The Independent View: Upheaval at NYC Board of Elections

Two Republican commissioners on the New York City Board of Elections have been replaced and two more resigned in hopes of ultimately keeping their positions, according to Republican New York City Council Minority Leader, James Oddo.

The resignations include the chairman of the board, Bronx Republican Commissioner J.C. Polanco, who might not be able to return. The commissioners from Queens and Brooklyn have been replaced, and the Manhattan commissioner also resigned, but may be able to return.

At the center of the upheaval is the New York City Council’s four-member Republican delegation, led by Mr. Oddo of Staten Island, who are taking advantage of errors by New York Republican County chairs and a little notice provision of state election law. The board, which gives final approval to the staff’s policies and votes whether or not to keep candidates on the ballot, is made up of five Democrats and five Republicans. Mr. Oddo said he wants energetic Republicans on the board representing the party.

The unexpected shift began when Queens Councilman Eric Ulrich noticed that the Queens Republican Party had forgotten to submit a letter to the City Council re-nominating its commissioner, Judith Stupp. It turned out that all five GOP county parties had forgotten.

State election law says that at “least thirty days before the first day of January … the chairman shall file a certificate of party recommendation [of board appointments] with the clerk of the appropriate local legislative body.”

That did not happen for any of the five Republican Borough chairs, and the appointment power now appears to fall to the City Council’s four-member Republican delegation, according to election law, though it’s also possible the move by Mr. Oddo and his colleagues could face a legal challenge.

Once word got out about the situation in Queens, according to Mr. Oddo, Brooklyn State Sen. Martin Golden lobbied for the replacement of Brooklyn Republican Commissioner Nancy Mottola-Schacher. She is getting bumped in favor of Simon Shamoun, a young lawyer and vice chairman of the Brooklyn Republican Party.

The new names are already listed on the Board of Elections website.

Fearing for their own positions, according to Mr. Oddo, Mr. Polanco of the Bronx and Manhattan Republican Commissioner Fred Umane maneuvered to try to keep them. On Jan. 31, Mr. Polanco resigned, then was re-appointed by the Bronx Republican Party, according to Mr. Oddo. And Mr. Umane submitted his resignation effective when a new Manhattan commissioner is appointed, which would presumably be Mr. Umane.

However, Mr. Oddo said that neither had the power to resign because their terms had already expired, and that the power to replace them lies solely in the hand of the council’s four-member Republican caucus. Mr. Oddo said that Democratic Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s office counsel also supports that view.

Next week, the Republican council delegation is expecting to meet with Manhattan and Bronx GOP leaders to determine whether Mr. Umane and Mr. Polanco should keep their posts.

Mr. Oddo said he also hopes his efforts will help break the longstanding gridlock in picking a new Board of Elections executive director. That requires the votes of six commissioners on the 10-member board, which means one member of the board must cross party lines. The board has been without an executive director since George Gonzalez resigned amid controversy in 2010.

As an independent activist, we have been asking for a change in the make-up of the board by replacing two of the board members and the future director with non-partisan independents.