Democrats allege fraud in mayoral recall petitions
By Dave Dellecese
WKTV.com
June 23, 2009
UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - A press conference held at Utica City Hall Tuesday questioned the legitimacy of a recent petition campaign to recall Utica Mayor David Roefaro. With both sides present, and an unexpected third party jumping into the fray, the press conference erupted into not one...but two controversies.
It began when the City of Utica and Oneida County Democratic Committees said they had received complaints that some citizens may have been duped into signing the "Recall Mayor David Roefaro" petition.
"The people have signed the recall petition, and have been confused, thinking this was a petition to get candidates on the ballot for November's election. So we're here to clear this up," said Mitch Ford, President of the City of Utica's Democratic Committee. "The voters of Utica need to know what they're signing. People have signed. They need to look at this."
The Democratic Committees allege that a similarity in the look of the recall petition form and a candidate petition form, along with language barriers are just some of the ways that residents may have been deceived into signing the recall petition for Utica Mayor David Roefaro.
But, the head of the Recall Roefaro initiative, William Newell, said that his volunteers state clearly who they are representing when approaching a potential supporter.
The committee said they had also received complaints that some of the petitioners have been going door to door, asking for monetary donations for the initiative.
"If you want to sign a recall petition, be careful," Ford said. "There's also been complaints of people soliciting money."
But Newell said his volunteers aren't even going door to door for petitions yet, sticking to public events, parks, and on the street, and are following petition protocol - let alone accepting donations.
"We announced from the beginning that we are not accepting any donations," said Newell, responding to Ford from the crowd during the press conference.
"Mr. Newell, how are you funding your team of legal experts," asked Ford in response from the podium outside City Hall.
"Pro Bono, sir. Pro Bono," Newell responded.
The conversation was cut short by William Barrie, head of the Oneida County Democratic Committee, who leaned in to Ford and said, "I wouldn't even get into it. Don't even get into it."
When asked if the committees were concerned if the growing number of signatures for the initiative could constitute a sign that there may be problems among residents with the current Democratic administration, the committee quickly questioned the legitimacy of the signatures gathered.
"Has the number actually been verified," Ford asked.
"947 unverified," NEWSChannel 2 Reporter Dave Dellecese responded.
"Well, you say that's unverified, I'd like to see that," Ford said.
However, Newell, said they make sure to ask if those who are signing are legitimate, registered voters, before taking the signature.
"We ask if they're a registered voter in the City of Utica," Newell said. "We have a list of 23,000 registered voters here in Utica with their addresses and phone numbers. And we verify every day on a daily basis whether it is a person who signed our petition. We cross it off if it's not valid. There's gonna' be sabotage on any campaign."
So just how many complaints has the democratic committee gotten that caused them to call a news conference Tuesday afternoon?
"We've had ten people call," Ford said. "But for every ten, you know there's much more."
With the legitimacy of the signatures collected so far brought into question by Ford, we asked if the committee had any way of validating that the "petitioners" being complained about were actually a part of the official recall initiative.
"They're carrying the petitions," Ford said.
"What do you have to say to anyone who may say this is a diversionary tactic to get people to not sign this petition?," NEWSChannel 2 Reporter Dave Dellecese asked.
"I can't comment on that," Ford answered.
With all the discussion of verification of signatures, NEWSChannel 2 asked if there was any effort on the part of the committee to verify that these people are a part of the recall before telling citizens to beware of it?
"That's not the committees job," Ford said. "That's the board of elections' job."
According to the city charter, if the initiative receives its almost 3,000 verified signatures, the Utica Common Council would then be forced to order a special election. Will it happen? Only time, and signatures will tell.
Candidacy announcement leads to second controversy
Amid the questions flying regarding the Roefaro recall and the Democratic Committees' claims of fraud, Utica resident Ned Smajic made his way to the podium, where he announced that he would be running for first ward of the Utica Common Council - a seat currently held by Frank Vescera.
Interrupting the news conference on the recall, Smajic weighed in on the topic of a language barrier deceiving residents who had signed the recall petition.
"Many people in our community, as far as Bosnians, have a language barrier," Smajic said. "They are being mislead. That is what I'd like to say."
Newell, still present, asked Smajic how many of those who had called to complain of deception were registered voters.
Smajic stood at the podium, unable to answer.
"How many?" Newell repeated.
"I'm running for common council," Smajic stated in response, not answering the question. "I'd like to announce that today."
Newell asked if Majic would be capable of providing a list of people who say they were the victim of deception. Majic did not respond.
"He's trying to bring these people in and make falsehoods, saying the Bosnian community's confused, other communities are confused," Newell said. "I'd like to get the names this gentleman said are confused, because we can go over the list of these names they say are on our petitions. I doubt if anyone in the Bosnian community is on our list, because we haven't even tackled the Bosnian communities yet. There's only American names on our list."
It was that comment that then sparked a second controversy, with Ford calling it "racist and disgusting," and Roefaro responding in a written statement, even though he, himself, was not present at the news conference to hear it.
"I am extremely disheartened to learn of Newell's comments against the Bosnian residents of our city, and his comments against anyone who was 'not American,'" Roefaro said in his statement. "this brings to light a concern that is far beyond a mayoral recall, he's insulted the very fabric of the United State and its rich, diverse history. Utica resident aren't 'just Americans.' His comments shed light on the deeper feelings he harbors, feelings he harbors against people of different cultures. His comments were hurtful. What is Mr. Newell's definition of American? Does it include the Italian American? The African American? The Spanish America, etc. I think Mr. Newell has shown his true beliefs today, and this recall merely serves to further his own personal agenda."
Contacting Mr. Newell to see what he thought of his statement being regarded as 'racist,' he had this to say:
"I meant that Bosnian names are only recognizable by their first and last names," Newell said by phone Tuesday night. "We're all Americans. We're all here in America - Irish-American, Italian-American. What I meant by American names is recognizable names like Jones, Smith, etc. Bosnian names are very identifiable. It wasn't meant to be racist at all. I meant to say the Bosnian names are very identifiable by the way they're spelled. We respect all races, creeds, colors. We're not in this to pin anyone against each other. We respect all in our community. We're in this together as a team. It doesn't matter who you are, we're all citizens of Utica. We're looking for a mayor that's transparent that will work for the citizens. When we come to America, no matter where we're from, we take the citizenship test to become Americans. Here, we're all Americans. As I was trying to explain, it was not meant to be anything racist. I work with anyone no matter who they are."
WKTV.com
June 23, 2009
UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - A press conference held at Utica City Hall Tuesday questioned the legitimacy of a recent petition campaign to recall Utica Mayor David Roefaro. With both sides present, and an unexpected third party jumping into the fray, the press conference erupted into not one...but two controversies.
It began when the City of Utica and Oneida County Democratic Committees said they had received complaints that some citizens may have been duped into signing the "Recall Mayor David Roefaro" petition.
"The people have signed the recall petition, and have been confused, thinking this was a petition to get candidates on the ballot for November's election. So we're here to clear this up," said Mitch Ford, President of the City of Utica's Democratic Committee. "The voters of Utica need to know what they're signing. People have signed. They need to look at this."
The Democratic Committees allege that a similarity in the look of the recall petition form and a candidate petition form, along with language barriers are just some of the ways that residents may have been deceived into signing the recall petition for Utica Mayor David Roefaro.
But, the head of the Recall Roefaro initiative, William Newell, said that his volunteers state clearly who they are representing when approaching a potential supporter.
The committee said they had also received complaints that some of the petitioners have been going door to door, asking for monetary donations for the initiative.
"If you want to sign a recall petition, be careful," Ford said. "There's also been complaints of people soliciting money."
But Newell said his volunteers aren't even going door to door for petitions yet, sticking to public events, parks, and on the street, and are following petition protocol - let alone accepting donations.
"We announced from the beginning that we are not accepting any donations," said Newell, responding to Ford from the crowd during the press conference.
"Mr. Newell, how are you funding your team of legal experts," asked Ford in response from the podium outside City Hall.
"Pro Bono, sir. Pro Bono," Newell responded.
The conversation was cut short by William Barrie, head of the Oneida County Democratic Committee, who leaned in to Ford and said, "I wouldn't even get into it. Don't even get into it."
When asked if the committees were concerned if the growing number of signatures for the initiative could constitute a sign that there may be problems among residents with the current Democratic administration, the committee quickly questioned the legitimacy of the signatures gathered.
"Has the number actually been verified," Ford asked.
"947 unverified," NEWSChannel 2 Reporter Dave Dellecese responded.
"Well, you say that's unverified, I'd like to see that," Ford said.
However, Newell, said they make sure to ask if those who are signing are legitimate, registered voters, before taking the signature.
"We ask if they're a registered voter in the City of Utica," Newell said. "We have a list of 23,000 registered voters here in Utica with their addresses and phone numbers. And we verify every day on a daily basis whether it is a person who signed our petition. We cross it off if it's not valid. There's gonna' be sabotage on any campaign."
So just how many complaints has the democratic committee gotten that caused them to call a news conference Tuesday afternoon?
"We've had ten people call," Ford said. "But for every ten, you know there's much more."
With the legitimacy of the signatures collected so far brought into question by Ford, we asked if the committee had any way of validating that the "petitioners" being complained about were actually a part of the official recall initiative.
"They're carrying the petitions," Ford said.
"What do you have to say to anyone who may say this is a diversionary tactic to get people to not sign this petition?," NEWSChannel 2 Reporter Dave Dellecese asked.
"I can't comment on that," Ford answered.
With all the discussion of verification of signatures, NEWSChannel 2 asked if there was any effort on the part of the committee to verify that these people are a part of the recall before telling citizens to beware of it?
"That's not the committees job," Ford said. "That's the board of elections' job."
According to the city charter, if the initiative receives its almost 3,000 verified signatures, the Utica Common Council would then be forced to order a special election. Will it happen? Only time, and signatures will tell.
Candidacy announcement leads to second controversy
Amid the questions flying regarding the Roefaro recall and the Democratic Committees' claims of fraud, Utica resident Ned Smajic made his way to the podium, where he announced that he would be running for first ward of the Utica Common Council - a seat currently held by Frank Vescera.
Interrupting the news conference on the recall, Smajic weighed in on the topic of a language barrier deceiving residents who had signed the recall petition.
"Many people in our community, as far as Bosnians, have a language barrier," Smajic said. "They are being mislead. That is what I'd like to say."
Newell, still present, asked Smajic how many of those who had called to complain of deception were registered voters.
Smajic stood at the podium, unable to answer.
"How many?" Newell repeated.
"I'm running for common council," Smajic stated in response, not answering the question. "I'd like to announce that today."
Newell asked if Majic would be capable of providing a list of people who say they were the victim of deception. Majic did not respond.
"He's trying to bring these people in and make falsehoods, saying the Bosnian community's confused, other communities are confused," Newell said. "I'd like to get the names this gentleman said are confused, because we can go over the list of these names they say are on our petitions. I doubt if anyone in the Bosnian community is on our list, because we haven't even tackled the Bosnian communities yet. There's only American names on our list."
It was that comment that then sparked a second controversy, with Ford calling it "racist and disgusting," and Roefaro responding in a written statement, even though he, himself, was not present at the news conference to hear it.
"I am extremely disheartened to learn of Newell's comments against the Bosnian residents of our city, and his comments against anyone who was 'not American,'" Roefaro said in his statement. "this brings to light a concern that is far beyond a mayoral recall, he's insulted the very fabric of the United State and its rich, diverse history. Utica resident aren't 'just Americans.' His comments shed light on the deeper feelings he harbors, feelings he harbors against people of different cultures. His comments were hurtful. What is Mr. Newell's definition of American? Does it include the Italian American? The African American? The Spanish America, etc. I think Mr. Newell has shown his true beliefs today, and this recall merely serves to further his own personal agenda."
Contacting Mr. Newell to see what he thought of his statement being regarded as 'racist,' he had this to say:
"I meant that Bosnian names are only recognizable by their first and last names," Newell said by phone Tuesday night. "We're all Americans. We're all here in America - Irish-American, Italian-American. What I meant by American names is recognizable names like Jones, Smith, etc. Bosnian names are very identifiable. It wasn't meant to be racist at all. I meant to say the Bosnian names are very identifiable by the way they're spelled. We respect all races, creeds, colors. We're not in this to pin anyone against each other. We respect all in our community. We're in this together as a team. It doesn't matter who you are, we're all citizens of Utica. We're looking for a mayor that's transparent that will work for the citizens. When we come to America, no matter where we're from, we take the citizenship test to become Americans. Here, we're all Americans. As I was trying to explain, it was not meant to be anything racist. I work with anyone no matter who they are."
