Thursday, June 18, 2015

Weprin delays departure, affects election procedure

From the Queens Courier:

Mark Weprin officially left the City Council on Sunday, June 14 — apparently three days too late for a non-partisan special election to fill his seat.

Mayor Bill de Blasio proclaimed on Monday that the vacancy will be filled at the Nov. 3 general election, and that the political parties will nominate candidates for the election in the Sept. 10 primary.

According to a spokesperson for the city Board of Elections, a non-partisan special election cannot occur if the vacancy occurs between 60 and 90 days of the scheduled September primary. Had Weprin resigned before June 11, the mayor would have been obligated to call a non-partisan election.

Weprin had announced in May he would step down from the City Council to join the Cuomo administration as deputy secretary for legislative affairs. At the time, he said he would leave within two weeks, but ultimately delayed his departure.

Following the traditional election format now leads to a competitive Democratic primary among previously announced candidates including former Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik; Rebecca Lynch, former assistant commissioner with the New York City Community Affairs Unit; Celia Dosamantes, former aide to Assemblyman David Weprin and Rep. Grace Meng; attorney Ali Najmi; and former City Council candidate Bob Friedrich.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Weprin was challenged in 2013 by a candidate who was only from a minor party, but managed to collect an impressive 17% or so of the general vote. Can it be he's doing this to ensure that the party can put its sticker on its next appointed in order to drown out anyone trying that this time?

Anonymous said...

He knew exactly what he was doing. Dirty Queens politics. Politicians do not care for the people, but only for themselves and how they can get their next paycheck. Queens' motto should be: "Any which way."

Anonymous said...

What? No Republican Primary?

Anonymous said...

Damn! Buy yourself a decent toupee!

Anonymous said...

Rebecca Lynch works for the Mayor. She lives and is registered to vote in Manhattan. How can she run in Queens?

Anonymous said...

I'm surprised that his brother, Assemblyman David, is not running for his old Council seat.

Anonymous said...

Rebecca Lynch's mother is Justice Bernice Siegal and Lynch could always live in Manhattan and claim Justice Bernice Siegal's home in Glen Oaks as her residence.

Anonymous said...

Lynch is a Community Affairs Unit goon, a teamster lobbyist, and a district leader, all before turning 30. We've got one real early ripening load of "Queens Crap" here, with many decades left to rot up the borough.

Maybe one of you who live in D24 will contact the BOE for the district's voting records instead of just griping about it? If she's registered outside of the district, you might be able to flush this one!

Anonymous said...

Rebecca lynch is a tool, blocked me for just posting a link on the page. forget her. just another POS.

Anonymous said...

Not only did rebecca lynch blocked me but also contacted the observor to remove my comment. She is a tool. here is the linkhttp://observer.com/2015/06/former-de-blasio-staffer-wins-labor-backing-in-queens-council-race/

Jon Torodash said...

So which one of you eligible residents in the district is going to step up to the plate? I'd be happy to help as I can.

Astorian said...

Im up for the challange but i am from astoria and cant take up the challenge.