WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2009: October 6, 2009:
Lou Bruno Co-President of the CNA requests residents to e-mail questions to be asked of the candidates to [email protected].
The debate presents intriguing falling out of bedfellows:
Hockley first came to prominence in the city in 2001 when he was nominated for Common Council by the Democratic City Committee. Adam Bradley was the then chair of the City Democrats. In the election that year, Hockley and incumbent city Councilman Larry Delgado were in a close race as returns came in. Returns from District 18, a heavily Republican District, were running with Hockley slightly ahead. The Republican Party challenged the result, and in the subsequent court case the machine was opened and the machine was found to be jammed. Judge Francis Nicolai of New York Supreme Court ruled that there should be a new election in the jammed machine district. Bradley, acting as Hockley’s attorney appealed the decision.
The Appellate Court in Brooklyn upheld Nicolai’s decision, declaring only that the election should be citywide. Bradley carried the Hockley standard to the New York State Court of Appeals which threw out the Nicolai/Appellate Court rulings, on the grounds argued by Bradley that the courts do not, in election law, have the authority to call for new elections. Subsequently, Delgado filed a quo warranto action with the Attorney General (then the ill-fated Eliot Spitzer), which subsequently ruled in 2002 that Delgado had to be seated (based on affidavit evidence showing voters who voted would have voted for Delgado) on the Common Council and Hockley removed.
Hockley won reelection in 2005, ousting Delgado from the Council. Now, ironically Hockley and the Westchester County Board of Elections are embroiled in another case that is being appealed in Appellate Court. Hockley failed to return his Certificate of Acceptance after submitting 2,000 signatures to get on the ballot in November as an Independent, prompting the Board of Elections to deny him the ballot on a paperwork technicality.
Ironically, too, Judge Francis Nicolai, three weeks ago ruled Hockley should be put on the ballot because the Certificate of Acceptance was primarily, in the Judge’s written opinion, a vehicle to refuse an unwanted nomination. The Board of Elections is appealing the case to the Appellate Court which has the case at this time.
Hockley has accused Bradley of being afraid Hockley will beat him, and instrumental in puppeteering the Board of Elections to contest the Hockley placement on theNovember city ballot. Bradley has said he welcomes an opponent, and has denied any manipulation of the Board of Elections. Hockley has claimed the Board of Elections is part of the Democratic Party power structure which refused to renominate Hockley for his seat on the Common Council.