No ruling yet in suit aiming to remove candidate from 17th Congressional District race
The clock is ticking on a crucial decision involving one of the candidates in a closely watched political race in the Hudson Valley, the 17th congressional district seat.
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The clock is ticking on a crucial decision involving one of the candidates in a closely watched political race in the Hudson Valley, the 17th Congressional District seat. For a second day, court hearings in White Plains ended with no ruling on whether the candidate should be removed from the ballot.
A highly contested hearing Wednesday centered around Anthony Frascone who is running in the working families party for the 17th Congressional District seat. A group of voters want his name off the ballot. They claim Frascone's entire campaign is a sham.
"He is not actively participating in the electoral process in any way, no website, not practicing in debates. He is simply there as a name," says Keith Corbett, the attorney representing the in-district voters who filed the lawsuit.
They allege his name was put on the ballot to syphon votes away from democratic candidate, Mondaire Jones. Frascone beat Jones in the working families party primary. Since then, Corbett says Frascone hasn't been campaigning.
Officials with the board of elections in Dutchess, Putnam and Rockland counties say it would be difficult to take him off the ballot.
"As of Monday, over 13,000 ballots had already been sent out in Rockland County," said an attorney representing the Rockland County Board of Elections.
A poll released Tuesday shows republican Rep. Mike Lawler with 45%, leading Democrat Mondaire Jones who is at 44%. Frascone is at 3%. The poll was conducted by Emerson College Polling.
Frascone didn't show up for court Wednesday. He told News 12 over the phone that this is a painful situation. He says he won the primary and doesn't know why there is this push to get him off the ballot.
The judge overseeing the case says she has a lot to consider before making a ruling. There's no word on when that might be.
