Access Denied

Suzanne McDonough, candidate for Carmel Town Board, will not be on the Independence Party line in this year’s election, Supreme Court Justice Andrew O’Rourke has ruled. The decision is the latest in a series of setbacks for the reconstituted Putnam County Independence Party, which has failed to reform itself after collapsing two years ago.

McDonough, a member of the Independence Party, will appear on the Democratic line along with Marc Pekowsky for a Town Board seat. Ironically, Mc- Donough’s daughter, Jessica, is the chairman of Putnam’s Interim Independence Party Organization.

“I just feel bad for the people who signed my petitions,” McDonough said. “They deserve their voice.”

Judge O’Rourke’s decision upholds a ruling by the Board of Elections that McDonough’s petitions were invalid because they were not filed with a proper cover sheet. O’Rourke took time to criticize the laws in his ruling, but he followed them nonetheless.

The incident follows another ruling Judge O’Rourke issued on August 5, affirming the New York State Independence Party’s right to have only its endorsed candidates appear on the ballot in September. This ruling struck down an attempt by the recently reconstituted Putnam County Independence Party to have its own candidates on the Independence ballot line.

The Putnam County Independence Party has not collected the required number of signatures of registered voters to qualify as a recognized affiliate of the Independence Party. An interim organization, under state law, has no authority to issue endorsements.

Consequently, the state party can place candidates it prefers on the local ballots.

The Westchester Independence Party, one of the most influential county affiliates, had primary say in determining which candidates received the state party's endorsements in Putnam County. In Southeast, this has led to accusations of bad faith and pay-for-play politics. Town Council candidates Matt Neuringer and Joe DePaola contributed $1,000 to a Westchester chapter of the Independence Party, and were later endorsed by the state party over the objections of Putnam’s Interim Independence Party.

“Every single candidate who got the Independence line in Westchester County donated to the Independence line,” Neuringer said. “Every politician who got the Republican endorsement donated to the Republican Party. Are they all paying for endorsements? They knew the situation. I called Jessica 15 times to find out who they were endorsing. And she didn’t have the decency to call back. We’re endorsed by the Independence Party because we are the Independent candidates”

The Independence Party endorsements are often crucial in getting candidates elected. Young people and many who are disillusioned with the two national parties register in the Independence Party, and the party line allows voters who would normally never vote for a one party, to vote for its candidate under the banner of the third line. In the last town council election in Southeast, Roger Gross won his seat by only 48 votes. The Independence endorsement he received more than provided his margin of victory.

Though the party plays an important role in most New York State elections, its agenda is difficult to discern. Its state website states that it aspires to put an end to budget deficits, and diminish the role of campaign contributions in politics. The party has made attempts to form a coherent ideology in the wake of the Perot and Buchanan presidential campaigns, but local activists often capture it for their own boutique agendas. Its endorsements often seal an election in a close contest, and yet victory for its candidates cannot be correlated with victory for any one set of principles or another.

Political insiders suggests disagreement between the local interim-Putnam County Independence Party, and the state party originate in a turf-battle between State Senator Vincent Leibell and Republican Committee Chairman Anthony Scannapieco, who have been struggling for political control in Putnam County since Willis Stephens ran against Scannapieco for party chair.