Weird Westchester County Conservative Political Intrigue
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Ever since I registered to vote in Westchester, I've always thought it sort of quaint that in nearly every election, a Right to Life party candidate appears along side the candidates from other parties. Since candidates can appear on more than one party line, usually the RTL candidate is the same person as the Republican candidate, but not always. In this household, where the other voter is a registered Republican, that line comes in handy. If a candidate appears on the RTL line, that candidate is presumed to have other bad ideas as well.
So I tend to view the RTL endorsement as something that loses local Republican candidates votes. Apparently, Republican candidate for District Attorney, Janet DiFiore, feels differently. From the New York Times: Candidate Says He Was Offered a Quid Pro Quo to Exit the Race
WHITE PLAINS, Sept. 26 - A third-party candidate in the race for Westchester district attorney said on Monday that he had been approached by a person with ties to the Republican candidate, Janet DiFiore, and asked to bow out of the race in exchange for a job in Mrs. DiFiore's office, should she win.
The candidate, Anthony J. DeCintio, Jr., said the offer to drop out of the race had come late last month during a phone conversation with a friend who was calling on behalf of Mrs. DiFiore's husband, Dennis Glazer. Mr. Glazer, a lawyer in New York City, had been concerned that Mr. DeCintio would cost his wife crucial votes in November.
Mr. DeCintio is running on the Right to Life ticket, which is expected to attract a small percentage of Westchester County voters who might otherwise support Mrs. DiFiore.
Mr. DeCintio, a malpractice lawyer who lives in Tuckahoe, said he declined what he believed to be an offer of a bribe and then reported the phone call to an agent at the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
"I was stunned," he said. "This was on the last day that I could have withdrawn my name from the ballot, and they basically called me up and said it was a close election, and that I'd have a free hand in the district attorney's office if I backed out."
Weird weird weird.