DiRest that courtesy, but Chapey and her lawyer persisted in their attempts to keep her opponent off the ballot.-KW]

Election Day for City Council Special Election: Tuesday, February 24th, 2009.

In case you are voting in this district. The candidates (actual, and former) for the position of City Council member from the 32nd District in Howard Beach, Brooklyn.

Candidates:

–Lew Simon, Democratic District Leader

–Geraldine Chapey, Rockaway Democratic District Leader. With the help of her lawyer, this candidate challenged in order to kick her opponents off the ballot. And, after multiple filings and appeals, managed to kick either one (or possibly two) opponents off the ballot before election day.

–Eric Ulrich, Ozone Park Republican District Leader

–Glenn DiResto, retired NYPD lieutenant . As of 2/20/09 it appears he was kicked off the ballot based on challenges and appeals from the candidate Geraldine Chapey and her lawyer.

–No longer a ballot-qualified candidate: Frank Gulluscio. His petitions were challenged by opponent Geraldine Chapey.

Filed under: Ballot issues, election, elections, grassroots democracy, News, Political Websites Tagged: | 32nd District, ballot, ballot access, brooklyn, candidates, City Council, courts, debate, Eric Ulrich, Frank Gulluscio, Geraldine Chapey, Glenn DiResto, Howard Beach, Lew Simon, new york city