Stewart-Cousins challenges Murtagh signatures
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- July
- 24
There are days when news just lands right in front of you.
While talking with Doug Colety, chairman of Westchester County’s Republican Party yesterday at party headquarters about upcoming Republican convention matters, he was served with papers from Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins’ campaign, challenging John Murtagh’s petitions. Murtagh, a Republican Yonkers City Council member is vying for the state senate seat.
While the legal papers appeared longer than “War and Peace,” an abbreviated statement released today by the Cousins camp alleges that there are “serious issues that have been raised” about Murtagh’s petitions, notably duplicated signature sheets and wrong party affiliations from those who signed them.
“The integrity of the process must be preserved and must be held to the highest standards. The people expect nothing less from those who hold public office,” the statement reads. “The campaign to re-elect Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins is hopeful that this matter will be ruled upon at both of these levels in an expeditious and fair manner.”
Murtagh issued a release of his own, calling the legal challenge “frivolous” and accusing his opponent of “dishonest politics.”
“What exactly is Cousins afraid of?” Murtagh wrote in a release. “Why is she trying to subvert the process to avoid a fair fight before the voters on election day?“
“When Andrea Cousins and Elliot Spitzer ran together two years ago, (their) slogan was: On day one everything changes. Why then is Stewart-Cousins resorting to the failed, back room politics of the past to try to steal this election?”
Colety said it appeared as if the Democratic state senator wanted to win the election without an actual race.
“We’re disappointed that Andrea Stewart-Cousins and her operatives are looking to win the election without an election,” Colety said. “I think the objections are absolute nonsense.”
This entry was posted
on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 4:48 pm by Gerald McKinstry.
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remember andrea’s commercial..with elliot “everything changes on day one”....well elliot let us down, and now
andrea doesn’t want a contested race..maybe her polling
is telling her something…she is an ineffective state
senator..a democrat in a republican house..she can’t
deliver when yonkers needs it most…
I also hear many of the other Republicans in Westchester are being challenged It is interesting that the democrats do not want to run on there bankrupt issues. They should let the voters deside who will win, not petition technicalities,
Here it is again: ”... integrity…must be preserved and must be held to the highest standards. The people expect nothing less from those who hold public office.” WHO IN HELL ARE THEY KIDDING WITH THIS BS? I don’t care which side of the fence you’re on, this is despicable hypocrisy coming from ANY of them. They hold each other to NO standards of any appreciable meaning. So far this session, as the State founders, from all of them up in Albany, we have ‘No Smoking in Dorms,’ and “You can’t not be in the union.’
If a major party candidate can’t collect 1,000 valid signatures then they don’t deserve to be on the ballot and it doesn’t bode well for their campaign operation for November. The Dems are following election law and challenging fraudulent signatures. It’ll play out in court and if Murtaugh deserves to stay on the ballot, he will.
How could Cousins possibly align herself with Jodi Mosiello? She was busted during the last City Council campaign in Yonkers for punching out her husband.
It was reduced to something less, but Mosiello is not a good person. She also changed parties to try and beat Murtagh in last year’s City Council race. He destroyed her. She has some bad friends, and Zehy Jereis is just one of those shady friends. There are more.
Cousins looks desperate, doubly so by linking up with Mosiello to go after Murtagh.
Until tonight, I had admired Ms. Stewart-Cousins.
Two and a half years ago, ten months after she had lost an election dispute with Nick Spano, then-Legislator Stewart-Cousins appeared at a retirement party for Len Spano, the esteemed longtime County Clerk, who is Nick’s father. Ms. Stewart-Cousins and Sen. Nick had a fun repartee. It showed courage on Ms. Stewart-Cousins’ part to come to the Polish Center to demonstrate respect across the political board, I liked her for that, appearing before a large group of Republicans.
When Ms. Stewart-Cousins won, in November 2006, Nick was noble and gracious in conceding. The 35th Senatorial District had “turned”—to the Democrats.
Challenging petitions is the most petty form of politics, and, although many candidates do it, it only shows the desperation of incumbents who feel threatened by a challenger—in this case, a superb guy, John Murtagh.
The so-called “liberal” Democrats really are city pond scum. (They are not liberals in any sense of the word, only chicken-like, Brooklyn and Bronx-born angry people, who have never gotten what they’ve wanted, who have contaminated our area in recent years.)
My 150 signatures were valid, and I’ll take time off from my day to appear in court to verify them.
Let’s go after all these Democrats this Fall. They have really become the ugly scum of our County.
Now: there are still some good Democrats, as a conservative Republican such as I gleans it.
Legislator Tom Abinanti, Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner, and Assemblyman Richard Brodsky are pro-tax relief, and are generally conservative. No use fighting them. They are what we call in my lifelong Republican Party “the good Democrats.”
The others: let them fall as they may.
If Murtagh couldn’t even get petitions right, what makes you think he can be an effective leader in Albany? C’mon people. Separate yourselves from the extremely blind following of party politics and open yourselves up to the obvious. It’s not about someone feeling threatened but the effort on his part to just get something right.
Good for her.
True, NY has some really bizarre election laws dealing with stuff like petitions, but I’ll bet that it’s not all that unique for a candidate to challenge another’s petitions. Why, I’d bet that even some Republicans have challenged petitions, too.
but the bottom line is that stewart cousins appears
to be afraid of what murtaugh might be able to do
with all three lines
It is pretty bad that this guy sent out a press statement that leaves off half of his challengers name AND mispells Eliot’s name in the same sentence…I sure trust him with writing good legislation!!!
what is really pretty bad is that andrea stewart cousins
is letting jodi mosiello’s vendetta take hold of her
re-election effort..and that andrea knows her achilles
heal is that she is not able to deliver any money
to yonkers because as a democratic member of the republican
controlled senate ..she does not have a seat at the table
Hey Pete … is it ok to call you Pete, or do we have to use your full name too?
To “Obvious” and “Gimme a Break”—a couple of real courageous souls who seem to have forgotten their real names—you don’t know what you’re talking about. Or, you’re just shills for the bullying Democrats. Or both.
Your ignorance might be forgiven, if you were better informed.
Councilman Murtagh submitted more than 2,300 signatures from registered Republicans in the 35th Senatorial District, which is more than twice the number a candidate needs in order to be ballotted in November.
The stormtroopers from the slimy state Democrat Party have challenged the veracity of more than 1,300 of those signatures.
Knowing the signature collectors, as I do, they got the sigs from door-to-door efforts, where they know the voter. Certainly, if you get 90% accuracy (perhaps the standard for us Republicans, if not a greater percentage), that would net, oh, 2,070+ valid signatures. Again: only 1,000 are needed for a candidate to be on the ballot.
This nuisance suit is guaranteed to achieve only one thing: positive attention for John Murtagh in his bid to win election this Fall in the 35th State Senate District.
If you truly are interested in seeing real Democracy in action, come to court next Tuesday. You’ll see your Democrat pals exposed for the petty souls that they are.
Jodi Mosiello tried some of this same crap last year and was exposed for the phony she is. She is a big-time loser with a handful of irreputable friends and associates.
Andrea-Stewart Cousins, she of the recent phanthom “sniper” attacks on her office, is heading down a slippery slope here. I think she will hit bottom. Her lousy record in the Senate—really lousy—just adds to all of this.
its going to make a great tv commercial for murtaugh
sounds like what spitzer tried to do to bruno almost
an attempt to override the will of the republican
party by nitpicking at the petitions..I wonder
what would happen if someone examined andreas
petitions..dead people perhaps?
What really is sad is that the laws should change. You should only get one line AND no petitions for the party endorsed candidate.
Then Mr. Clean Murtaugh would not be fighting in court with the worst petitions that have ever been filed. (Admit it, Nick Spano would not have filed such crap)
There would not have been a need to have “outsiders” from Nassau County carry signatures. There wouldn’t been several pages of signatures that were clearly copied from legit signatures. People that carried the signatures would actually be registered Republicans. These are little technicalities that people must follow.
Tim, I doubt that your signatures were bad, but, based on the specific objections there are several hundred signatures in question. Certainly enough to disqualify him.
Didn’t Mosiello run on the Democratic line against Murtaugh – so the problem is exactly what??? It is part of the process.
Change the law:
We are in agreement on one issue—that the signature process required here in New York is repressive, and undemocratic. It is and always has been an “incumbent-protection” system.
In California, my home state, where I cut my teeth in politics starting with Reagan’s gubernatorial re-election campaign, a candidate needs to file only minimal signatures (25 or so), together with a check to the Secretary of State, in order to be ballotted. This results in primaries with a number of candidates, but the cream almost always rises, as it has in nearly every case over the past century—and voters have a choice in selecting their representatives.
Sounds good to me, Tim. Sounds downright democratic, as a matter of fact. Imagine that!
... also an interesting idea, although any modification must be made with the provision that a candidate can only have a single line ….
Here we go again, challenging petitions. The Republicans are way too nice to the liberal Democrats. They are way too polite.Look at the Mount Veron Democratic Party, they are all being charged with criminally stealing from their party. Do you believe Yonkers Demoncrats are any better? The voting public is sick of this kind of bickering. Gas, food, oil, natural gas, housing is our biggest concerns. These higher prices causes crime to go up. How about fixing the economy and stop digging into the middle-class pockets? Lower property taxes, stop bowing to the special interest groups. Stop worrying about the polls and don’t be afraid to do something unpopular. Our federal and state government think people who earn up to $75K are middle-class not true in Yonkers (Westchester County). I am middle-class and earn more than $75K and I want a middle-class tax rebate. This rebate should be based on where you live. I literally can’t afford to live in Yonkers any more and I have lived here for over 30 years. I live within my means. There are not extras. Can’t afford a moveie, dinner in a restaurnt. I use coupons as much as possible and look for discounts. When heating season starts, everyone who is low income and senior citizens are going to get the tax breaks but not the working middle class like me. I can’t afford to live in Yonkers any more. Please people who are running for office address this unfair situation.
Tim Hayes: “Knowing the signature collectors, as I do, they got the sigs from door-to-door efforts, where they know the voter. Certainly, if you get 90% accuracy (perhaps the standard for us Republicans, if not a greater percentage), that would net, oh, 2,070+ valid signatures. Again: only 1,000 are needed for a candidate to be on the ballot.”
You’re absolutely correct Tim. Having been involved in politics for over 25 years locally, state-wide, and nationally most signature collectors (from both parties) do their best to get valid, verifiable signatures-
they do not want their petitions thrown out. I can say the lady who collected my signature for John Murtagh was most upset to hear that Andrea Stewart Cousins’ campaign called me yesterday to question my signature! They had better not even try to throw it outor I will go to court. Apparently the Andrea Stewart Cousins campaign was questioning all of this signature collector’s signatures! I was the 4th person to call her about this questioning. She is an honest, hardworking lady-who follows the rules.I’m not certain why some of my text has a line through it—but it shouldn’t
Hi GOP Girl:
You and I are kindred souls.
Do you enjoy the Democrats’ hypocrisy?
One minute, they are arguing voter intimidation in Florida and Ohio, in 2000 and 2004.
The next minute, these same decrepit angry people are trying to intimidate Republican signatories in Westchester County. These folks have little concern for true democracy. Ot truth. They are bullies.
Rent, or view on HBO, “28 Weeks Later,” and you’ll see the angry Westchester Democrats in action.
They are the zombies.
Thanks Tim,
I will rent 28 Weeks Later.
It’s funny how “every vote counts” breaks down to “but not yours” if you are on the opposite side.
I worked for a U.S. Representative and the Illinois General Assembly (yes-
the entire General Assembly)while I was in Washington, D.C. and boy the things you see going on that the rest of the public is not privy to-it is amazing.Again—with the lines, I don’t know what is up.
Hi Tim,
Guess I’m going to court on Monday—FedEx left a subpoena on my porch for me this morning. Senator Stewart-Cousins has no idea of the anger she has created among her Republican constituents. She has managed to rally the troops for Murtagh far better than the Republicans have. Hell hath no fury like a subpoenaed petition signer.
I understand the petition gatherers are subpoenaed for Wednesday—perhaps I’ll see you there.
GOP Girl