Special election timing uncertain
Ryan announces bid to fill Delgado’s seat; Molinaro accuses Dems of partisanship
Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan said he will be running in the August special election to fill the congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, who is poised to become the next lieutenant governor of New York.
“I’m thrilled to announce that I am running for Congress in the special election to succeed (Delgado) this August!” Ryan tweeted Tuesday. “I have spent my entire life in service to this community, and I’m excited to continue that fight in Washington. Please retweet to spread the word.”
Delgado quickly followed it up and endorsed Ryan in the special election.
But questions posed to Gov. Kathy Hochul and the campaign teams of Ryan or Delgado elicit responses which they will not commit to an official timeline for Delgado to resign, which would set the clock for a special election.
“We are working on the timing, the proper transition,” Hochul said Wednesday when asked about the timing. She added that she would make an announcement on when Delgado will be sworn in as lieutenant governor in a “matter of days.” (Hochul pledged when she transitioned to the position of governor to have the most transparent administration in the history of Albany.)
If Hochul was to formally make Delgado her second-incommand in the coming days, it would mean that a special election to fill his 19th Congressional District seat would need to happen in July, according to the state Board of Elections.
The process sets out that within 10 days of Delgado resigning from Congress, Hochul must issue a proclamation stating that on a certain date within the next 70 to 80 days, there will be a special election fill his seat.
Ryan’s campaign spokesman Daniel Torres said Wednesday that Ryan indicated there would be a special election in August. That assertion was not based on any “special insight” other than the governor’s public comments, which had been that the official appointment of Delgado as lieutenant governor would occur by the end of the month.
Torres said they believed the election would fall on the same day as the Aug. 23 primary, to be able to save taxpayers money in holding multiple elections in a short period.
If Delgado is appointed lieutenant governor by the end of the month, according to the Board of Elections, the earliest date possible the special election could be held would be Aug. 9.
Delgado’s new campaign spokesman, Madia Coleman, said Wednesday she didn’t have any clarity on when Delgado would resign from Congress.
Political observers have noted that a Democrat would benefit from holding the election on the same day as the scheduled primary because it could increase voter turnout, which typically benefits Democrats.
Ryan’s opponent in the special election, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, a Republican, accused the Democrats of “manipulating it for partisan benefit.”
“This is how it’s done in Albany,” said Molinaro, who ran for governor in 2018. “They move all the chairs around. They organize the room how they want it without including anyone else ... and then they present it to you as if it’s the only way we are to govern.”
The special election would determine who serves out the remaining months of Delgado’s term, enabling that winner to also head into the general election in November as an incumbent office holder.
The dynamics of that and many other races in New York shifted on Monday when a court released new proposed political boundaries after Democrat-drawn lines were struck down as unconstitutional due to rulings that found they had manipulated the process for political gain. The lines shifted dramatically from expected boundaries, leaving Molinaro slightly outside of the future 19th district, although he said he still plans to run for office in that district. Ryan said he would instead run for the newly created 18th district.