Say nominating petitions invalid in House race

The Ulster County clerk has taken his case to state court against the Republican candidate for the U.S. House district that includes Beacon.

Taylor Bruck, joined by Amee Peterson, deputy chair of the Kingston Democratic Committee, filed a challenge in state court on April 16, asking a judge in Albany to invalidate nominating petitions filed by Sharanjit "Sunny" Thind for the Republican and Conservative lines on the November ballot to challenge Rep. Pat Ryan, the Democratic incumbent.

Judge Kimberly O'Connor, a state judge based in Albany, scheduled a hearing for 9 a.m. on Monday (April 27).

Candidates were required to submit 1,250 signatures of District 18 voters for the Democratic or Republican lines and 509 for the Conservative line.

After submitting the petitions, Thind filed to refuse the nominations, and the Republican and Conservative parties named Jackie Auringer to replace him. Because the deadline for petitions had passed, Auringer must rely on Thind's petitions to get on the ballot.

The lawsuit names Thind, Auringer, members of the committees to fill vacancies for the Republican and Conservative parties and four state Board of Elections commissioners.

Bruck earlier appealed to the state Board of Elections to reject Thind's petitions, claiming the candidate had given an inaccurate home address and did not number the signatures as required, making them harder to review.

According to the legal filing, after Thind withdrew, each party on April 13 submitted a Certificate of Substitution by Committee to Fill Vacancies After Declination, Death or Disqualification and a Consent by Substituted Candidate with the state Board of Elections. Peterson filed objections the following day.

The lawsuit asks the court to order the state Board of Elections to conduct a "timely" review of the petitions. It lists 55 objections, among them that the petitions do not contain the minimum number of valid signatures, that some signatures were forged and that many people who signed do not reside at the addresses given.

On Monday (April 20), Auringer, who lives in Kingston, accused Ryan of hypocrisy. "Instead of competing, my opponent is trying to deny voters a real choice," she said in a statement to the Daily Freeman. "You can't talk about freedom and patriotism while trying to keep your opponent off the ballot. Maybe he thinks I'm someone he can push around. He wouldn't be the first to get that wrong."

Ryan's campaign said in a statement that he had submitted "more than 12,000 signatures to get on the November ballot. His opponent submitted zero."