The Independent View: Election to Replace NY Rep. Anthony Weiner

Judging by vote tallies, Anthony Weiner's constituents were satisfied with his congressional service. In the most recent election, they backed him with 61% of the ballots. But he punished them with behavior that cost them both representation and seniority. Now, Gov. Cuomo should not double the penalty by handing the choice of Weiner's successor to the Queens and Brooklyn Democratic Party bosses.

It has been widely reported that voters will go to the polls in a "special election" to pick someone for the seat that Weiner is vacating. The implication is that district residents will get to consider a field of contenders. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The term "special election" has a particular meaning in New York. It signifies that the Democratic Party bosses will place one and only one candidate on the ballot and present just that person to the voters for ratification. There is another way to go about it. One that, by an accident of timing, fits expeditiously with the 2011 calendar for conducting a previously scheduled off-year election.

The procedure calls for candidates to gather ballot petition signatures, present them to the Board of Elections by July 14 and face one another in a Democratic primary on Sept. 13, followed by a Nov. 8 general election. That's what Weiner did in first running for City Council in 1991, a primary in which he won by only 200 votes. That's what Weiner did in his initial 1998 House campaign, a primary contest in which he bested the competition by fewer than 500 votes. And that is what the law allows when an elective office is vacated in New York.

Gov. Cuomo has two choices as to how he will fill The seat, and the other four seats, in the coming months: He can call a boss-driven "special election" or he can allow candidates to vie in open primaries.

No one disputes that the law gives the governor the power to go with either option. In the case of filling a vacant congressional seat, however, some argue that Article I of the U.S. Constitution ties Cuomo's hands. They point to a provision mandating that governors "shall issue Writs of Election to fill" vacancies in the House of Representatives instead of appointing a new member. They then say a) that this requires Cuomo to issue an order; b) that he can only "order" a special election; and c) that the Constitution thus bars full voter participation.

Cuomo should not insult Weiner's constituents to the benefit of bosses Joe Crowley of Queens and Vito Lopez of Brooklyn. Nor should he impose "special elections" on residents of the legislative districts where seats are vacant. The governor should give all the voters the complete say they deserve.

Even before the disgraced Democrat finished his resignation speech Thursday, elected officials and political operatives were jockeying for his congressional seat - even though it could come with an eviction notice. Redistricting could knock Weiner's Queens-Brooklyn district off the map, but it's still a seat in Congress - and at least nine Democrats and two Republicans are said to be mulling the job.

"You'd be a congressman and anything can happen if you're a congressman," said Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Queens), who said he's "not actively lobbying" for the gig but "wouldn't rule it out." "At least for the next year and a half that that seat is in existence, the district is going to need a very capable, aggressive legislator to represent the needs of the district," added Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Queens). "The thought of doing it is very sobering."

Other Democrats in the mix include Queens Council members Jim Gennaro - who said he'd be "an excellent candidate," but hadn't made up his mind - Elizabeth Crowley, Peter Vallone, and Mark Weprin; former Council members Melinda Katz and Eric Gioia - and a labor lawyer named Cody McCone. All have said they've been approached about the job, though none actively declared their candidacies amid uncertainty over how the seat will be filled.

Meanwhile Republicans see an opportunity. Bob Turner, the GOPer who took nearly 40% of the vote against Weiner last year is mulling a run. So is Councilman Eric Ulrich and construction worker Andrew Sullivan, who was involved in protesting a proposed mosque near Ground Zero. "The district is trending Republican and with all that's going on, I believe we have a good chance to capture that seat," said Queens Republican boss Phil Ragusa.

The other options for the Governor is to wait until the General Election to save money or since NY will lose one seat of the two seats in downstate from the 2010 Census, this seat could be eliminated. Do the Dems put in a place holder, who would want that seat? The Repubs could use this to give a new candidate exposure for future elections.

With the theme of this blog, an Open Primary were all the registered voters in this district picking their next representative is the only option for the Governor.