By Mike Schnitzel
The Valley Residents Party¹s petition, which was filed with Village Clerk Vincent Ang on Feb. 13, was challenged the following day. According to the objection, which was filed with the clerk¹s office by Valley Stream resident Michael Tully, the Valley Residents Party¹s petition did not meet state election law requirements.
If the accusations prove true, the incumbent United Community Party slate, Mayor Edward Cahill, Deputy Mayor Guido Cirenza, Trustee Joanne Antun would run unopposed. Incumbent Village Justice Robert Bogle is not opposed in his reelection bid.
³I have seen him before and I know what he looks like,² said Cahill, of Tully, ³but it wasn¹t myself or anybody on the team [who persuaded Tully to challenge the Valley Resident Party petition]. If they want to run, let them run.²
Tully has challenged the validity of 19 signatures on the petition, alleging that some of the signers were not registered to vote and that others had already signed the petition of the United Community Party. He also alleged that the cover sheet did not meet election law requirements. If any of the allegations prove true, the petition could be ruled invalid by the election commissioners, said Republican Election Commissioner John DeGrace, a former Valley Stream mayor.
He added that a decision was expected by the end of the week.
William Freda, a candidate for trustee on the Valley Residents ticket, called the objection a waste of time and money. ³We looked at the signatures they are challenging,² Freda said. ³They are challenging 19 signatures, and we still have 100 valid signatures.²
State election law requires that a party must collect 100 signatures before its candidates can appear on a ballot.
After the objection was filed with the Board of Elections, Tully filed a complaint in New York State Supreme Court, with a charge of fraud among the complaints filed by Tully¹s attorney, Nina Petraro.
Valley Residents Party mayoral candidate Alan Schaechter said he was shocked by Tully¹s actions. ³It¹s certainly a David and Goliath case,² Schaechter said. ³We don¹t have lawyers or the money for this. This is a bad situation we¹re being put in, and I¹m really insulted we¹re being accused of fraud. We never committed any fraud.²
According to Eleanor Sciglibaglio, the deputy Democratic commissioner of elections, filing a complaint in court before a decision is issued by the Board of Elections is one way to make sure a case is heard in court. Even if the commissioners rule against Tully, the court will still hear the case, but the commissioners¹ ruling would be taken into consideration, Sciglibaglio said.
³Going to court prior to a decision is like a safety valve,² she explained, adding that the court would likely await the commissioners¹ decisions before proceeding. The case is scheduled to be heard on Feb. 22 by Judge R. Bruce Cozzens.
Petraro could not be reached for comment.
Schaechter said that he is just a resident who wants to do the right thing. ³We¹re grass-roots and we wanted to run for all the right reasons,² he said. ³People were so positive about us running that we received the 119 signatures in three days.²
According to Ang, when the village clerk¹s office receives an objection to a party¹s petition, it must be forwarded to the board of elections. ³They will make a ruling [on its validity] and we will have to follow that ruling,² Ang said. ³If a petition is ruled invalid, then they can¹t be placed on the ballot.²
³We look forward to the competition,² said Edward Cahill, who is running for his third term as mayor on the United Community ticket. ³I want to be there to continue with the new developments we have in motion.²
In addition to Schaechter and Freda, Nannette Stanya is also on the Valley Residents ticket, running for trustee. Stanya is an employee of Richner Communications, which publishes the Herald.
Comments about this story? MSchnitzel@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
Village election registration
and voting information
Registration for the General Village Election on March 20 will take place at Village Hall, 123 S. Central Ave., on Thursday, March 8, from noon to 9 p.m. and Saturday, March 1, noon to 5 p.m.
If you are not registered with the Nassau County Board of Elections, you must register at Village Hall to be eligible to vote.
On March 20 polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Information is available from the clerk¹s office at Village Hall, (516) 592-5105.
There are 28 election districts in Valley Stream:
1, 2, 3, 28 Shaw Avenue School
4, 5, 25 Clearstream Avenue School
6, 7 Memorial Junior High School, Fletcher Avenue
8 Central High School, Fletcher Avenue
9 Village Hall, South Central Avenue
10, 11, 17, 18 Wheeler Avenue School, Rockaway Parkway
12, 19, 20 Bethlehem Assembly of God Church, East Fairview Avenue
13 Monica Senior Village, Payan Avenue
14, 16 Robert W. Carbonaro School, Hungry Harbor Road
15 Engine Co. 3 Firehouse, Cochran Place
21, 23 Brooklyn Avenue School
22, 24, 27 William L. Buck School, Horton Avenue
