Page 397 - Demo

D e m o c ra tic D is tric t L e a d e r A n n e tte R o b in s o n (cen ter) fro m th e 5 6 th A .D . h o ld in g a co p yo f a p e titio n V a n n c la im s w o u ld n e e d to be file d if all c a n d id a te s fo llo w e d P eco raro rulesto th e le tte r. R o b in s o n %u2019s c a n d id a c y is a ls o b e in g c h a lle n g e d . (P h o e n ix /T a y lo r P hoto )They%u2019re O ff the BallotContinued from Page 1familiar to New York voters. However, over the past decade, the trend has been to a liberalization of the application of the State election law to overlook or eliminate consideration of minor technicalities in the petitioning process in favor of the goal of allowing primary election challengers to be cm the ballot. The court in Kings County, however, appears to be bucking this trend by applying more strict legal interpretations to this year%u2019s cases based on the 1985 higher court ruling. Regardless of the outcome of these three cases and others now being processed in the Kings County courts, there is certain to be review of the decisions on both the appelate level and in Federal courts.Last week and earlier this week in repeated appearances in Courtroom 956 on Cadman Plaza, the attorneys and supporters of candidates debated and challenged the facts and the law beneath the words %u201cTruth Is Great And Shall Prevail.%u201d The reactions and the observations to the results unfolding ranged from self-righteous to angry.%u201cAny candidate who wishes to make the laws of this state must first learn how to follow our existing laws,%u201d said Assemblymember Eileen Dugan in the wake of a decision to remove her Democratic primary election opponent Anthony LaBella, from the ballot August 4.With the assistance of election lawyer Martin Connor, who is also a State Senator, Dugan and running mate John McElhinney, candidate for Democratic District Leader in the 52nd A.D. (Heights-South BrooklynSunset Park-Bay Ridge), filed a suit against LaBella and his Democratic leader running mate Jeffrey Golkin. charging that the cover sheets accompanying their petitions were invalid.While awaiting the decision from Justice Joseph Slavin, the LaBella and Golkin campaign wait into high gear, releasing several statements accusing Dugan of denying citizens the right to vote between two candidates and of allowing drugs to be sold near her district office. Dugan dismissed the accusation as %u201cdemented%u201d and %u201cridiculous.%u201dAfter Savin issued his ruling, LaBella refused to comment on the proceedings. Golkin, however, spoke at length about what he called a %u201clow-level%u201d Supreme Court decision. %u201cWhen legal challenges are mounted on frivolous grounds the electorate is disenfranchised,%u201d he said. LaBella and Golkin say they will appeal the decisions to the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court.A ruling on the Vann case is expected August 8 by Judge Irving Radar. Privately, many election tow attorneys say that if LaBella was knocked off because of the technicality of improper cover sheets, a similar decision should be expected against Vann. Lawyers arguing against Vann, Green and LaBella petitions are basing their cases on an August, 1985 New York State Court of Appeals ruling in the Matter of Russell vs. Pecoraro. The decision in that case ruled that a cover sheet on submitted petitions must include the names and addresses of each of the candidates they pertain to as well as the number of signatures and pages of each petition in order to earn a ballot position.Fearful that the courts may rule against his Democratic Primary candidacy, Vann held a rally on July 29 on the steps of the Kings County Supreme Court Building and accused Howard Golden, who Vann challenged for Borough President tost year, of masterminding a political maneuver to get him off the ballot. Golden is also Democratic Party Chairman in Brooklyn. Flanked by supporters, Vann said that Golden was stillThe LaBella and G olkin campaignwent into high gear releasingstatem ents accusing Dugan o fdenying a citizen%u2019s right to votebetween tw o candidates.threatened by Vann and the influence of the Coalition for Community Empowerment, an organization he heads of black political leaders in Brooklyn.Golden, through an aide, denied that he was plotting against Vann. Other Kings County Democratic Party officials also dismissed Vann%u2019s charges and said that the organization had even offered to review, prepare and deliver Vann%u2019s petitions to the Board of Elections with those of other incumbent officeholders tost month, but Vann had refused. Vann%u2019s primary opponent, Chase Manhattan executive Robert Hunter also denies any contact with the borough president and says that he has never even met Golden or any other party official to discuss their support against Vann.Still, Vann has survived a similar challenge in 1900 when he lost his Democratic Party primary position, bid as a candidate of the liberal Party won the November generalelection. In 1986, he is again the Liberal Party%u2019s candidate.Green, who is the chairman of the State Assembly%u2019s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, appears to be more subdued about the challenge. With no press conferences or accusations, Green was awaiting a decision that was scheduled for August 6, according to Judge Slavin. If Green is thrown off the primary ballot he is expected to appeal the decision and some election lawyers say that they believe the Federal courts %u201c would not allow voters to be disenfranchised%u201d and would make sure he is restored to the primary ballot. The same course is likely to be followed by Vann.A decision is still pending on a challenge in one other downtown Brooklyn district involving State Senator Velmanette Montgomery (22nd District - Bedford-Stuyvesant, Ft. Greene, Park Slope and Red Hook) and her opponent, former Senator Anna Jefferson. Jefferson, who lost to Montgomery two years ago, was removed from the ballot in their 1984 contest, until a Federal judge returned her candidacy one week before the election.This year, Montgomery has charged that Jefferson%u2019s petitions are invalid after she initially filed several volumes of signatures with no attached cover sheet. Jefferson later added the cover sheet before the deadline. A date for the decision has not been set.Primary candidates challenging the petitions of would-be opponents say that if they can convince a judge to rule the signatures and cover sheets invalid, they will avoid an unnecessary political battle, saving time, energy and money. Opponents claim that the extensive legal battles are costly and also deter them from the actual business of campaigning, making it impossible to build any voter familiarity before the primary election, which in most cases in New York City will determine who will win the November general election, since Democratic Party registration is more than five times higherthan Republican here.%u00bb u i -------- - t . a . _ -----------u i n --------- L t - m u iu u ^ u u ic n u u iu iA . u u iu ; u wcuadidates ran jeopardy are being ruled off the ballot based on the Court of Appeals%u2019 Pecoraro decision, the majority of the 98 cases filed in Brooklyn this year have been for invalid signatures on the petitions. Candidates seeking Democratic Party nomination to the Assembly had to file 500 valid signatures with the Board 6f Elections by July 10. State Senate candidates had to file 1000 valid signatures.Crack Crackdown SetLocal officials have joined together to %u201ccrack down on crack,%u201d by educating the public in a unique forum to be held August 14 in Red Hook. The workshop will feature information about the drug, and where to get help, in addition to outlining a strategy to combat crack in Red Hook.State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Assemblymember Eileen Dugan, City Councilmember Stephen DiBrienza and Congressmember Stephen Solarz are cosponsoring the workshop. Julio Martinez, director of the NYS Division of Substance Abuse Services, will discuss the problems of crack with representatives from medical services and the police department. %u201cIt%u2019s time the community come together and fight to save our children, our families and our neighborhoods in the struggle against substance abuse,%u201d said Montgomery.Die workshop will be held at the Pal Miccio Community Center, 110 West 9th Street, 6-8pm.Local Signs TreatyDanieto Gioseffi, a Brooklyn writer and professor at St. Francis College, will be among the 127 American peace activists signing the People%u2019s Peace Treaty at the United Nations August 8.Gioseffi, an award-winning writer known for her satiric novel, %u201cThe Great American Belly,%u201d is a member of the Writers%u2019 and Publishers' Alliance for Nuclear Disarmament. She will be representing that group when she meets with a delegation of 53 Soviets for the Ham U.N. ceremony.%u201cPeople of all countries want peace,%u201d she says. %u201cMy purpose is to help stop us from being blown up in a flash. Truly patriotic Americans, as good planetary citizens, need to stop their jingoistic sloganing and study the facts and history of the arms race. We are all hostages of this horror,%u201d she says.In addition to the Writers%u2019 and Publishers%u2019, the treaty will be endorsed by SANE, The Women%u2019s International League for Peace and Freedom, The Soviet Peace Committee, and Physicians, Lawyers and Educators for Social Responsibility.The National American-Soviet Friendship Council is organizing the ceremony which will not include any government officials. Telephone the Council at 212-254-6606 for more details.Montgomery Kicks O ff Campaign In Old Fashioned Bash A t State ParkBY ROB TAYLORIt was tolled as a campaign kick-off bash. The hostess, State Sentor Velmanette Montgomery , made all the dips and brought all the drinks herself, and invited friends from Park Slope, Ft. Greene, and Bedford-Stuyvesant to Fulton Ferry State Park July 27 to ask for their help in her tod for re-election.Montgomery, who won the District seat from incumbent State Senator Anna Jefferson in 1984 after a totter fight in which Jefferson was nearly removed from the ballot, then returned a week before elec-, tion day, is now preparing for a rehash of the same battle in the September Democratic primary election.Montgomery says she has a strong political base in Park Slope and Ft, Greene, but is afraid of some weakness in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Despite the sultry weather, about 69 friends stopped by to offer their support. With a forecast calling for rain, Montgomery uegan iiie uiuciai tesuviues pi uuipiljr.Political parties are times for candidates to make contacts with constituents they might find important to. their own elections. Montgomery%u2019s guests, therefore, included those politicians whose districts overtop with the 22nd Senate District.Assemblyman Clarence Norman from theL a u n c h in g h er 1sK>6 re -e ie o tio n c a m p a ig n fo r S ta te S e n a te , V e lm a n e tte M o n tg o m e ry in %u00adv ite d frie n d s to F u lto n S ta te P ark J u ly 27 fo r a party. L e ft, M o n tg o m e ry receives th e e n %u00add o rs e m e n t o f 43rd A .D . A s s e m b ly m a n C la re n c e N o rm an . R ig h t, S ix ta P o n c e , w h o hadh o p e d to ru n a g a in s i L in d a M in u c c i for a D e m o c ra tic D is tric t L e a d e r, a n d Y vo n n e L ew is, ac a n d id a te fo r civil c o u rt ju d g e , are in tro d u c e d by M o n tg o m e ry . (P h o e n ix /T a y lo r P h o to s)m V iA o Ksome Bedford-Stuyvesant constituents with Montgomery, came and offered his endorsement. West Brooklyn Congressman Stephen Solarz from the 13th C.D., who represents some of the same Red Hook residents as the State Senator, sent a representative with a letter calling her a %u201cstar%u201d in Albany.A V i u i i l r g u i i i c i y w c u > o i o u j u u i c u u y u u mPonce who is running for Female District Leader in the 50th A.D. and Yvonne Lewis, a candidate for Civil Court judge.Montgomery%u2019s race is not only attracting the attention of other candidates, but also some of the political elute in the borough. Although she has only served in the StateSenate for one term, the Brooklyn Women%u2019s Political Caucus has given her the organization%u2019s largest campaign donation.Stephanie Twin, the caucus treasurer, was on hand to present Montgomery with a $2,000 check. %u201cYou%u2019ve got to understand how important Velmanette Montgomery is to Brooklyn women,%u201d said Twin.Montgomery says she considers Jefferson a %u201cstrong%u201d candidate. Jefferson was a Democratic co-leader to convicted former State Senator Vander Beatty and has vowed to regain the seat since the loss in 1984. But, she is going about her primary bid in an unusual fashion, alligning herself with Black candidates outside the political establishment including Roy Innis, the conservative leader of the Congress on Racial Equality.Montgomery, though, claims she is going to have to campaign long and hard The Senator is trying to build bridges with some of her constituents in Bedford-Stuyvesant---------* - ' %u2022 %u2022 %u2022 \\r %u00bb l l K a *> n o A n l o A l l t C U IU O H J O I H I V n i u i w * V Q V k m m v j - . v --------to vote in Semptember.%u201dA party for her friends was a perfect reminder that she wanted their help. Immediately after her more formal statements, the Montgomery staff passed around papers to sign volunteers up for another campaign season. For information call 643-6140.August 7, 1986, THE PHO ENIX, Page 23