Coronavirus prompts Queens pols to cancel petitioning and in-person campaigning
/
Mel Gagarin wrote an open letter, signed by nearly 40 candidates for elected office, urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to alter petitioning rules amid coronavirus anxiety. Photo via Gagarin
By David Brand
What began as a letter from an insurgent candidate for a Queens Congressional seat has turned into a movement among candidates and incumbents across the borough: Stop petitioning and in-person campaigning.
Fear and uncertainty around the Covid-19 coronavirus prompted Mel Gagarin, a candidate challenging U.S. Rep. Grace Meng in New York’s 6th Congressional District, to write an open letter asking Gov. Andrew Cuomo to change petitioning rules ahead of the June primaries. Candidates must secure a certain amount of signatures from registered voters to appear on election ballots, but would-be signers say they are concerned about sharing pens or personal space with petitioners during the illness outbreak.
“Given the seriousness of the Covid-19 outbreak, I and the undersigned are writing to ask that the petitioning requirements be suspended or altered for the upcoming election for declared candidates,” wrote Gagarin in the letter signed by nearly 40 other candidates for elected office in Queens, including another candidate in NY-6, Sandra Choi.
“We are taking preventative measures on our own level, but our state government taking this step to further reduce harm would be both a benefit to our democracy, and to the public health of New Yorkers at large,” the letter continues.
Cuomo has altered the rules before. Just last year, he signed a law that reduced the number of required signatures necessary for candidates to appear on the 2019 state primary ballot after a new law moved those elections from September to June.
Cuomo’s office did not respond to an email asking whether he would alter the petitioning rules Wednesday.
In the days since Gagarin and the other candidates published the letter, the effort to change petitioning requirements has received support from veteran elected officials, as well.
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney announced Thursday that her campaign would stop soliciting signatures.
“Out of an abundance of caution and due to concerns about public health and safety, my campaign is immediately suspending efforts to collect further petition signatures for ballot access,” said Maloney, who has represented parts of Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan in Congress since 1993.
Two of Maloney’s 12th District challengers, Peter Harrison and Lauren Ashcraft, signed Gagarin’s letter.
Councilmembers Jimmy Van Bramer and Costa Constantinides backed the proposal in tweets Thursday. Constantinides, a candidate for Queens borough president, went a step further, announcing that he would stop campaigning in-person Thursday, just two days before early voting begins in the special election for Queens borough president.
Instead, his campaign will “transition to calls, texts and emails to protect the people of Queens. To be clear: we’re still running, Constantinides tweeted. “Safety is our top priority. We have to protect our team, volunteers & all residents.”
Candidates have also called for a change to petitioning requirements ahead of the primary for the Assembly District 31 seat vacated by Michele Titus, who was elected to the Civil Court bench. The ballot is set for the April 28 special election, but candidates must also secure 500 valid signatures to appear on the June 23 primary ballot.
Democratic District Leader Richard David, who has the support of the Queens County Democratic Party, said he is “in favor of moderating the petitioning requirements to protect campaign volunteers and our residents.”
Khaleel Anderson, a community board member and community activist seeking the support of the Democratic Socialists of America, described how typically active voters in parts of Southeast Queens, like Deerfield, have been reluctant to open their doors or share pens. Others, he said, “use tissues or napkins and request hand sanitizer or refuse to sign at all.”
“We hope the governor considers lowering the amount of signatures necessary to achieve valid access,” Anderson said. “Public health is more important than the arbitrary political process that doesn’t fully engage voters.”
