LaShawn Henry To Appeal Court Decision To Remove Her From The September 13th Democrat Primary

Yesterday’s decision to remove me from the ballot for the September 13^th Democrat Primary Election was a small step back for me in my bid to be elected as the New York State Senator from the 30^th District – but a giant step back for democracy and open elections. That’s why I intend to appeal that decision – and to keep on fighting to get back on the ballot until I win or run out of options.

For those of you who have not been following this matter, let me provide you with a quick summary of the relevant facts:

Because I do not believe that Brian Benjamin has done anything to improve the lives of the residents of the 30^th District, I decided to run against him in the Democrat Primary.

In order to get on the ballot, I had to get at least 1000 registered voters to sign my petition.

In all, I collected more than 3,000 signatures – and despite Brian’s attempt to get many of those signatures declared invalid, the New York City Board of Elections certified my petition – and place me on the ballot for the September 13^th election (In doing so, the Board rejected more than 900 of Brian’s challenges to individual signatures.

But even before the Board had finished reviewing my petition, Brain initiated a lawsuit against me and the Board of Elections because of the fact that my petition also included the name of Jumaane Williams, a candidate for Lieutenant Governor.

Although the issue raised by Brian had never been addressed in New York State, the court went along with the recommendation of the Special Referee who heard both sides of the argument – and removed me from the ballot.

I have hired an attorney, Susan Russell – and we will be filing an expedited appeal with the Appellate Division. If that doesn’t work, we‘ll be headed to the New York State Court of Appeals – which is highest level state court in New York.

Although I was hoping that Brian would not resort to political tricks and legal mumbo-jumbo to avoid facing me in the election, I supposed he felt that he had to do so because of his record – or rather his lack of a record – as a State Senator. Still, it says something about Brian that he would rather suppress the voting rights of his own constituents than take the chance of getting beaten in a fair and open election.

This is the same Brian Benjamin who claimed in his most recent newsletter that he is devoted to voters’ rights. Believe it or not, he actually used the phrase “Your vote is your voice” – which I certainly hope that voters will remember on September 13^th.

As I have previously noted, Brian is just another “old school” politician who believes that his most important job is to get re-elected – and who knows that the easiest way to do that is to ensure that the voters in his election district never get a chance to vote for anyone else. Well, I have a message for Brian -and it’s this: The voters in our district are a lot smarter than you think – and they’re not going to support someone who’s too afraid of having to go through the elective process to get re-elected. People do not like having their right to vote suppressed – especially by an arrogant incumbent who apparently thinks that he’s now entitles to the office he holds.

Lyin’ Brian may believe that the court’s decision to take me off the ballot means that he’s now assured of being re-elected. Well, he couldn’t be more wrong because far from being over, the war has just begun.

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My thanks to Bertha Lewis, the Executive Director of The Black Institute and a leader in our community, for her support for fair and open elections. Here’s her Tweet from a couple of days ago:

TheBlackInstitute‏ @TheBlackInst
Why are you trying to knock people off the ballot @BrianABenjamin? Just have a contest? What are you afraid of, Brian? Everyone has the right to run. Unseemly and undemocratic.

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CONTACT: LaShawn Henry: (646) 372-2195 – LHenry422@gmail.com – www.VoteLaShawn Henry.com
Democratic District Leader for the 68^th Assembly District-Part D
&
Candidate for the New York Senate’s 30^th District

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District Leader LaShawn Henry

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