Published: July 2, 2016
Publication: NY Daily News
By Barbara Ross
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference at 7 World Trade Center on Wednesday, June 1, 2016 in Manhattan, N.Y. Renderings of LaGuardia Airport were released as LaGuardia Gateway Partners — the consortium that’s redeveloping the airport — officially inked a lease agreement and financing plan for the $4 billion redevelopment of LaGuardia Airport’s Central Terminal B. The redesigned terminal — a priority for Gov. Cuomo, since Vice President Joe Biden’s quip that the airport is fitting for a third-world country — will feature two pedestrian bridges, a layout that can cut down on gate delays and more natural light. (James Keivom/New York Daily News) (JAMES KEIVOM/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)
Bernie Sanders supporters asked a Manhattan judge late Friday to invalidate the election of Gov. Andrew Cuomo as chairman of the New York State delegation to the Democratic National Convention.
In court papers, a group of supporters said that Cuomo’s election to the post on at a party meeting on June 21 violated the state election law because Michael Reich, counsel to the state party, “bulldozed” Cuomo’s nomination and election by calling for a vote by acclimation instead of counting ballots.
Their attorney, Arthur Schwartz, said the room was full of non-delegates and the state committee members running the meeting who were afraid that Cuomo would lose a vote count.
He said the vote would have been just symbolic because supporters of Sanders and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton agreed before the meeting that Cuomo would have no opposition.
Schwartz said the Sanders supporter went to court to make a point: At the upcoming convention “they don’t want to be treated like ‘You lost. Get lost.’”
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders pauses while speaking to the press outside of the West Wing following a meeting with US President Barack Obama on June 9, 2016 at the White House in Washington, DC.Sanders said he will meet with Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton soon to ‘work together.’ / AFP PHOTO / Mandel NganMANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
They want to have some impact on the party’s platform, he explained. Laurence A. Levy, a lawyer for the state committee, insisted that the court had no power to intervene on how a political party conducts its business and state election law doesn’t apply to this vote.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Stallman ordered the parties to return to Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday to argue their case before another judge.