Diane Neal survives another challenge to her candidacy
KINGSTON, N.Y. >> A petition to appeal a decision that allowed independent candidate Diane Neal to appear on the ballot in New York’s 19th Congressional District race has been denied.
The state Court of Appeals on Thursday rejected a petition filed by Rhinebeck resident Rima Liscum that sought permission to appeal a decision by the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court that cleared the way for Neal, a Hurley resident and TV actress, to appear on the Nov. 6 ballot.
The Appellate Division ruling overturned a lower-court decision that Neal’s petitions for an independent line on the ballot lacked sufficient signatures.
The Appellate Division sided with Neal’s contention that the invalidation of her petitions should be dismissed because she was not properly served notice of the deficiencies. Liscum sought permission to appeal on the basis of the state Board of Elections requirements for serving notice.
“This is a win for those who are tired of power brokers shoving the two-party system down our throats,” Neal said in a press release on Thursday. “We surpassed the high number of signatures they required us to get, so they challenged that. Then they went to court to appeal our victory, that got us on the ballot. There are no more obstacles they can throw at us. Today’s a win for democracy.”
Neal, who played an assistant district attorney on the TV crime drama “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” is one of three candidates running against first-term U.S. Rep. John Faso, R-Kinderhook. The others are Democrat Antonio Delgado, a Rhinebeck resident, and Green Party candidate Steve Greenfield of New Paltz.
New York’s 19th Congressional District comprises all of Ulster, Greene, Columbia, Sullivan, Delaware, Schoharie and Otsego counties; most of Dutchess County; parts of Rensselaer and Montgomery counties; and a small piece of Broome County.