The judge who invalidated Bedford Town Board candidate Mary Beth Kass' designating petition for an Independence Party primary denied a request for the related lawsuit to be reargued.
"Respondent has failed to demonstrate that this Court overlooked any relevant facts or misapplied any controlling principle of law in reaching its prior decision," Judge J. Emmett Murphy wrote.
The denial is the end of Kass' attempt to force a primary for the party, which gave its endorsement to the Democrats. Because there will not be a primary, this means that Democratic council seat candidates will receive its ballot line in November.
"I am disappointed but I accept the decision," Kass told Patch.
The final request came days after Murphy's Aug. 2 decision to invalidate Kass' petition, which was based on a lawsuit filed by Democratic opponent Meredith Black. An attorney for Black argued that the petition was invalid because Kass' documentation for switching her enrollment from the Republican Party to Independence Party was not received by the Westchester County Board of Elections until Oct. 13, 2012, a day past the deadline. Kass, who is running on the Republican ticket, contended that she was a member of the party, with her attorney arguing that an Oct. 12 postmarked date for the enrollment documentation should have counted instead.
Although Kass will not be on the ballot, other Republican candidates are trying to win Independence Party backing. Supervisor candidate Don Scott and Town Clerk Boo Fumagalli are pursuing the opportunity to ballot route, a different type of petition method that does not require party membership but only allows for write-in votes, and Town Justice Erik Jacobsen, whose name will be printed on the ballot due to different rules for a judicial election.
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