32°
PEEKSKILL -- Democratic Westchester County Legislator candidate Michael Kane and the city council candidates have been removed from the Independence Party primary ballot.
Kane, who is challenging current Republican legislator and former city mayor John Testa for District 1, made up of Peekskill and parts of Cortlandt and Yorktown, confirmed the news early Friday morning.
"Late yesterday evening the county supreme court judge ruled against me," Kane said. "My name will not appear on the ballot."
New York State Supreme Court Judge Mary H. Smith granted a motion to invalidate Independence Party petitions submitted by Mike Kane as well as Mayor Mary Foster and the three Peekskill city council candidate slate. The judge concurred that the petitions filed by the Democrats contained inaccuracies. Of the 104 submitted signatures only 30 were valid according to Testa,
"Kane filed petitions with signatures that did not match those on file with the Board of Elections, a petition for completely different elections was submitted as his own and witness statements on multiple petitions were fraudulent," said Testa in a press release issued Friday afternoon.
The decision comes two days after the county board of elections let Kane stay on the line following a challenge from former Peekskill Councilwoman Cathy Pisani. The challenge claimed that some of the signatures gathered for Kane to get the Independence Party endorsement were obtained by a county resident who submitted an incorrect home address.
Testa said the decision supported his original claim that he had fairly earned the endorsement over Kane.
I will not tolerate cheating and will always challenge any opponent who feels they need to cheat during an election. I owe it to the people who have supported and elected me. My thanks to former Councilwoman Cathy Pisani for taking a stand for what is right.
Kane said he can appeal the decision, which is a costly and timely process. He can also win the nomination by getting enough write-in votes in the primary, which is another challenging endeavor to organize. Kane remains on the Democratic and Working Families lines.
How do you feel about the nomination process for third-party endorsements? Let us know on our Facebook page!
Click here to follow Daily Voice Cortlandt and receive free news updates.
