Glen Cove 2015: A Local Election Benchmark

The following was submitted by Frank Scaturro. It is the follow-up to his previous article: What Lesson Will Nassau County Draw from Glen Cove Election 2015?

Glen Cove election results can be found here.

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On this local election day, the results in Glen Cove are noteworthy. Councilman Efraim Spagnoletti and first-time candidate Roderick Watson had stood up to the party bosses and on September 10 became the first candidates since 1994 to win a Republican primary in Nassau County against the Mondello machine. Since their primary victories, this supposedly Republican machine treated them horribly, even going so far as to distribute sample ballots with their names on the Republican line crossed out. Last night, Spagnoletti and Watson not only were elected to the Glen Cove City Council, but also won by the highest margins for that six-member body. This sends a clear message that you can stand up to the machine on principle and not only win, but thrive with voters hungry for change. Hopefully this will motivate others in local public office to stand up to the bullies whenever they are being pressured to betray their consciences.

The bad news is a consummate example of a cloud with a silver lining. Councilman Tony Gallo, the only enrolled Republican to run for mayor this year, was also mistreated by his party’s leaders. But he kept running after primary day because failing to do so would have denied the voters any alternative to Reggie Spinello, the incumbent mayor of New York’s most fiscally stressed city, who placated enough string-pullers to secure a ballot rigged with his name on all five existing party lines that put up a mayoral candidate. Relegated to his newly created Glen Cove United line at the very bottom of the ballot (Row I), Gallo received 44% of the vote. That is a freakishly strong showing on a ballot line that did not even exist six months ago. I’d be curious to know if ever in the history of New York State (and New York is the only state currently allowing fusion ballots) a candidate has polled such a high percentage so far down on the ballot, especially against an adversary running on both the Democratic and Republican lines.

New York needs to reform its election laws, which open the door to corrupt ballot-rigging by party leaders whose conflicts of interest trump the principles political parties are supposed to reflect. Even though he fell short, no astute observer could doubt Gallo’s accomplishment as a candidate. Although the Rocky analogy is overused in politics, I’ll say anyway that this reminds me of the first Rocky movie, when the main character stunned the boxing world even though he narrowly lost the fight. And don’t forget that Rocky I was followed by Rocky II.

Frank Scaturro, a partner at FisherBroyles LLP and former Republican and Conservative candidate for the House of Representatives in New York’s 4th Congressional District, was one of the attorneys representing Tony Gallo in his effort to stay on the ballot.