Will the Electorate Have the Opportunity to Vote for Merola & Naughton? Not if Berland Can Stop It

A lawsuit brought forth by Susan and Sandy Berland may be decided on Monday, August, 3, 2015.  Sandy Berland who is an attorney and the husband of incumbent Huntington Town Board candidate Susan Berland has filed a lawsuit challenging the petitions of two of his wife’s competitors.   This has become a standard practice in an attempt to keep competition off election ballots.

The general objection was filed against the petitions submitted by William Naughton and Andrew Merola.  Naughton and Merola each filed petitions with the intention of running in the Democratic Primary which will be held on Thursday, September 10, 2015.  Whichever two candidates win the primary will be on the ballot for Town Board Council in the general election.  Also attempting to get on the ballot is Keith Barrett.  Along with Susan Berland, he is the chosen candidate by the Huntington Democratic Committee. His petitions were not challenged in the lawsuit.

William Naughton

An individual who is interested in running for office is required to obtain a certain number of signatures from individuals who are registered in the party for which line they are seeking.

In this case, to get on the ballot as a Democratic candidate, 1000 valid signatures are required.  There are many ways that a signature can be considered invalid including mismatching address, not registered with the correct party or if an individual signed more than one petition.  In that case the first petition they signed would hold up.

Andrew Merola submitted approximately 1100 signatures and William Naughton submitted approximately 1500 signatures.

Defending a lawsuit of this nature may incur expenses of $10,000 to $30,000.

Andrew Merola

The court’s decision was postponed from Monday July 27, to Friday July 31 and then again to Monday, August 3.