Nassau ballot set for Sept. 13 primary

The Nassau County primary ballot is finally set.

Four days before Tuesday's primary, the New York State Appellate Division in Brooklyn ruled unanimously on Friday that two candidates must appear on the ballot in four disputed legislative districts.

The court directed GOP elections commissioner Louis Savinetti to hold primaries in the 5th, 16th, 18th and 19th legislative districts on the GOP, Conservative and Tax Revolt lines.

Republicans will not have time to appeal the case to the State Court of Appeals, said Savinetti attorney John Ryan.

The dispute stems from an attempt by Nassau Republicans to remap the county's 19 legislative districts, an effort that was blocked last month by the New York State Court of Appeals.

As a contingency, Republicans selected two sets of candidates in each of the four districts -- one if the new lines were adopted and another if the old lines remained in effect.

Only the candidates running under the existing lines now want to run in the primary. But Democratic elections commissioner William Biamonte, who filed the lawsuit against his GOP counterpart, argued that it was too late to remove candidates from the ballot. "This decision means voters will get to decide who the candidates are and not the commissioners," Biamonte said Friday.

But Ryan said hosting primaries in the four districts will cost taxpayers $260,000; Biamonte says the figure is much lower.

Candidates who collected petitions to run under the new lines do not live in the existing districts and submitted affidavits to the court stating that they were no longer seeking nomination.

The appellate ruling, however, stated that the candidates did not provide a legal basis to be removed from the ballot.

Last Tuesday, State Supreme Court Judge Randy Sue Marber sided with Biamonte, noting that "there is no statutory authority or case law" to prevent the primaries from occurring.

Each of the four disputed legislative seats currently is held by a Democrat, although Minority Leader Diane Yatauro (D-Glen Cove) is not seeking re-election in the 18th District. Democrats have nominated Delia DeRiggi-Whitton to replace Yatauro.

Legislative primaries will also occur on the Conservative line in the 4th District in Long Beach and on the Democratic and Conservative lines in the 13th District in East Meadow.

It was unclear Friday whether a candidate who is on the ballot in a current district, but not a resident there, would be remain on the general election ballot. Candidates who win in a general election have up to a year to move into the district.

Final ballot for Nassau primaries

Friday's decision by a state appeals court means that primaries will occur Tuesday in four Nassau legislative districts on the GOP, Conservative and Tax Revolt lines. They candidates on the ballot are:

5th District: Fred J. Jones and Christian Browne

16th District: Bruce P. Kennedy Sr. and James Milano

18th District: Donald N. Mackenzie and Robert A. Germino Jr.

19th District: Jaswick S. Williams and Fred J. Jones

However, only Browne, Milano, Germino and Jones, in the 19th District, are actively seeking nomination.

The situation stems from an unsuccessful effort by Nassau Republicans to remap the county's 19 legislative districts. As a contingency, Republicans, Conservatives and the Tax Revolt Party selected two sets of candidates in each of the four districts -- one if the new lines were adopted and another if the old lines remained in effect. The State Court of Appeals blocked the new lines last month.

Kennedy, Mackenzie and Williams live in districts that were not adopted and are no longer seeking election. Jones is no longer seeking election in the 5th District.

-- ROBERT BRODSKY