Oyster Bay board challenger blocked again

Oyster Bay Republicans, who have swept every town board election since 2005, gained an early advantage this year by blocking a challenger from appearing on the ballot for the party endorsing him.

A state appellate panel last week upheld the Aug. 8 State Supreme Court ruling invalidating Terence Kelly's Independence Party nominating petition. The East Norwich process server -- tapped by Democrats -- had been the only challenger to also get Independence support.

Three board incumbents are up for re-election: Republicans Joseph Muscarella, Rebecca Alesia and Anthony Macagnone. Muscarella and Alesia also received Independence endorsements.

But State Supreme Court Justice Timothy S. Driscoll said nearly 30 of Kelly's petition signatures could not be verified, resulting in an "insufficient number of signatures to qualify for the party nomination."

Muscarella, who filed the case, said challenges were common. "It's part of the process for both major parties," he said. "It might be uncommon for the judge to say we're correct."

Kelly maintains affidavits he received from people whose signatures were in question should have satisfied the court. But Driscoll said those people should have testified directly.

"There's no opposing voice on the board," said Kelly, a registered Independence member. "They want it to stay that way."

Similar battles are being waged across the region, with varying success. The state Court of Appeals on Wednesday validated a Huntington Independence member's run as a Republican, but deemed a Brookhaven candidate two signatures short of running on the Democratic ticket.

Kelly will now appear only on the Democratic ticket of Oyster Bay's ballot. Instead of its three endorsed candidates, the Independence ballot will list two. The election is Nov. 8.

Kelly, a political newcomer, said the process has been an eye-opener. The former Republican came to local prominence last year after questioning the growth of the town's public safety department.

"I'm going to turn lemons into lemonade," he said. "I'm going to let people know what happened. I'm an outsider."