Citizen Action of New York and Citizen Action's Western New York chapter have sent a letter to Erie County Board of Elections Commissioner Dennis Ward, who serves as the Democratic commissioner with the Erie County Board of Elections, asking him to "delegate [his] oversight responsibilities" due to his personal connections to the 61st Senate District Democratic primary. Dennis Ward is married to candidate Michele Iannello and Ward's brother, Dan Ward, is also a candidate in the race.
Dear Mr. Ward:
On behalf of advocates for good government practices and campaign reform, we are writing to express our concerns about the integrity of the upcoming primary election in the 61st Senate District on September 9th. It is your office's mission to provide complete oversight and ensure fairness, and we are concerned that your ability to oversee a fair election has been compromised. We understand you are in difficult position, no matter how fair your intentions may be.
There have been recent news reports indicating a greater level of interest by your office in this particular election in contrast to other elections. We are also very concerned about recent public disclosures of financial contributions in the order of $8,000.00 that you have made to your wife's campaign.
Transparency is the hallmark of the elections commission, and we ask you to hold yourself to the same high standard that you normally display.
We are also requesting assurance that you will be delegating your oversight responsibilities for this particular race to a more objective person.
Sincerely,
Ellen Kennedy
President of Citizen Action of New York
Jim Anderson
Chair of the Western New York Regional Board of Citizen Action of New York
Iannello's 11 day pre-primary filing shows that Dennis Ward has loaned Iannello's campaign $8,000 which could provide for a perceived conflict of interest. And as the saying goes, sometimes the perception of a conflict of interest is worse than an actual conflict of interest.
I believe Dennis Ward's intentions are in the right place. However, as Erie County BOE commissioner, he should delegate responsibilities for this race to ensure that the process is a fair one. No one is accusing Dennis Ward of anything, but Citizen Action calling for a more objective process is arguably the right thing to do here.
This is a complicated primary. It's not too often you see a brother-in-law and sister-in-law running against each other. You're not going to see too many of these races. That said, it would be best for everyone involved if Dennis Ward stepped aside this time. |
