UES Candidates Pledge Not To Challenge Petitions Amid Virus Fears

Upper East Side NY

08 February, 2021

10:13 AM

Description

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Six candidates running for the Upper East Side's open City Council seat announced a joint pledge Sunday not to challenge each other's required voter petitions, amid fears that gathering signatures in-person risks exposure to the coronavirus. State law requires City Council candidates to gather 450 valid signatures in order to appear on the ballot for the June 22 primary election. This year, however, candidates have complained that collecting signatures poses a needless health hazard to themselves, their staff, and others forced to hit the streets to canvass for signatures. Now, six contenders in District 5 have agreed not to challenge the validity of their fellow candidates' petitions — the first agreement of its kind in New York, according to one of the candidates, Rebecca Lamorte. "We trust that each candidate will responsibly collect the legal number of valid signatures to qualify for the ballot," reads the announcement, which each candidate posted on Twitter Monday afternoon. "The health and safety of our volunteers and neighbors is, and always will be, paramount." The six candidates taking part in the pledge are Billy Freeland, Rebecca Lamorte, Julie Menin, Kim Moscaritolo, Tricia Shimamura and Chris Sosa. The petition signature requirement to get on the ballot unnecessarily endangers candidates, volunteers, & New Yorkers. Proud to join my fellow candidates for City Council District 5 in this joint pledge: we will *not* challenge each other's petitions. #SafetyOverSignatures pic.twitter.com/GfA5iXJqiQ— Billy Freeland (@BillyFreelandNY) February 6, 2021 A seventh candidate, Marco Tamayo, has filed papers with the city but has done no visible campaigning. Ben Kallos, the incumbent District 5 councilmember, has vocally opposed petitioning-gathering and has introduced a bill that would eliminate the requirement entirely. Last month, dozens of candidates for office released an open letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, asking them to cancel petitioning requirements. And on Monday, more than 100 candidates filed a lawsuit against the mayor and governor, asking a court to declare the in-person petitioning rule unconstitutional. Of the five candidates who joined the District 5 pledge, Menin was the only one that did not also sign onto Monday's lawsuit. Tell Patch what issues matter to you in the District 5 City Council race. And read more about the candidates here.