Thomas Suozzi withdraws petitions for ‘Fix Washington’ ballot line

After nearly a monthlong legal battle, Democratic congressional contender Thomas Suozzi on Friday withdrew his nominating petitions for a “Fix Washington” ballot line on Nov. 8.

While Suozzi filed more than 5,700 signatures to get the line, backers of Republican foe, state Sen. Jack Martins, maintained the former Nassau County executive’s petitions were filled with fraud, including signatures from dead voters. He needed 3,500 valid signatures to qualify.

E. O’Brien Murray, Martins’ senior adviser, said Suozzi “wasted nearly a month of the court’s time and money to hide his frauds but he got caught.” The court dismissed fraud allegations, but Martins pursued a line-by-line review of petitions, from Nassau, Suffolk and Queens, that were still being scrutinized at the time Suozzi withdrew them.

Mike Florio, Suozzi’s campaign manager, said the campaign withdrew the petitions after spending more than $50,000 in legal fees. He also accused Martins of playing “petty political insider games” involving “countless hours of legal one-upmanship” to get petitions thrown out on technical grounds.

“Tom believes that important issues that actually effect people’s lives like Social Security, the economy and national security are getting lost and it’s not worth it,” Florio said.