Alice Kryzan has won a coveted second ballot line in Tuesday’s election for Congress in the 26th district, thanks to an appellate court decision striking Jon Powers from the Working Families Party line.

The Appellate Division of State Supreme Court ruled late Thursday that a lower court erred in deciding that Powers, Kryzan’s former rival for the Democratic nomination for the seat, must stay on the Working Families line even though he had moved to Washington, D.C., to take a job there.

“In the absence of evidence to the contrary, Powers’s letters to the Board and his concomitant submission of an out-of-state driver’s license and lease agreement conclusively establish his intention to establish residency outside of this state,” the appeals court said.

It in all very silly and really demonstrates the desperation of the Kryzan campaign for an insignificant amount of votes that will have no impact on the outcome.

Isn’t it about time we put an end to this electoral fusion nonsense?

More details to come.

UPDATE: The decision.

UPDATE: In the end I don’t think this decision will have any impact on the election. it seems to me that electoral fusion has just become another device that shifts the electoral process into the courts. In 2006, I, along with a majority of Massachusetts voters, defeated a proposal to bring electoral fusion to the state. Since I moved to Western New York, I have seen why it was the right choice…  Electoral fusion, from what I understand is meant to give more attention to the issues championed by these small minor parties, but instead is more about the candidate getting more lines on the ballot, as if that somehow matters.

UPDATE: Via Buffalo Pundit, here the Kryzan campaign’s whiney statement: 

Today, the New York State Supreme Court ruled in favor of Christopher Lee’s effort to keep Alice Kryzan from appearing on the Working Family Party line.

Anne Wadsworth, Sr Campaign Advisor said: “This is nothing more than the Republican machine’s attempt to make a mockery of the Democratic process. Jon Powers is not a candidate for Congress, he does not live in the state of New York and therefore by state law is ineligible to appear on the ballot. Clearly Republicans are struggling to come up with a winning message and are therefore playing Karl Rove-like antics in an attempt to steal the election. Alice got into this campaign because she believes that with new leadership we can bring jobs and prosperity back to Western New York. Republicans can play all the political games and use all the smear tactics they want, but we are confident that come November 4th Western New York will see through the mud and elect Alice Kryzan because she represents the positive change we need with integrity and independence.”

Cry me a river, Anne. Seriously.  Aside from the ridiculous left-wing talking points, the weight given to these minor party lines is, in  my opinion, overestimated.

But I do want to address the charge that the ruling was “nothing more than the Republican machine’s attempt to make a mockery of the Democratic process,” and Republicans are “playing Karl Rove-like antics in an attempt to steal the election.”

One of the cases cited in the ruling as precedent was Texas Democratic Party v. Benkiser. For those of who don’t recall, that was the case involving former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay in 2006. DeLay had not only officially retired, but had moved out of state. Despite these facts, and the fact that a replacement candidate had already been chosen, the state Democratic Party fought (successfully) to keep him on the ballot. So, no one, not even Anne Wadsworth, can pin this on “Karl Rove-like antics” when Democrats set that precedent.

Howard Dean-like antics would be more appropriate and accurate. 

On Monday, Jon Powers and I will be hitting the pavement and talking to voters in Rochester, Geneseo, Batavia and Williamsville about importance of this election to the working families of Western New York.

Oh really? Is Jon Powers in town campaigning with Alice? I thought he moved to Virginia for a job? It must be tough starting a new job in Virginia when you are campaigning in Western New York.

If Jon Powers really did move to Virginia for a job (which is the Kryzan campaign’s whole case for giving her the Working Families Party line) then what is he doing in Western New York? Has he really moved yet? Shouldn’t he be in Virginia, starting that new job or unpacking his belongings?

Perhaps he is only in Virginia in his mind.

The Working Families Party has gone to court to name Democrat Alice J. Kryzan its candidate in the 26th Congressional District contest against Republican Chris Lee.

Bob Brehm, spokesman for the state Board of Elections, said Monday that the board last week came to no agreement on the Working Families Party’s attempt to substitute Kryzan’s name on the line in place of Jon Powers, who earlier this year won the party’s nomination but subsequently lost the Democratic primary. Powers filed a statement indicating he moved out of state, a basis for removal from the line.

But Republican members blocked the move on the board level, with GOP election lawyers previously indicating the move did not fulfill constitutional requirements.

If successful, the move would provide a major boost to the Kryzan campaign, since she appears on only the Democratic line, while Lee has the Republican, Conservative and Independence lines.

Justice Joseph Teresi is slated to hear the case in in Albany on Thursday.

With two weeks to go before the election, i don’t think Alice will have much luck… and I don’t think it is really worth all the fuss.

Efforts are under way to make Democrat Alice J. Kryzan the new candidate of the Working Families Party in the 26th Congressional District, giving her another line on the ballot in her campaign against Republican Christopher J. Lee.

But Republicans are already challenging the idea, claiming there is no constitutional basis to remove the designated candidate – Democrat Jon Powers – from the ballot.

“If they try to file a certificate of nomination claiming he is disqualified, the question is how can he be disqualified,” said Ralph M. Mohr, Erie County’s Republican election commissioner.

Mohr said the only residency requirement posed by the Constitution for a member of the House of Representatives is that the candidate live in the state “at the time” of election. As a result, he contends that someone could be a resident at 9 p.m. on Election Day and qualify.

But since no pre-residency requirment exists, Mohr said there is no basis to remove Powers from the ballot.

Honestly, I don’t see what the big deal is about having multiple lines on a ballot. Since I’ve moved to New York it seems that all this electoral fusion stuff has been more a cause for dispute than anything else.

The article did point out that Jon Powers has allegedly moved out of state. Now, sources tell me he’s taken a job in Washington, D.C.

If the GOP really wants to make an issue of this, they could challenge Jon Powers residency. Back in 2006 when Tom DeLay  retired from the House and moved to Virginia, Democrats challenged his residency (by saying he was still a resident of Texas) in order to keep him on the ballot. 

I don’t think Alice should count on the WFP line on the November ballot. There’s clearly precedent to keep him on, even if he has moved out-of-state.

A spokesman for the Working Families Party in New York said the party will work to elect Democratic nominee Alice Kryzan in the 26th congressional district, despite the fact that Iraq veteran Jon Powers will be the Working Families nominee.

Kryzan stunned Powers and 2006 nominee Jack Davis in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, winning with 42 percent of the vote. But Powers, who received national Democratic backing for his run, was unopposed for the Working Families nomination.

That creates a troubling situation for Democrats, with two of their candidates on the general-election ballot and potentially splitting votes in a swing district.

A Working Families official said Wednesday that the party could not legally remove Powers from the ballot, but that it would back Kryzan.

“I’m sure we’ll support Alice’s campaign,” the official said. “I don’t think there was ever any talk of doing the third-party thing. We play to win.”

So, it appears that the Working Families Party has made the decision for Powers. He’ll be on the ballot no matter what, so I don’t think we’ll see him continue to campaign if the pro-union Working Families Party has jumped off the Jon Powers ship.

In other words, Jon Powers needs to go to Kinkos, make a few dozen copies of his resumé, and start looking for a job.

Erin and I would like to thank each of you for the opportunity and honor to campaign for New York’s 26th Congressional District. I decided to run for Congress because the America that you and I believe in lost its voice in Washington. That is why we built a grassroots campaign that is based on the voices of the hard working men and women of Western New York.

With your help we started a conversation in your living rooms that began with holding 30 house parties in 30 days or last week visiting all 7 counties in 7 days. Thank you for sharing with me your challenges, concerns, and ideas on how we can make Western New York and this nation a better place.

Our conversation continued at roundtables talking with teachers about education, farmers about agriculture, Generals and veterans about the war, small business owners about the rising cost of health care and students about the rising costs of higher education.

This conversation really instilled in me the belief that together we have the power to change Washington.

None of this would have been possible without the unbelievable support and help of you, the Powers Platoon. One of the wonderful Platoon Leaders sent me an email this morning that I believe says it best,

This was way more than a campaign — it was a movement. A movement that must continue in some way or another. We built a coalition of people from the bottom up that joined together like I have never, ever seen here before.

She is absolutely right! I was honored to be a part of this effort as we stared down millionaires whose only line of defense was false political attacks and smears. Millions of dollars were spent in lies attacking our efforts because they were afraid of the power of this movement.

I am proud of serving our nation in Iraq, I am proud of the groundbreaking work of War Kids Relief that continues to this day to help the forgotten children of Iraq despite the lies of my opponents, and I am tremendously proud of this campaign that you and I put together.

As we are still on the ballot as the nominee for the Working Families Party, my family and team are currently deciding how best to proceed.

We want to thank each of you for your hard work and dedication. This campaign was never about an individual, it was about this community. If you believe that together we have the power to change Washington, this campaign is about you.

Thank you,

Jon

Dear WFP Supporter,

Everyone knows our healthcare system is broken.

But not everyone agrees on the fix. Who gets covered? Who pays how much? Who makes healthcare decisions – insurance companies or doctors? Those questions are all up in the air.

That’s why Working Families is backing the Standards for Universal Healthcare put forward the Healthcare for All New York coalition. It’s a set of goals we need to meet to make quality, affordable healthcare for everyone a reality. Lots of organizations have signed on. Now it’s your turn.

As we’ve stated here before on The Buffalo Bean, Jon Powers has described himself as a fiscal conservative… and there’s nothing fiscally conservative about socialized healthcare. And one doesn’t need to live in Canada or Europe to understand just how bad socialized healthcare is.

Still, since the WFP ardently supports socialized healthcare, and has endorsed Powers, we ought to know his position on the issue.