Paterson will leave upstate N.Y. district without a congressman

Now the Democrats have figured out how to keep Republicans from picking up another seat in a special election. Confuse the whole situation and leave the seat vacant until the general election. Got to hand it to Governor Patterson that he is keeping up the Democrat tradition of putting politics over the interests of constituents this time in the 29th Congressional District of New York. They deserve better than what Patterson is proposing if anyone can figure out what that is. Bottom line is that Pelosi doesn't want another Republican in the House and Patterson is agreeing.

Can you imagine how the Democrats would have squealed if Republicans had done this?

A special election should have been called immediately to fill the vacancy. One question we would like to know is if his Congressional staff is still being paid and all the offices open? We received a recording to leave our name and number and they would get back to us which tells us there are some staffers still working.

The people of the 29th Congressional District have a right to represented in Congress but the Democrats are denying them that right. Would say it is a pretty safe bet that this district will not go Democrat in November. In fact, if this was not a GOP leaning seat Patterson would have called for an immediate election to seat another Democrat. His lack of action is telling.

New York voters better think long and hard before they vote for another Democrat for Governor but that is probably falling on deaf ears as they are so used to scandal in the Democrats ranks in New York.

Paterson will leave upstate N.Y. district without a congressman

By: David Freddoso
Online Opinion Editor05/13/10 6:02 PM EDT

New York’s 29th Congressional District has been vacant ever since Democrat Rep. Eric Massa resigned. And now the GOP-leaning seat will remain vacant until November. And possibly until next year.

New York Gov. David Paterson, D, has said he will call a special election Nov. 2 — the same day as the general election. And there is some disagreement within the Board of Elections, which has two Republican and two Democratic member, as to whether this is legal.
State law requires that special elections for Congress be held “not less than thirty nor more than forty days from the date of the proclamation.” Patterson would thus have to make his official proclamation in late September or early October for a Nov. 2 special election to appear on the ballot concurrently with the general election contest.

However, state law also stipulates that when a vacancy occurs in an election year, “a special election shall not…be called after September nineteenth of such year.” If Paterson makes his proclamation on Sept. 19, then the election would be held 44 days after the proclamation, which is not legal. If he makes it after Sept. 19, that is not legal either.

So Paterson is either planning an illegal special election, or he’s saying there will be a special election that isn’t really a special election — that there will just be an empty seat until a November general election fills it for a January inauguration.

Either way, this is a rather naked attempt to keep a Republican out of Congress by holding the district vacant.

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