Brian McGrath is getting a lesson in NY politics....He is now being sued by opponent Ken Blankenbush (technically some stand-in plaintiffs )who wants McGrath off the ballot on the Democrat and Independence lines....I am sure getting him off the Dem line is more important since nobody is going to win solely on a minor party line.
At issue are the nominating petitions submitted on behalf of the candidate...After a Board of Elections challenge, McGrath had barely enough Democratis signatures.
One very weak move by McGrath was notarizing a handful of petitions when his notary had expired.....He did renew it but apparently the signatures obtained in the interim are invalid. It's just a handful, but its a troubling sign that someone running for high office with the annoitment of June O'Neill would make such a rookie mistake.....
Meanwhile Republican Kenneth Blankenbush is trying to win a seat gerrymandered to be safe for the GOP.....but a seat Blankenbush was viewed as vulnerable in.
At the very least, Blankenbush will dust up McGrath and portray him as a lightweight unable to do simple political tasks...Or if Blankenbush is successful, he will win the seat in August.
Meanwhile, McGrath says he is certain he will stay on the ballot.
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65 comments:
Good for Ken, He proved by the number of signatures he got that he wants the job. Mcgrath will put as little effort into this as he can and make it out like Ken is the big bad politician. You have to earn my vote as I stated before. I want someone that will work for it and not cry fowl.
Barely enough? He had over 600. You only need 500. A little more than 50 got bounced because Ken didn't like how they crossed their t's.
As for the Notary, he renewed it in Lewis County on July 7th, and then solicited a very few signatures beginning on July 8th. The fact that Albany didn't get around to putting him back in their computer system until July 19th is just a sign of how dysfunctional our agencies are in Albany. To hold that against McGrath is moronic.
As for a lightweight, Jeff, you know better than anyone that it is the political parties that do the petitioning, not the candidates. When McGrath started getting updates that the committees were not getting the signatures they needed, he mobilized resources, and mobilized them fast.
And Mayor, why are you missing the big story here - a Republican in a gerrymandered Republican District apparently thinks the only way he can win is by not having anyone running against him on the ballot. That is sad, very sad, and unfortunately what politics has become all about.
I like that McGrath is a "rookie". In fact, that is the single reason I am voting for him. My local and state politicians have failed me for years, and I'm done with their hotair. Yeah, McGrath isn't a political pro, and has never petitioned before - and I like that fact A LOT!
7:31 - cry fowl? Um, that is Kennyboy who is doing that, even though there is no proof that McGrath hasn't qualified for the ballot.
Last time I checked, the number of signatures a politician collected for his petition never cut my taxes. It never helped create jobs. If Ken thinks the job of Assemblyman is to collect signatures on a petition, then I he's not for me. But, apparently, you care about that petty stuff, rather than thinking about issues and talking with struggling people in the district.
Seriously, cry fowl. The Big bird is the crier here he has realized from the lawnsigns and word of mouth around that the only way he can beat McGrath is to sue him. Sad, shameful, pathetic, Ken.
Don't get so testy when your guy gets in a predicament....It shouldn't have happened...The pros like June know that...
I hope he stays on as I think it will be a great race.....
Besides in case you are too in the tank to notice...my criticism of McGrath is tempered by Big Bird...Its all part of being fair and balanced !
Mayor-
Why don't you think June was involved? You might want to ask her first. She was working the petitions just as much as anyone. She is a pro. This is a Republican area, with a couple of weak Dem committees that don't have the horses June has.
Again, at the end of the day, all the matters that voters get a choice. I guess that is what Ken is afraid of.
if it were going the other way you would never hear a word. June and her people dropped the ball big time on this one. She was to set on getting Turbett off the legislature and forgot to get the assembly seat in line. Career politician and cant even get her cronies through the petition process. Turbett will still win. Mcgrath is out just watch and see. And Brian oh nice Brian remember if you want to run with the dogs you better learn to bark.
Blankenbush needs to cry somewhere else. He can't win on his own so he has to sue.
would want to make anyone run for office all this crap. God bless you all
This just got sent to me from the McGrath team:
Blankenbush continues his effort to deny voters a choice for State Assembly
“Mr. Blankenbush calls his lawsuit ‘a routine step parties follow,’ but Albany political tricks are part of the problem.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 29, 2010 Contact: 315-775-8313
LOWVILLE, NY – Statement from Brian McGrath (D, I – Lowville), candidate for the 122nd Assembly District.
“Today my petitions to run on the Democratic line were ruled valid by a bipartisan board at the NYS Board of Elections. However, that hasn’t stopped Mr. Blankenbush from continuing his crusade to deny North Country voters a choice on the ballot this fall. Like other establishment politicians, Mr. Blankenbush is taking his marching orders from Albany politicos wallowing in the political muck, rather than focusing on the issues that matter to North Country families.”
“Mr. Blankenbush calls this lawsuit ‘a routine step parties follow,’ but that doesn’t make it right. Just like his cut-and-paste “True North” plan written by Albany hacks, this cut-and-paste lawsuit shows us that Mr. Blankenbush lacks the personal commitment to serve the public well in the Assembly. Politics as usual like this does a disservice to the public, and I will not play these political games.”
“Unlike Mr. Blankenbush, I am focused on the real issues at hand; reforming government and putting an end to politics as usual, reviving the North Country economy and reducing the tax burden on our working families and small businesses.”
###
Visit McGrath for Assembly on the web at: www.mcgrathforassembly.com
"McGrath started getting updates..., he mobilized resources, and mobilized them fast." Put another way, he ran around Lowville two days before the petitions were due like a chicken with its head cut off and his numbers are still questionable.
Rules are for everybody to follow- it's not as easy as putting on a halo and saying it's so the voter's get a choice.
7:55 - it is sad that petition count is more important to you than getting young people reasons to live here and helping our farmers get paid more for their milk than they pay.
But, if you like Ken, I guess you like politics as usual.
I met Brian McGrath at the Farmer's meeting in Henderson last week. Ken wasn't there. Brian asked a lot of questions, talked with the farmers and actually seemed to give a damn. No, he didn't seem to be preoccupied with talking about his petition count, that's true. But he did take the time to drive to the meeting from Lowville (during the middle of his County Fair), and sit and talk with 50 plus farmers for almost three hours.
That matters to me. 1500, 1000, 700, 501 signatures, whatever, do not. I haven't been paid a decent price for milk in almost two years. Ken's 1500 signatures don't help me with that. Brian talking the time to talk to me, might.
Answer this question Ken, how many signatures did YOU personally collect? I thought so.
Don't think McGrath has been working hard? That's funny, his lawnsigns are everywhere in Lowville, Carthage, Copehagen, Governeur, Potsdam. The other day I saw one for Ken.
What a joke Ken is making our electoral process.
Let's dump all the career politicians, including long-term legislators who flip flop on wind farm votes depending on how sweet the deal is to them.
It's time for all new people. Perhaps we even need a few new mayors.
"Sues McGrath in bid to win now"
Only in America do voters not matter.
SHAME ON YOU KEN - You just lost my vote!
As a teapartier, I'm not suure who I will vote for, but I don't like the experienced politicians trying to keep new people off the ballot. They tried to do that with Doug Hoffman and failed. Hopefully they will fail again. Only voters should get to decided who they vote for, not judges in Albany.
When you guys started saying the wishes of voters do not matter, I thought you were talking about the Arizona law that was stopped by the Great One's lawyers. Then I realized it was something else altogether.
Now, isn't Shelly Sliver doing the same thing in his campaign, trying to get the other person off the ballot? 7:34 and Radioboy probably aren't offended by that, being party line followers and all.
What brains?
Has anyone ever stopped to think that part of the reason McGrath's Dem signatures were lower is because he was a Republican and has a lot of Republican support (that scares Ken) that cannot sign a Dem petition? No, I didn't think our elite media would ever stop to wonder if that was part of the story.
In Lewis County, McGrath's home county, he is very popular, but popular among lots of Republicans.
Don't judge his strength of his campaign based on his Dem signature numbers, Ken sure isn't, that is why he is trying to beat McGrath in court rather than let voters decide.
Ken is afraid of McGrath, plain and simple.
Let me put it this way Ken is a scumbag
Ken is suing ? huh, must be he is afraid of something. If Bbush really wants to win some votes, how about coming clean on Galloo Isle, the deals that were made;and how the taxpayers will get screwed when all said and done. The first step Ken is to be honest with the people; It is my opinion, you have not. Remember, people resemble thier pets, must be a weasel near-by.
Oh please people, if this had been the other way around June O'Neil and the Democrat Campaign Committee would be doing the same thing. No one is pure as the wind driven snow, especially politicians. This is part of the process and if McGrath gets bounced its because LEGALLY he didn't qualify. There isn't any other reason...no grand "right-wing conspiracy".
Ken is doing what any candidate in his position would...the goal is to win here folks. Politics is a competitve sport, a tough sport at times and the goal is to win. Brian didn't push the envelope and get a big number of signatures Ken had the resources to go through those petitions, challenge them and perhaps LEGALLY disqualify his opponent. It doesn't matter political party, Cuomo, Lazio, McGrath, Blankenbush, O'Neil, Coon...whoever they'd all do whatever is necessary to WIN. Believe anything else and you are kidding yourself.
Jeff, I think you're spot on here and these commentor's are clearly paid politcal hacks on both sides. I think most people understand that this is politics and if a candidate can toss his opponent off a ballot line, especially a major party line, they are sure going to persue it.
I am amazed that McGrath who I thought was a legitimate candidate for the Dem nomination for Congress was this disorganized with his petitions. I remember Dede getting tossed off a couple of minor party lines before...would be intersting to track that down, but never a major party line. 537 or 523 or whatever the number is McGrath allegedly has as vaild is horrible. I don't know if he was lazy or unprofessional with his notaries or if some Dem committee people dropped the ball, but a candidate, especially a new candidate, should be on top of that.
Doesn't bode well for his chances...if he even gets that far...
WOW...how did Aubertine get enough signatures? Was his numbers low in that Assembly district or did some of the Conservative Democrats in the district not carry for Brian McGrath? There has to be a reason and I'd hate to think it had to do with Brian's sexuality...Darrel is against gay marriage and this is a rural-conservative district.
I don't mean to disparage McGrath at all, but I think that is a legitimate question. Was there some kind of hesitation from some of the Catholic, pro-marriage conservative Democrats in St. Lawrence County?
9:53, no, their Districts don;t overlap that much. McGrath overlaps with much more of Griffo's district.
People who care about his orientation are not likely to be the Dems who carry petitions for the Dem party.
9:48 - yes, it is clear that the committees failed McGrath here. but to jump to the conclusion that it dooms him in a race is a leap too long to make. McGrath will get a lot of Republican support, watch and see. Also, don't underestimate the non-affiliated voters they have no taste for experience political pros like Blankenbush.
Oh, what fun petition signature counts are for the chattering class. Real voters won't give a crap about who had more signatures. It's all about who gets the most votes.
Oh, and remember when Ken's people said that losing the Indy line only mattered for the chattering class.
pot, kettle; kettle, pot.
Ken, stick to switching your views on wind as the wind blows.
There's no way that there's any grand Democrat conspiracy against McGrath, I just think that he was a little sloppy with his petitions. I do wonder where June was war-gaming this whole thing though. I know she's thought of this kid for a long time and thought highly of him. How could she let this get this far? She controls DACC, the locals parties are all scared of her and she could have called in a couple of favors to get this kid over the hump to at least a 750 signatures.
537 is a sad state of affairs in a bad year for us donkey's...thankfully I think the Republicans are going to split Doheny and Hoffman and we'll retain the Congressional seat.
After that we gotta save Darrel with everything we got...this kid is on his own.
Ah, thanks 958 I wasn't sure...were Maria's petitions shy then? I'm just amazed that he is in this place with such a razor-thin margin. Someone dropped the ball and we need to get to the bottom of it.
Regardless, voters won't even know any of this happened come late August/September when people actually start paying attention to politics.
Exactly 10:06!
sorry 10:06 but your boy won't be around next week let alone oct/nov. This may be a done deal, just the way it works. Still think if he wants my vote he has to work hard for it and 500 523 600 whatever does not show me hard work.
oh thats right and yes he is a real nice guy.Ken you bully stop that.
In case anyone missed it in the WDT last week, Lewis County Dem Chair Ed Murphy was pushed out of his chairmanship in favor of a new chair that McGrath has confidence in and picked. Word is that Murphy's committee fell about 400 signatures short of the target Murphy had promised McGrath.
Funny how everyone blames McGrath but overlooks this story that was right out there in the newspaper.
Go ahead everyone, bash McGrath for this, but don't think that Ken isn;t shaking in his boots about facing this guy.
Oh, and I LOVED Ken's "lazy" comment about McGrath. Wow, that was beyond ridiculous. How many new jobs have come to Jefferson County under the "ambitious" tenure of Kenny B? Right, thought so.
Get real people. The voters are about to send a message in November.
953 - I heard this a while back and it only really makes sense now that this whole petition mess is blowing up in McGrath's face. I heard that some Democrat muckity-mucks were worried about Aubertine not getting enough Indy signatures. I didn't think it was that critical, but knowing what Ritchie did collecting Indy signatures, I wonder if there was some kind of effort to get Darrel secured and McGrath got left out in the cold...
Indy's are done primarily by paid political people, but if what 10:22 says is correct then maybe the State Dem leadership made a choice and favored securing Aubertine over padding an Assembly candidate that may not win in a heavy Republican district.
I can definitely see that happening...Darrel is probably the only one, maybe June, who knows the truth there.
10:18 Ken has been working hard...plagarizing other candidates campaign platforms...working hard in the bars and on the golf course bragging about winning this race by knocking his opponent off the ballot...working hard memorizing whatever he is told to say...Keep up the hard work Ken!!!
The comment about Murphy is a complete fabrication.
What we've got here is simple- a candidate that was too inept to do things right.
Apparently it'smore fun to make cutesy comments on "Facebook" than do the hard work required. Now McGrath's "people" are making up stories sbout Murphy.
Real classy...
1027 that does make some sense because I was getting calls right up to the filing deadline to go out for Aubertine and I never got any calls for McGrath. (I'm a notary and a registered Dem, but not in McGrath's district.)
McGrath has a major endorsement coming that will help him secure the seat..
1036 - what happened? What is your side of the story? This idiotic district is so large that those of us in St. Lawrence County don't always know what's going on n Lewis. Was the Dem chair pushed out? Did he cause Brian to come up short and perhaps lose the line? Did Brian install a friendly chair?
1038 I wouldn't call Dede Scozzafava or the Carthage area Burto a major endorsement...
10:36, what exactly did McGrath do wrong? He submitted more than 600 signatures when he needed 500.
Get a life you loser.
Or the Central Trade's Union thugs that Scuzzyfava's hubby rules over...
Hey Bruce - Murphy was pushed out plain and simple. Only his couple of dopey buddies on the committee liked him (you included), and he was a disaster as a chair.
fabrication? right. The only fabrication is to suggest it was a fabrication
1040 - anyone who is involved in politics knows that submitting a hundred over the minimum puts you in an automatic court case. Major Party line's should have over a thousand signatures and it isn't that hard.
McGrath has no one to blame, but himself, unless as some above have presented that there was something else going on here...
knock unions all you want, they have people that get out the vote.
It matters.
10:43: Thanks Ken. Can you tell me how many signatures you personally collected?
HA...that didn't take much. Some endorsement, especially this year from a guy who couldn't even keep his own factory in Massena. Where's your Obama bailout now?
1045 why does it matter? I don't expect candidates to get signatures that's why you have a campaign team. Clearly McGrath's team failed him...blaming Blankenbush for doing what any candidate would do is just sour grapes.
Shelly Silver, the LEADER of the Democrat party, is suing his opponent to get off the line.
Ed Murphy is stepping down simply because after six years he wants to do other things.
No new chair has yet been decided on. The story you've gotten is simply intrigue and rumor.
Brian doesn't get to pick the Chair. If he thinks that he's gotten way too big for his pants.
Its all about the lawyers I think everyone should have a half dozen on hand at all times.This race would have been very nasty had it been able to move on.keep up the good work mayor.There are more democrats online trolling blogs these days its very evident they have reason to be worried....
You are all sick people. Get lives or go to bed.
I applaud candidates who step forward to enter this public service and face all you who have probably never met either guy take pot shots at them.
Let's just have an election that focuses on issues, not petitions signatures or copying agendas or whatnot.
Shame on us for creating this type of political climate.
June O'Neil and the Senate Dem's made a choice...they knew Brian was short, but they also knew Darrel needed the Indy line. They chose getting Aubertine the Indy line over helping McGrath pad his Democrat numbers...
Plain and simple folks.
10:48 aka Bruce. Pot-kettle, kettle-pot when it comes to getting too big for your britches.
I got news for you, not everyone wants to decimate the Lewis County economy like you do.
Oh, and you might want to check on that new chair thing. You might not be as influential in your party as you think you are.
I think 10:49 and 10:50 have said it best...good night folks.
Mayor, excellent discussion here...excellent.
Amen 10:52!
There is nobody on the Lewis yntCouDemocrat Committee named Bruce- imaginations run wild.
This race is sure attracting a lot of attention. How would have thought? And why can't people start using a name instead of always posting anonymous? It makes it easier to respond to someone's post if you know what other posts they made.
9:41 nailed it.
Politics is competition (ironic that "petition" is found within competition isn't it?)
Ken pursued a perfectly legal route.
For candidates, "the best election is no election"..............
The whole idea of PARTY bosses or czars or Fat ass Lazy union bozo's doing back room deals to control , and manipulate the vote is EXACTLY what is destroying this country.
The US will be a second world nation within a generation and damn well may be a 3rd world within a 2 generation span , Look at what is happpening in China right now -- too many college and university educated grads for TOO few jobs . Their economy is creating a whole new UNDERCLASS of college grads who because the economy is incapable of supporting thewm are living in squalor and working for less than blue collar wages IN CHINA !! Soon this will happen here 77% of HS grads are going to college now and the US economy is in Depression heading for Deflation and we NO LONGER make DURABLE goods or manufacture things which historically leads economies out of such dilemmas --
Yet our politicians and Party Big Wigs continue to FIDDLE while Rome Burns - Get off your lazy asses and pass responsible budgets , learn how to say NO to special interests and live within the ability to sustain
End of Rant -- but thtese creeps are clueless and are dropping the ball at the worst period of our history -- SHAMEFUL !!!!!!!
Ballot access laws in NYS are tough, strict and carefully designed for one purpose: to be tough, strict and carefully designed, but I digress...
Cost, time-consuming, always open to a court challenge and shameful.
Those running for office scream about competition in business, but woe is they who get competition for their seat.
Fraud is one thing, yes; but, simple innocent mistakes and believe me, I've seen a bunch of them are just that, innocent mistakes.
We need ballot access law changes and not petty (in many cases) fear and hype about P's and Q's...
Would you like to know the kind of campaign Brian McGrath is capable of? Just ask the people who live in his building in NY. None of you have a clue of what he is capable of!! It was dirty and sleazy and if anyone tried to run against him, they were harassed, and retaliated against to this day. He even called the police one night and there was a scuffle another night becuase the opponent simply wanted to give out flyers. He acted like a total sleaze at this building while ruling it. Fortunately he made himself a non voting member of the board while he is running for office, but he is still running things behind the scenes.
If you really care, check out the transcripts from a hearing with a Judge where he was ordered to run a clean election. He ignored the Judges orders and told the residents at the building to vote the opposite way then the Judge ordered him. This is who he is.
Brian will stop at nothing to have power, and when he got that power he did absolutely nothing with it other than spend the residents money on on wasteful attorney fees which did nothing for the building. Same problems still exist there because Brian was ineffective.
You need to vote on experience and on record. Brian's only record is the disaster he made at the condo in NYC and whatever it is that he accomplished with boy scouts. Other than that, he worked in a law firm as an associate for 8 years and was let go. He says that he was then hired as a partner in a firm. We all know that no one is going to bring you in as a partner unless you are bringing with you a significant client base. No one can seem to get the real story. Maybe a friend at the firm who offered to say he was a partner in order to help his political aspirations?
Get smart and don't vote for someone because of the verbal promises or that he shook your hand at a fair and seemed nice. It's time to get someone in the Assembly who will do something for us.
Jeff, this is what I was getting at a week or so ago when I said we needed to know more about McGrath and you got all huffy. Just what is his real life record? What has he done? Based on what we've just been told a lot more questions need to be asked.
Don't look to the Watertown Daily Times for that, though. Jude is in McGrath's corner 100%. He's now one of his Facebook buddies. Doesn't seem like good journalistic ethics to me.
Let's see, journalistic ethics, WDT, balance? What are you trying to say,6:15? Does this bias surprise you? I hope you're not paying for the WDT.
Whoa, wait a minute. Did anyone here read this? http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/condo...
This is how Brian McGrath ran his fancy condo building in Manhattan? By threatening people with $500 fines if they said mean things to people. I think Scooter has some 'splainin to do. Did somebody hurt your feewings, Bwain? Jeesh. This is like grade school. Not even high school. Why is this guy running? And why is anyone even taking him seriously? I'm not dippy about Blanenbush but at least he has a grasp of the constitution.
Yeah, if there was actually a legitimate journalist in the North Country they would sniff around McGrath's whole shady past as Condo President in NYC. Sad that this year it seems like Jude Seymour and the WDT all are stuck up Dem behinds...
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