 Like crazy Aunt Agatha holed up in the attic, the Rockland Republican Party is hiding and even denying the existence of its more eccentric candidates.
In New City, GOP headquarters is notably devoid of signs for the winner of the Congressional primary in the 17th District, Anthony Mele. Instead, headquarters is still festooned with signs for York Kleinhandler, who won the booby prize as the Conservative Party candidate.
It has been widely reported that there is no love lost between Rockland County Republican Chair Vincent Reda and Mele. Bob Fois of NewsCopy.org, a Tea Party blog, reported that Reda once physically threatened him with "a Bronx beating" because of a disagreement involving Mele. |
Also notably absent from party headquarters are signs for Republican Gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino. There are numerous signs with names such as Sparaco, Vanderhoef, Byrne, and Hayworth, but not a single visible sign for the GOP standard bearer. The only Paladino sign at the building on Route 304 across from Clarkstown Town Hall is an amateurish one stored against a wall and obscured, perhaps purposely, with other signs, including those for Kleinhandler.
Until recently, it wasn't just the Rockland County GOP that participated in this denial. The New York GOP website had also proudly supported York Kleinhandler as its candidate in the Congressional District since the September 14 primary, even though Mele led in preliminary tallies and the race was not called by skittish Elections officials until September 26. A graphic for Mele only replaced Kleinhandler's on Saturday after Left of the Hudson reported the snub earlier this week. |
