Elijah Reichlin-Melnick has won the Democratic Party primary for the 38th state Senate seat over Clarkstown Town Clerk Justin Sweet, who has conceded the hard-fought, three-way contest to the Nyack trustee.
After counting thousands of mailed-in ballots and recanvassing machine tallies, Reichlin-Melnick leads Sweet by 921 votes for the Democratic Party line on Nov. 3, according to the Rockland Board of Elections.
The commissioners state there are 993 absentee ballots remaining for review by a state Supreme Court justice. Those ballots will be discussed in court on Friday before the commissioners begin work certifying the primary.
LEGAL ACTION: Justin Sweet takes legal action on ballots in Senate race, seeks to be named winner
NY PRIMARY: Sweet leads but Reichlin-Melnick confident in 38th state Senate race
Sweet has conceded the contest, realizing he would have to sweep the remaining votes to overcome Reichlin-Melnick's lead. Reichlin-Melnick claims those uncounted ballots come from areas where he's run strong. Spring Valley Trustee Eudson Francois sits third with 4,442 votes.
"After the results coming from both the Rockland and Westchester Boards of Elections in recent days, it's clear that I am not going to be the Democratic nominee for State Senate," Sweet said Friday in a statement. "This is deeply disappointing, not because of any hubris or ego. I didn't get into public service for the title or any sense of grandeur. I entered public service to do just that — serve the public."
Reichlin-Melnick took a victory lap as he prepares to face Republican William Weber on Nov. 3 for the two-year 38th Senate District seat representing most of Rockland and the Westchester County town of Ossining. Sweet remains on the Working Families Party line in November.
"I can now say with 100% confidence that when the final ballots from Rockland and Westchester are counted, we will emerge as the winner of the Democratic primary, and I will be the Democratic nominee for New York State Senate in District 38," Reichlin-Melnick said.
Reichlin-Melnick thanked Sweet and Francois for giving voters a choice in this primary.
"To all the voters who supported Justin and Eudson, I promise to work hard to unify our party,” Reichlin-Melnick said.
Richlin-Melnick and Weber will seek to succeed David Carlucci, the former Clarkstown town clerk who represented the county in the Senate for 10 years.
Carlucci gave up the seat to run for Congress to succeed Nita Lowey, D-Harrison. Mondaire Jones, a South Nyack Democrat raised in Spring Valley who graduated Harvard Law School and worked for the President Obama administration's Justice Department, has won the Democratic Party primary for the November ballot line.
After the polls closed on Primary Day June 25, Sweet garnered 6,482 votes to 4,594 for Reichlin-Melnick and 2,933 for Francois. There remained 15,024 uncounted absentee ballots, military votes, and affidavits left for review. Absentee ballots accounted for roughly 55% of the votes cast.
Sweet's lead came predominately from several thousand votes from the Hasidic Jewish bloc vote out of Ramapo. Reichlin-Melnick said he won four of Rockland's five towns.
With thousands of June Democratic Party primary absentee ballots uncounted, Sweet asked a state judge to oversee the process and place his name on the November ballot. The Rockland Board of Elections oversees the largest portion of the 38th Senate District.
The Democratic field featured blistering back-and-forths between Sweet and Reichlin-Melnick, with Francois mostly on the sidelines.
Reichlin-Melnick focused on Sweet's support from pro-gun advocates, including people affiliated with the NRA, and contending he would have voted against the state's gun-control SAFE Act.
Sweet countered that the self-described progressive Reichlin-Melnick received support from pro-Trump millionaire real estate tycoon Richard LeFrak, who financed an independent conservative political action committee, Hudson Voters for Change. The PAC sent out a mailer boosting Reichlin-Melnick's candidacy, though he argued he had no connection to the PAC or LeFrak.
The animosity heated up when Reichlin-Melnick publicly said he rejected a request from a Hasidic Jewish leader to promise to oppose an East Ramapo school district monitor who would have veto power over the board's decisions. The bloc leaders, who recommend candidates for thousands of voters to support, then backed Sweet, who said he didn't make any commitments other than to represent people equally to get the bloc support.
Weber, 50, the GOP candidate and a corporate accountant from Montebello, fended off Matthew Weinberg, 23, of Suffern, who once worked for Lowey, D-Harrison, and the late Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, while attending Arizona State University. Weber became the choice of the GOP leadership after Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann entered the race and soon decided against running.
During the campaign, Weber touted his civic work and years of advocacy for good government in Ramapo. His wife, Lee, is acting superintendent for the Suffern school district.
Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal. Read more articles and bio. Our local coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription.
"sweet" - Google News
July 11, 2020 at 12:24AM
https://ift.tt/32hrTeX
State Senate: Reichlin-Melnick wins primary as Sweet concedes after most absentees are counted - The Journal News
"sweet" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2PcPlld
https://ift.tt/2KSpWvj
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "State Senate: Reichlin-Melnick wins primary as Sweet concedes after most absentees are counted - The Journal News"
Post a Comment