By Stephen J. Bronner
The office of New York State Commissioner of Education Richard Mills has denied Ringelheim�s request for a stay, but the petition is still under review. A notice to Ringelheim read, �The petition ... requests the issuance of a stay order by the Commissioner of Education. This is to advise you on behalf of the Commissioner that no stay order will be issued.�
Papers were served to the district as well as to the other parties involved � the winners of the election, Uri Kaufman and Abel Feldhamer. Kaufman won the election over Ringelheim by 179 votes, while Feldhamer beat write-in candidate Kinder by 1,240 votes. The winners can be installed at the Board of Education meeting on July 7.
Many voters complained about long waits, that they were badgered at polls and that voting machines malfunctioned, claims that were included in the former candidate�s papers, along with signed affidavits supporting these allegations.
�We just questioned a few things, whether they were done deliberately or not,� Kinder said. �Things seemed a bit out of character. It is what it is now, but, for me, if I lose an election, it should be done fairly. Let the best two men win.�
Lawrence District Clerk Mohinder Bharaj said the challenge has no merit. �He�s adding insult to injury,� Bharaj said of Ringelheim. �School board attorneys have to respond to these allegations, so that's taking up time for the attorneys, and time is money. I found it frivolous.�
Feldhamer said he doesn�t think the election was administered unfairly. �But everyone has the right to follow the legal process and I would certainly abide by any ruling,� Feldhamer said. �My understanding is that there have been a lot of petitions filed by a small unhappy group of people in the district, and I think it�s unfortunate the district's attorneys have to defend the district.�
Ringelheim said that if the election was done �properly� in the first place, the district wouldn�t have this problem now. �Violations to state law deprived Mr. Kinder and me of a fair run for election,� Ringelheim said. �I�m not here to waste taxpayers� money. I just want to make sure that everyone is
treated fairly.�
Comments about this story? SBronner@ liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
