Nan Hayworth's campaign manager, John Hicks, along with other campaign notaries, admitted to misconduct on the witness stand Wednesday in regards to the handling of Independence Party petitions. Hayworth, a retired Mt. Kisco physician, is one of two potential Republican opponents to Democratic Congressman John Hall (NY-19) in November.
Two days into a court review of the petitions, Hicks admitted that allegations brought forth by Congressman's John Hall campaign were true, and that he didn't uphold the law "in the traditional sense" when gathering signatures for the Independence Party line.
Explosive news comes out of New York's Lower Hudson Valley, where the campaign of a GOP congressional candidate hoping to face Rep. John Hall in November is tainted with allegations of fraud.
Republican candidate Nan Hayworth's campaign manager, John Hicks, will soon appear in New York Supreme Court on charges that notaries used by the campaign engaged in a petition campaign drenched with fraud. Hicks, along with 10 other of Hayworth's notary publics, are currently being served subpoenas.
Hicks, the manager of the GOP hopeful in New York's 19th Congressional District, is scheduled to appear in court on September 25. At question are petitions carried by Hayworth's notaries for the Independence Party, a minor New York party. Petitions must either be carried by members of the party or by notaries, public servants appointed by state government to witness the signing of important documents and administer oaths. Typically, notaries are used for signature gathering because of a scarcity of party members willing to carry petition sheets.
After electing a Democrat to a Republican seat for the first time in forever, North Country Cons seem poised to split their vote once again and return Bill Owens to Congress again in what is shaping up to be a tough year for Dem incumbents. It seems they just can't help themselves. Again.
Well, Republicans are set to split the ballot again this November: not only has Hoffman been assured to have the Conservative line again, but now the Independence Party has given their line to Republican Matt Doheny. That means that no matter who wins the primary this September for the official Republican line, the GOP will have at least two viable candidates splitting the center-right vote.
Seems they haven't learned much up there. Liz Benjamin has more:
The state Independence Party has endorsed Republican Matt Doheny's challenge to Democratic Rep. Bill Owens in NY-23 - a move that could prove significant in the GOP's effort to win back the North Country seat it had held for over a century until last year's special election loss.
...
Doheny is fighting Doug Hoffman for the GOP line against Owens. The Conservative Party, which backed Hoffman against Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava in the special election, is so far sticking with him this time around, too.
That's in spite of the fact that local Republican leaders have complained Hoffman isn't working hard enough and are behind Doheny.
The Indys backed Assemblywoman Scozzafava last year, and were stuck with her after she was pushed out of the race by the more conservative Hoffman just days before the election.
It's still not a gimme, but I think Bill Owens must again be thanking his lucky stars.
I wish I had the video of this, but you will have to take my word for it. I have seen this ad that the Independence Party has put out criticizing Sen. Bill Stachowski for sponsoring a bill to raise his (and other senators') pay. Oddly enough, the Independence Party actually provided proof of Stachowski wanting to raise pay. Their proof? S.05822.
First off, the Independence Party claims Stachowski is sponsoring this legislation. He is not. He is a co-sponsor. The true sponsor of this bill is listed as Sen. Martin Connor, who will no longer be a senator as of January 1. The ad also claims that Stachowski is trying to raise his pay by $52,000. There is a catch to all of this.
If you read the full text of the bill, you will see why this isn't bad at all. In fact, it is really good. The bill would do the following:
- It would allow for a raise ONLY if that legislator is classified as a full-time member of either the Assembly or Senate.
- As a full-time member of the Legislature, you would not be able to have an outside job and you would be required to file time sheets for accounting purposes so that you are verified as full-time. According to the legislation, legislators would be required to work 1,820 hours per year or if they do not work the full year, the must work the proper ratio. Hypothetically, you could say that if they only worked half the year, they would be required to work 910 hours a year.
- Legislators, as full-time members, would get vacation time, sick time and personal time.
- What would a full-time legislator's work consist of? From the bill's text:
Legislative work shall include all work in connection with holding office, including but not limited to work in or out of the member's office or the Capitol, such as attendance at meetings and public events, travel, attendance at session, research time, constituent service and education, speeches, attendances at conferences and hearings, and general office work such as correspondence. Legislative work does not include purely political campaign work, attendance at political conventions or fundraisers.
So what is wrong with the bill? It's not perfect, but it has the right idea and the primary focus of the legislation is to reward those who become full-time legislators. Stachowski co-sponsored this bill, only to get smeared by the Independence Party and accused of giving himself a pay raise. Yes, he's giving himself a pay raise, but only after he makes himself a full-time member of the New York State Senate and refuses to take any other income.
It's a great idea, but will probably never see the light of day unless we have Democrats willing to take this up. This would be one piece of the puzzle in making our Legislature more effective and efficient. We need our government to be operating all the time, not just half the year. Economic issues and problems don't take a break just because the Legislature is out of session. Bill Stachowski realized that and co-sponsored legislation that would send him to work for his constituents all year.
Yesterday we reported on the minor party ballot line shenanigans in SD-7, where two parties, the Working Families Party and the local Independence Party both wanted Freshman Senator Craig Jonson on their lines only to end up with Johnson off the WFP line and with challenger Barbara Donno taking the Indy line at the insistence of the state Indys. WFP chief Dan Cantor released this statement late yesterday afternoon:
"Senate Republicans used the courts to circumvent the democratic process and the will of Working Families Party members in the 7th Senate District."
"Senator Johnson has been a champion of middle and working class values, and has worked tirelessly to make sure that their issues and concerns are heard in Albany. No matter what line his name will be on in November, he will continue to have the support of the Working Families Party, and more importantly, the support of the hard-working men and women in his district."
"We have no doubt that Craig Johnson will be re elected to the State Senate."
More fun with minor party ballot lines in the 7th. Liz is reporting that the Appellate Division 2nd Judicial Department has ruled unanimously that freshman Senator Craig Johnson will be kept off the Working Families line. This is ironic in that the WFP is a big reason why Johnson is a Senator today and they endorsed him again 2008. The court also ruled that his challenger, Barbara Donno, will keep the Independence Party line even though the local IP has endorsed Johnson as well.
According to this report by Jill Terreri in today's Democrat & Chronicle, Steve Corryn, an Independence Party member, has requested an investigation by District Attorney Mike Green into payments made by Jack Davis to the wives of two former Independence Party chairmen.
From the report:
Corryn, who read a statement to the media on behalf of himself and the party, supplied the deposition to reporters laying out a case against Blanca Colon, who was paid $5,000 in consulting fees by the Davis campaign to build relationships with Independence Party members while Davis was seeking the party's endorsement.
"Mrs. Colon has had no contact with any member of the Monroe County Independence Party Committee and has offered no explanation for her actions, nor has she disclosed what 'consulting work' she did for Mr. Davis," Corryn's deposition states. "To date, I have seen no evidence and have no reason to believe that any services were delivered to Mr. Davis for his payments. Based on this, Mr. Davis received nothing from Mrs. Colon other than her vote for this $5,000 fee."
District Attorney Mike Green said that he would review the documents and decide how to proceed from there if this matter merits any further investigation.
This seems to be yet one more example of Jack Davis' campaign to "Buy the people." But when asked about these serious charges, Joy Langley, Communications Director for Mr. Davis, said:
"These are half-baked slanderous charges made at the height of the silly season,"
Somehow I don't think this is a laughing matter, nothing "silly" about it other than Davis' campaign thinking this issue will go away.
The next question is: Does this mean Mr. Davis will have a catchy new jingle coming out soon?
The chairman of the Monroe County Independence Party has resigned after his wife accepted $5,000 in what party officials call "bribe money" from the campaign of Democratic congressional candidate Jack Davis.
Rafael Colon, a Rochester resident who works in a Batavia factory, quit his local and state positions after Monroe County Independence Party officials confronted him over the payment, according to Walter Schiemann, interim chairman.
"It's all about what we call the bribe money from Jack Davis," Schiemann said. "I'm not going to let this party fall into hands like that."
The Buffalo News reported July 18 that Colon's wife had received $5,000 from Davis under her maiden name for "campaign consulting." The wife of Anthony L. Orsini, chairman of the Erie County Independence Party, also received $5,000 from Davis for "campaign consulting" through a firm she established in the couple's Florida mobile home earlier this year.
From Davis' filing this year, you can see four disbursements to Coastal Consulting South set in Venice, Florida for $1,250. Total, Coastal Consulting South was given $5,000 by Jack Davis. That was the firm set up by Orsini's wife, as mentioned above.
The defense given by Davis' campaign?
While Schiemann described the payments as a bribe, Davis spokesman Luke Vaughn said they were legitimate.
"The goal of the payments was to help build relationships with Independence Party members, and that effort continues," he said.
And the mafia bribed politicians just to make more friends...
The dirty tricks campaign worked but two important things.
1) Johnson has enough signatures for a primary.
2) Johnson won the Special Election without the "I" Line.
Overruling Nassau Chairman Bobby Kumar, the state Independence Party's executive committee is backing GOP state Senate candidate Barbara Donno against Democratic Sen. Craig Johnson.
The panel, meeting in Albany, voted 24-1 for Donno one day after Frank MacKay, state and Suffolk chairman, said he'd support Kumar, who'd petitioned for Johnson. (See previous post here).
"It was decided that this is in the best interest of the state," said MacKay, an ally of Senate Republicans who are fighting to keep a majority. "Having a government with checks and balances is more important than anything else."
Several sources say the Independence Party fears Democratic state domination would curb minor-party power by banning cross-endorsements. "I love New York City," McKay said. "But I don't want the whole state controlled by one party in New York City."
In yet another demonstration of just how weak Bruno's recruiting class is this year, the Independence Party is giving it's line in SD-7 to Democratic State Senator Craig Johnson, not Republican Barbara Donno. The IP endorsed Johnson's special election opponent last year, Maureen O'Connell, but seem to have been less than impressed with Donno.
Last year Sen. Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington) faced Nassau Clerk Maureen O'Connell, a Republican opponent with both Conservative and Independence Party endorsements, for what was then an open seat. His GOP foe this time, Barbara Donno, snared the Conservative line after some push-and-pull. But Johnson is about to get the Independence endorsement, said Bobby Kumar, the party's county chair - who added Donno "did well" in screening interviews "but he (Johnson) did better."
So much for Mondello and Skelos' boasts over the last year or so about how Johnson was going to be their top target and how they were coming at him with a top flight challenger and both barrels blazing. Their candidate, the Mayor of a town of around a thousand souls, can't even hold the IP line, for cryin' out loud.
Meanwhile, Assemblyman Darrel J. Aubertine, Mr. Barclay's opponent, was across town at Shorty's Diner, asking patrons there to vote. The Democratic candidate said he hadn't gotten enough sleep, but the race was too important to stop now.
"You always feel that you want to make sure you left nothing undone," he said. Mr. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, had planned stops at a ham dinner, a bingo game and another of his "One of Us" rallies in St. Lawrence County.
"There is a camp that thought we had no chance. They said it was a Republican seat," he said. "I don't think there's too many people saying that now."
A Republican has represented Jefferson County in the state Senate for at least the last 110 years, a dominance that includes Mr. Barclay's father, H. Douglas, who served from 1965 to 1984.
Mr. Aubertine is no stranger to rewriting history, however. In 2002, he became the first Democratic state assemblyman from Jefferson County elected since Lewis W. Day of Sackets Harbor in 1910.
"This is the first real, competitive race where a Democrat has really challenged the status quo," said Travis Proulx, an aide to Democratic Sen. Liz Kruger, who has been working as part of Aubertine's press team since January. "It gives me hope -- if we can win here, we can win anywhere."
...
But the tide may be turning for Republicans in the 48th, as a higher proportion of the electorate has turned Democratic, a trend seen statewide. A recent Zogby International/ Watertown Daily Times poll found the 48th race in a dead heat, despite a 30,000-voter enrollment advantage for Republicans. More than 22 percent of those polled were undecided.
The uncertainty of the poll findings has inspired optimism in some and despair in others.
...
For Republicans, the competitiveness of the race has caused great concern for staffers and has taken its toll on those running the campaign.
"My boss says that he hasn't seen anything like it," said a staffer for a Republican senator, referring to the low morale in the Barclay campaign. "At first I wasn't that concerned, then as things have gone on, people are worried."
The staffer added that gallows humor about losing the majority is the running joke in the office.
Spitzer has "used every device he can to take me out," Bruno told reporters Monday. "Not going to happen. Not with me personally, and not with our conference. So they can keep having their pipe dreams."
"We started this race as underdogs," said Aubertine spokesman Cort Ruddy. "We have the better candidate, he's run a good campaign and we feel like we're going into tomorrow will a real good chance at this."
Darrel Aubertine responds to the court's decision in the IP flap. From an emailed press release:
"We are pleased that tonight's decision will finally let this election move forward without confusion or delay.
As Darrel said from the beginning, what's most important is that the voters are heard tomorrow and we are happy to honor this decision, as we have been willing to honor all previous decisions of the courts.
It's unfortunate that Will Barclay's need to have his name on the ballot three times is going to cost the taxpayers thousands of dollars in overtime costs, but we're excited about tomorrow's election. We're hearing a lot of energy from the voters about Darrel's work fighting for real job creation and lower taxes, and we strongly encourage every resident of this district to get out there and vote."
Three days out from election day Will Barclay, who has lost twice now in his battle to secure the Independence Party ballot line and is threatening further legal action, says he wants to be in court Monday and is "keeping all options open." They must feel that they really, really need that line.
In other news, Danger Democrat says the state IP committee had an emergency meeting this morning and endorsed Barclay.
Danger Democrat has just learned than the Independence Party state committee met this morning by teleconference. That committee has now endorsed William Barclay as their candidate in SD 48. This is a necessary step for the federal civil rights case that will be made Monday by the IP.
The state leaders of the IP are very close to Joe Bruno and the Senate republicans. Therefore, this is in reality a political device to wedge Barclay's name on the coveted third ballot line. Will keeps lawyering on.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. The GOP was supposed to win this one in a walk. Now they are kicking and screaming to secure a third ballot line three days before the election.
A Five judge appellate panel upheld a lower lower court ruling that stated that the Independence Party line in the 48th SD special election should remain blank, handing Will Barclay his second loss in a row on the matter. So what has young Will the attorney decided to do? He's filing yet another lawsuit just 4 days before the February 26th election. From an emailed press release:
Barclay Loses- Barclay Sues: AGAIN!
Once again Attorney Will Barclay did not get his way, and once again he's going to court.
A five-judge panel from the Appellate Division, Third Department, today upheld a lower court decision that kept the Independence Party line blank in Tuesday's special election.
Following his loss, Barclay has already signified that he intends to appeal again and has also laid the groundwork to bring yet another lawsuit in Federal Court on the same issue that he has now lost twice on. Both cases will likely be heard on Monday.
"With the election only days away, Will Barclay's pursuit of the Independence line has degenerated into a peculiar obsession and a waste of taxpayer money," said Aubertine for State Senate Campaign Manager Cathy Calhoun. "All the while, employees at the Jefferson, Oswego and St. Lawrence County Boards of Elections are preparing for Tuesday's vote knowing that they potentially face a condensed timetable, tens of thousands of dollars in overtime, and countless logistical nightmares to accommodate an 11th hour ruling that has already been ruled on twice."
"Not a single registered voter, Independence party member or otherwise, will be disenfranchised as a result of this court decision, but Will Barclay's actions have the real potential to wreak havoc on the preparations that are needed to have polls open on time on Feb. 26. Every voter is eligible to vote on Tuesday, and both candidates will have their name on the ballot twice. This is a classic example of a frivolous lawsuit that wastes the taxpayers' money and the courts' time."
This decision was the result of an appeal to a lawsuit that Barclay filed (and subsequently lost) after the Jefferson County Independence Party, which is the only duly constituted committee in the 48th Senate District, endorsed Darrel Aubertine for the currently vacant State Senate seat. A judge ruled last week that neither candidate will be on the line. Before this ruling, Darrel Aubertine had pledged not to appeal regardless of the outcome; Barclay has responded by not only appealing, but also filing a new lawsuit.
One can literally smell the desperation on this kid.
DD spoke with BOE dem honcho Sean Hennessey at 9:45 this morning and he indicated that our ballots have gone to the printer with no name on the IP line. I expect the Jeff County BOE will have a release shortly.
LATER ADD (11:40)
Another credible source has told DD that the Barclay appeal of the IP line is ongoing and may be ongoing until at least Friday. Hey, we vote Tuesday. How are the ballots going to get changed, the machines programmed and the poll workers properly instructed at the very last minute?
Looks like Daddy couldn't deliver the IP line in JeffCo for young Will.
