Latest news with #NewYorkStateUnifiedCourtSystem
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wydysh opts out as candidate in legislature's Second District
Rebecca Wydysh, the first female legislator to serve as chair of the Niagara County Legislature, won't be able to seek reelection this year after being denied permission to do so by her bosses with the New York State Unified Court System. While the court system previously allowed Wydysh, who works as the county's deputy commissioner to jurors, to seek and hold public office as a legislator on five previous occasions, she told the newspaper on Tuesday that the office denied her request to do so again this year. 'I was given no explanation or reason,' Wydysh said. By law, state court employees must seek permission from the court system to hold outside employment, which includes positions as a county legislator. The court system granted Wydysh permission to do so in 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023. Because the court system granted her permission in 2023 to seek a two-year term, Wydysh said she is allowed to maintain her position as a county legislator through the end of her current term, which runs through Dec. 31, 2025. Wydysh said the court system informed her of its decision in a letter she received about a week into the process of securing signatures from registered voters on petitions needed to secure positions on the election ballot. She said the timing of receipt of the letter forced her to make a difficult choice between her political career and maintaining her current full-time job which paid $116,688 last year. 'I was having a hard time at that point deciding what route I was going to take,' she said. 'If I had been approved, I was running 100%. I loved serving as a legislator, but it is a part-time job and I was in no position to quit my job as deputy commissioner of jurors.' Wydysh described her forced departure from the legislature as 'disappointing.' 'It's sad to me because I have absolutely loved serving my community. I will find a way to serve. It just won't be in the legislature,' she said. The Niagara County Board of Elections confirmed that Wydysh declined designating petitions as the Republican and Conservative candidate in the legislature's second district in Lewiston on Monday, the deadline for doing so under state election law. By declining her petitions, Wydysh clears the way for a replacement candidate to be named on the Republican and Conservative lines. The decision will formally be made by the committee to fill vacancies listed on her petitions. Those committee members generally represent supporters of the parties doing the petition passing, which in this case would likely be local Republicans and Conservatives. Niagara County Republican Party Chairman Richard Andres said he expects a replacement could be named as soon as today. He described Wydysh as a dedicated and effective legislator whose service to the public will be greatly missed. 'I'm really baffled as to the internal rules of the office of court administration,' he said. 'It seems to me like they are taking away the ability of someone to serve their community. She's one of the best legislators I've worked with. She's very effective. It's very disappointing to me.' 'We have to fill some pretty big shoes to fill, but we think we have a pretty good solution and somebody that's going to be very effective,' he added. The Niagara County Democratic Party chairman questioned the timing of Wydysh's departure and the convenience of the Republicans having a candidate in line to replace her. In a post appearing on the Niagara County Democratic Party Facebook page early Tuesday, Chris Borgatti suggested Republican leaders 'gamed the system to avoid an election' in Wydysh's district. In a telephone interview, Borgatti acknowledged Democrats were not planning to run a challenger against Wydysh this year. He said the timing of her decision to decline petitions makes it nearly impossible for his party to circulate petitions of its own to get a Democratic candidate on the ballot. Borgatti said the GOP's 'scheme' resulted in Lewiston voters being denied the right to the discussion of issues during a campaign and potentially of the right to choose who should represent them in the legislature's Second District. 'There's no question that she knew about this and that this was a plan,' Borgatti said. 'The unfortunate part is that she treated Lewiston voters, who have taken care of her and voted for her, like this by not giving them an option.' While the Democrats won't be able to field an endorsed candidate, Borgatti said they do intend to find someone to run in the race, likely on an independent line. He said Democrats want to ensure Lewiston voters have a choice against whoever ends up getting the Republican and Conservative nods as Wydysh's replacement. 'Campaigns are discussions with voters about issues,' he said. 'We're going to do our best to find somebody to run an independent challenge and give voters a choice in November. We're committed to doing that.' Borgatti said he'd also like to see a copy of the letter the court system sent to Wydysh and the specific date on which it was delivered to determine if Wydysh had ample opportunity to pass on the petition process and still chose to move forward with it knowing, ultimately, she could not run for the position and keep her full-time job. 'If the court system is saying it's a conflict in the future, why wasn't it a conflict now?' Borgatti said. 'Why wasn't it a conflict a year ago? This whole thing stinks to me. It's just right out of their playbook.' Andres described Borgatti's allegation that the GOP conducted some sort of 'scheme' to circulate petitions for Wydysh and swap her out for another candidate as 'hot air' from the other side of the political aisle. He said both Wydysh and Republican party officials did not anticipate she would be denied the chance to seek reelection having been through a similar cycle of her requesting, and receiving, permission to run in the past. 'We had been through this before, but it effectively went away and they said she was good to go,' Andres said. 'I was very hopeful that she would be able to run.'
CBS News
31-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Attorney sues N.Y. court system, claims he was kicked off grand jury because he's blind
Brooklyn attorney Albert Elia says he was kicked off a grand jury after being empaneled because he's blind. Now Elia and the National Federation of the Blind – New York are suing the court system . "This was flagrantly unlawful," Elia said. "The judge said if I could not perceive the evidence with my own sense, I was not fit to serve as a juror." Elia, who uses a guide dog , has made a career defending people with disabilities from discrimination. He says now he's the one who needs defending after he was kicked off a Brooklyn grand jury. Although he's blind, he says he sees this situation with crystal clarity. According to Elia, the judge kicked him off the panel last year because he couldn't see video exhibits without someone describing them to him. "I pointed out that excluding me was a violation of Title 2 of the [Americans with Disabilities Act]," Elia said. "What was really upsetting is this is the court system. This is where I practice and go before a judge and jury and represent people like me." Federal law requires courts ensure that no one is excluded from jury service based on disability. Elia is now suing the New York State Unified Court System for failing to accommodate him. "Our focus isn't on this one judge, this one decision," Disability Rights Advocates attorney Victoria Pilger said. "It's more of, how can we make sure the system as a whole is following the law?" Court spokesperson Al Baker wouldn't comment on Elia's case, but said "There is no prohibition against blind or visually impaired individuals serving on grand juries and, depending on particular circumstances, reasonable accommodations for such individuals can be made." Attorney Vinoo Varghese says Elia's blindness would skew the outcome of any case involving video. "Obviously, if you can't watch video, that's a big problem. If you can't see the video and someone has to describe it, that's a big problem," Varghese said. Elia isn't backing down. He says he hopes his lawsuit leads to court staff being reeducated on the law, and gives him another chance to serve on the grand jury. "The evaluation of evidence, including so-called visual evidence, is possible with the proper accommodations required by law, and juror functions like determining the credibility and value of testimony and weighing the evidence presented by the parties do not require eyesight. Of all government entities, the courts ought to be the most aware of their legal obligations and of the right of blind people to participate in the judicial process, and blind Americans will not tolerate anything less," said Mark Riccobono, president of the National Federation of the Blind.
