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Max Will Fight All the Way to the Highest Court on Chairman Vote

By Tony Farina

The attorney who represents the Cheektowaga Democrat who lost a weighted vote for chairman of the party says Frank Max will take the case all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court, if necessary, to overturn the Sept. 29 election of Jeremy Zellner as party leader.

“Our allegations are very serious, and I believe we can prove them,” said attorney Peter Reese who is representing Max along with attorney Joe Makowski.

The lawsuit contesting the outcome of the vote will begin its legal course this week in State Supreme Court in Buffalo, but Reese said no matter who wins the initial round, “I’m 100 percent positive it will be appealed,” promising to take it all the way to the highest court of the land if necessary.

“We believe we have an open meetings law violation and a heavy duty civil rights case,” said Reese who is seeking to have the weighted vote favoring Zellner over Max thrown out because it was engineered through selective and discriminatory redistricting resulting in a lower weighted vote for Max, the Cheektowaga town chairman.

The attorneys for Max allege that Democratic Elections Commissioner Dennis Ward was behind the redistricting that favored Zellner and prevented Max from winning the election. Ward, along with Republican Elections Commissioner Ralph Mohr, former Democratic Chairman Len Lenihan, and the Democratic Committee are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

“We’ll sort it out in court,” said Ward who called Max a “sorry loser” who is looking for excuses for losing the vote.

Joining in Max’s suit are Dan McParlane, the West Seneca Democratic chairman, and John Fracos, a Buffalo zone chairman.
Gov. Cuomo was supporting Max in the race, hoping to unify the party and end the years of infighting that has plagued the organization. Cuomo was never a supporter of Lenihan and was hoping for a new day under new leadership. His first choice, former Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello, was compromised in some people’s eyes because of his work as a lobbyist. He also met resistance within the ranks of the party and he pulled out of the race.

At the end of the day, at least so far, the party is still hopelessly divided and a bitter legal fight is just getting started about who should rein as chairman.

For Cuomo, it is obviously a disappointing outcome since Zellner comes from Lenihan, the man Cuomo wanted to get rid of all along.

For Zellner, it is a rocky start as chairman with a nasty court fight looming and a division within the ranks over whether he won the vote legally against Max who has not conceded the race.

This could go on for some time and the applause you hear is from the chairman of the Erie County Republican Committee, Nick Langworthy, who must be jumping for joy at the split in the ranks of his opposition. The GOP may be the real winner of the election when all is said and done as the Democrats fight on.

 

 

Niagara Falls Reporter www.niagarafallsreporter.com Oct 02 , 2012