The race is on—but no one yet knows what form it will take.
And so as the candidates wait to find out whether or not the special election to replace Queens Assembly Member Anthony Seminerio is next month or in November, all of the candidates are waiting to start flinging real mud.
All except for Albert Baldeo, who has also run for Council and the State Senate in the past, who has been pushing the argument that in all of his years as a community activist he had never worked with any of his opponents and had rarely seen any of them around in the district.
“I don’t know these other candidates, I haven’t seen them before, in the district… They have not been advocating the constituents’ needs, they have not been servicing the district,” he said. “They just came up for the election, a lot of people throw their hat in, they haven’t been working in the district or working for the people.”
In a follow-up interview, Baldeo reiterated that he had never worked with any of the other candidates.
But in fact, fellow candidate Farouk Samaroo served as Baldeo’s campaign manager for the 2005 Council campaign, which was marked, among other things, by the incident in which an opponent’s wife alleged that Baldeo had pulled a gun on her.
When reminded of the connection with Samaroo, Baldeo said that he had been misunderstood, and that the answer depended on what the word “work” is.
“When I said ‘worked,’ I meant worked on common issues affecting this community,” Baldeo said.
Baldeo said that the two did not work on issues commonly affecting their Richmond Hill and Glendale neighborhoods of Queens.
“He was running my election campaign administratively,” Baldeo said. “Not on the issues that affect the district.”
Calls to Samaroo’s home number were not returned.
That is not the only squabbling in the district since Gov. David Paterson rescinded a call for a special election hours after he issued it last Friday afternoon. The governor said he issued the proclamation by “mistake.”
Henry Berger, an election law expert and advisory committee co-chair at the New York Democratic Lawyers Council, said the legal issue depends on what was actually issued by the office.
“Once he files the proclamation there is a process for conducting a special election,” Berger said. “The issue is whether it was a press release or a proclamation.”
Paterson press secretary Marissa Shorenstein confirmed that a second proclamation had been issued to rescind the first.
“You could argue that once he signed a bill into law, he can’t change his mind the next day,” said Richard Briffault, a legislative law professor at Columbia University.
“I would be surprised if there is authority to un-call it.”
(A press release announcing the rescinded proclamation was sent out three-and-a-half hours after the press release announcing the proclamation in the first place.)
For his part, Baldeo has threatened to file a lawsuit if a special election is again scheduled, arguing that doing so would be a civil rights violation because the Democratic district leaders, rather than voters, would choose a candidate. He added that he expected other candidates in the field to support his lawsuit, if one is filed.
Baldeo declined to name who might have given him such assurances. None have publicly signed agreed to do so.
“It’s beyond me to go and change something, to waste my time, to change a race I guess to suit me," said Mike Miller, a retired credit union manager and Community Board 5 member who is also in the race, and appears to be in good shape to receive the support of the Queens County Democrats. “That’s the way I’ve looked at it from the beginning and whatever it is, whatever type of election it’s going to be, I’m going to be ready.”
Berger, the election law expert, said that election law provides for either a special election or holding a vote at the next available election. He said he did not see the basis for Baldeo to wage a civil rights lawsuit.
“I don’t know what the civil rights claim is,” he said. “But there are lawyers who are more creative than I am who come up with these things.”
Additional reporting by David Freedlander.
And so as the candidates wait to find out whether or not the special election to replace Queens Assembly Member Anthony Seminerio is next month or in November, all of the candidates are waiting to start flinging real mud.
All except for Albert Baldeo, who has also run for Council and the State Senate in the past, who has been pushing the argument that in all of his years as a community activist he had never worked with any of his opponents and had rarely seen any of them around in the district.
“I don’t know these other candidates, I haven’t seen them before, in the district… They have not been advocating the constituents’ needs, they have not been servicing the district,” he said. “They just came up for the election, a lot of people throw their hat in, they haven’t been working in the district or working for the people.”
In a follow-up interview, Baldeo reiterated that he had never worked with any of the other candidates.
But in fact, fellow candidate Farouk Samaroo served as Baldeo’s campaign manager for the 2005 Council campaign, which was marked, among other things, by the incident in which an opponent’s wife alleged that Baldeo had pulled a gun on her.
When reminded of the connection with Samaroo, Baldeo said that he had been misunderstood, and that the answer depended on what the word “work” is.
“When I said ‘worked,’ I meant worked on common issues affecting this community,” Baldeo said.
Baldeo said that the two did not work on issues commonly affecting their Richmond Hill and Glendale neighborhoods of Queens.
“He was running my election campaign administratively,” Baldeo said. “Not on the issues that affect the district.”
Calls to Samaroo’s home number were not returned.
That is not the only squabbling in the district since Gov. David Paterson rescinded a call for a special election hours after he issued it last Friday afternoon. The governor said he issued the proclamation by “mistake.”
Henry Berger, an election law expert and advisory committee co-chair at the New York Democratic Lawyers Council, said the legal issue depends on what was actually issued by the office.
“Once he files the proclamation there is a process for conducting a special election,” Berger said. “The issue is whether it was a press release or a proclamation.”
Paterson press secretary Marissa Shorenstein confirmed that a second proclamation had been issued to rescind the first.
“You could argue that once he signed a bill into law, he can’t change his mind the next day,” said Richard Briffault, a legislative law professor at Columbia University.
“I would be surprised if there is authority to un-call it.”
(A press release announcing the rescinded proclamation was sent out three-and-a-half hours after the press release announcing the proclamation in the first place.)
For his part, Baldeo has threatened to file a lawsuit if a special election is again scheduled, arguing that doing so would be a civil rights violation because the Democratic district leaders, rather than voters, would choose a candidate. He added that he expected other candidates in the field to support his lawsuit, if one is filed.
Baldeo declined to name who might have given him such assurances. None have publicly signed agreed to do so.
“It’s beyond me to go and change something, to waste my time, to change a race I guess to suit me," said Mike Miller, a retired credit union manager and Community Board 5 member who is also in the race, and appears to be in good shape to receive the support of the Queens County Democrats. “That’s the way I’ve looked at it from the beginning and whatever it is, whatever type of election it’s going to be, I’m going to be ready.”
Berger, the election law expert, said that election law provides for either a special election or holding a vote at the next available election. He said he did not see the basis for Baldeo to wage a civil rights lawsuit.
“I don’t know what the civil rights claim is,” he said. “But there are lawyers who are more creative than I am who come up with these things.”
Additional reporting by David Freedlander.
