Believe it or not, election season is underway, and the those seeking office for the first time, it is not an easy task to get voters to sign a petition to get them on the ballot. Some candidates have agreed to work together during our first Coronavirus election by agreeing not to challenge each others petitions. Unfortunately, in some contests, it’s cutthroat politics as usual.
We received this letter from Jen Williams, a candidate for NY Assembly in the 92nd District. Williams is challenging incumbent Assemblyman Tom Abinanti in the democratic primary on June 23…if she can get on the ballot.
Williams writes in an op-ed titled ‘A Lesson in Westchester Democratic Politics,’ “Late one evening in early April during the peak of the global pandemic, my Nest doorbell alerted my family of suspicious activity on our porch. My teenage son spontaneously ran out to find Thomas J. Abinanti, the New York Assemblyman for our district and my opponent in the Democrtic Primary, and his wife duct-taping legal papers to our front door. None of us got a lot of sleep that night.
“My name is Jen Williams and I am running for New York State Assembly, working hard to unseat Mr. Abinanti. I’m doing this for three reasons. First, because I do not feel that small business interests are adequately represented in Albany. Second, because Mr. Abinanti has dangerous and uninformed views about public health that have no business in our state legislature. Third, because I feel I can bring energy and openness to an institution not known for either.
“Small business interests have certainly been at the top of my list. With my father, who passed away last year, I ran a small energy consulting firm in Tarrytown for over 10 years. Those of you who follow my social media presence are aware of how I have supported local institutions, stores, and restaurants. As we continue to isolate ourselves at home, I have redoubled my efforts to help these struggling businesses.
“Of course, since the onset of the global pandemic, the fringe anti-science views of my opponent on public health issues have come to the forefront of my campaign. Not enough voters in our district are aware that Assemblyman Abinanti has again and again worked to undermine public health in the state. Earlier this month he voted against the law (Assembly Bill A09953) that authorized forty-million dollars to combat the Coronavirus. Mr. Abinanti also voted against legislation (Assembly Bill A00264) that prevents insurance agencies from charging exorbitant fees for out-of-network emergency room visits. And he stridently worked to stop the passage of Assembly Bill A2371 that required all students in New York State be vaccinated – a necessary measure at the time that helped halt the spread of measles.
“Of late, Mr. Abinanti has taken to distributing photos of himself at the opening of a Regeneron lab (one of the companies working to develop a COVID-19 vaccine), making it appear as though he is on the side of science. It is my job to make voters aware that nothing could be further from the truth. Mr. Abinati has consistently worked against scientifically valid measures that could save lives. If left in office, he will continue.
“This brings us to my third reason for running: bringing energy and openness to Albany. It is about how a statement so honorable and simple can become so frighteningly complex in the arena that is Westchester Democratic politics. When Mr. Abinanti and his wife showed up on my doorstep, it was another validation of the perspective that many of us have of Albany politics as a dirty business. The material taped to the door was a set of legal papers asking the court to remove my name from the June 23 ballot. Mr. Abinanti asserts that the pages of my ballot petition were not formatted correctly, and that this invalidates my candidacy. They weren’t, and it doesn’t.
“The journey to attain public office is an arduous one that begins with knocking on doors asking for signatures so your name can appear on the ballot. A daunting enough task under normal circumstances, imagine doing it safely at the epicenter of a global pandemic! I did it by carefully following social distancing precautions. I personally obtained every signature on my petition, and validated that every name was a Democrat registered to vote in our district. The petition format I used was based on a template provided on the New York State website. As I expected, the Westchester Board of Elections accepted my submission without comment.
“Now the next step is for the voters of our district to decide in a fair and free election who is the best person to represent their interests in Albany. It should be no surprise that Mr. Abinanti, a lawyer and a career Albany politician who has never been opposed for office, would rather take a shortcut in the courts. Unfortunately, his actions are emblematic of the dishonest Albany “leadership” that many of us have resigned ourselves to over the years.
“Set aside for the moment the fact that when Mr. Abinanti showed up that night on my porch, he provoked a minor to leave self-isolation during a global pandemic. You can even set aside the fact that he acted in violation of Matilda’s Law that bans individuals over 70 such as Mr. Abinanti from social interaction without protective clothing. Even without these facts, his actions are simply strange and scary. Or, from my perspective, just sort of sad.
“The electoral system does not exist so that lip-service can be paid to it in a civics class; rather it exists so that we may work for better government. We have to understand that we can and should expect more from our state government, which controls many facets of our lives. I have decided that it is time that I stop taking dishonesty and inefficiency lying down, and I encourage you to join me in asking for something better.
“One of my goals in this campaign is to draw more people in this process. It is time to embrace a more inclusive brand of politics. We will do that not by pushing people out, but by drawing them together. See you at the polls on June 23rd,” writes Williams
Editor’s Note: This story raises a question about whether candidates running for office this year, in the middle of the Coronavirus, should be challenging the petitions of their opponents. In other races, candidates have agreed not to challenge each other petitions as a symbol of unity in a time of trouble.
But in the democratic primary for Congress in District 16, several candidates are challenging Rep. Eliot Engel, and one of those candidates, Chris Fink, is having his petitions challenge in much the same way as Jen Williams, who is a community advocate, who founded the “Women of the Congo” charity, is a former small business woman and who served on the Irvington Educational Foundation as a board member.
Williams’ petitions were deemed invalid by the Board of Elections last week, but she is challenging their ruling in court. While Williams obtained the proper number of signatures required to run for Assembly, at the top of her petition, it states that she is a candidate for Assembly and not an Assembly member.
Williams has appealed the BOE ruling in court, and we hope that the court rules in her favor, In our view, she deserves to be on the ballot on June 23.
