from Ballot Access News
Suffolk County Conservative Party Wins Lawsuit Against Raiders
September 23rd, 2009
On September 18, the New York Supreme Court, Suffolk County, won its lawsuit to expel a mass entry into the party by members of four organizations that represent Long Island police, especially the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association. New York state law already gives parties the ability to cancel the enrollment of registered members of the party who are not in sympathy with the principles of the party. In this particular case, Walsh v Abramowitz, 31670-09, that law was applied. The Court determined that a mass entry into the party had been made by police for the purposing of defeating the Suffolk County Sheriff for re-election. The Suffolk County Sheriff is an enrolled Conservative, and police were angry at him because of a dispute over whether police, or sheriffs, should have the job of patrolling the Long Island Expressway and Sunrise Highway. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for this news. As a result of the decision, ballots cast in the Conservative Party primary on September 15, 2009 by the members who have now been expelled, will not be counted. Here is the 8-page decision. [by Judge Thomas F. Whelan]
IW: I agree with the general concept of the decision. Minor parties need particular protection from being taken over by outside forces. I wonder if the same decision would be rendered if the Democratic Party tried to overwhelm the Green Party? I also have a hard time with defending the independence of the Conservative Party in Suffolk County since they cross-endorsed the 2 Democratic County-wide candidates, and their candidate is cross-endorsed by the Suffolk Democratic Party.
IW: Upon further reflection I think the attorney’s for the police union enrollees should have taken a more radical route. I don’t think they should have spent their time questioning the validity of the party hearings,and trying to prove that some of the new police union enrollees hold what are currently considered conservative values. Instead the new police union enrollees should have sought to prove that the values of the Suffolk County Conservative Party are based upon being a fusion party rather than any ideology at all.
They should have subpoenaed to testify all the candidates cross-endorsed by the Conservative Party, and Conservative candidates cross-endorsed by other parties. As I said above, all four county-wide candidates are running on both the Conservative and Democratic party lines, despite those parties being considered to have different ideological beliefs. For instance, Justice Whelan’s decision in this matter mentions that the Democratic Party is considered to be in concert with union values, and by inference the Conservative Party is not. From that I draw that the primary values of the Conservative Party are not ideological, but rather horse-trading lines like all fusion parties. Therefore, police union members could have argued that their mass enrollment was in line with the primary fusion party values of horse-trading political lines.
Filed under: 3rd party, elections, local, long island, Long Island Politics, News, politics, third party | Tagged: Conservative Party, Judge Thomas Whelan, new york, Suffolk County, Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association, third parties, Thomas Whelan | Leave a Comment »
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