It’s on, it’s off, it’s on again.
So goes the Special Election in the 38th Assembly District (38AD).
Governor David Paterson has again proclaimed a Special Election on Primary Day, September 15, to fill the seat vacated by admitted felon Anthony Seminerio.
Paterson made the announcement on Friday, August 14, exactly a week after his office first ordered the Primary Day Special Election, then cancelled the order as a “mistake” a few hours later.
“Although there were concerns raised about last week’s announcement,” Paterson said, “after a comprehensive review of the issues at stake, I have determined that a Special Election on Primary Day is the most cost-effective, expeditious way to ensure that the people of the 38th District are appropriately represented in the Assembly.”
On Monday, Queens Democrats met and 38AD leaders voted to endorse Mike Miller as their candidate. According to Michael Reich, Executive Director of the party, “Two candidates were presented and after a lot of discussion, Mike Miller was nominated.” Reich confirmed that Seminerio, who remains as a district leader, “did not appear” at the meeting.
The rejected candidate, community activist Nick Comaianni, told The Courier he was “very disappointed” with both the way the selection was conducted and the result. Published reports attributed to party insiders had Comaianni as the favorite after the earlier Special Election announcement.
“The county leadership was anything but democratic,” Comaianni said. “I was told they brought the [district] leaders into a room one at a time and basically browbeat them into voting the way they wanted,” he fumed.
Miller, a member of Community Board 5, has also been endorsed by the Queens Conservative Party.
Queens Conservative chair Tom Long welcomed the governor’s decision, saying, “I’m glad he called the special – otherwise it would be a couple of extra months that people in the district would go without representation.”
One hopeful, however, has filed suit in Federal Court to block the move.
Farouk Samaroo, the 26-year-old Army veteran who returned from a year in Afghanistan and left the service to run in the primary, is challenging Paterson’s action under the Voting Rights Act.
“Over 2,000 voters signed my nominating petitions, and the governor seeks to disenfranchise them,” Samaroo said in a published report. “He wasn’t elected to his position as governor, so he doesn’t understand that voters have a right to choose. I’m going to educate him in court this week.”
Reich, an attorney whose practice includes election law, scoffed at the notion. “The governor is completely within his rights to call for a Special Election. Governors have called Special Elections numerous times, including on Primary Day,” he said.
Reich also suggested that Samaroo may have violated the Hatch Act, a federal law that prohibits many government employees from engaging in partisan political activities.
“I would never disparage anyone’s service,” Reich said, “but it’s illegal for members of the military to run for office. You have to obey the rules.”
Queens Republican chair Phil Ragusa said that the party was ready for the election, and was about to file the required certificate of nomination for their candidate, Donna Marie Caltabiano.
The city’s Board of Elections (BOE) commissioners met on Tuesday, August 18, to discuss whether they would need to set up separate voting machines for the Special Election, and decided not to decide until their regular Tuesday meeting on August 25, just three weeks before Primary Day.
The BOE was put on notice at their meeting on Tuesday, July 21, that Paterson was considering a Special Election – prompting published reports, immediately discounted by spokespersons, that the Special Election would be held.
