Rumor Has It --- the Court will leave standing the BOE's certification of Ben Akselrod's win over Russell Gallo and Steven Cymbrowitz for Independence Line

Cue Adele's smokey voice and the heavy drum and tambourine  beat... without heavy confirmation it's the best I can do as backup for this item...

Although I couldn’t  verify the result by my search on UCS eCourts (web Civil Supreme), a usually reliable source has informed me that the Special Proceeding (Kings Co. Index No.: 700026/2012) pending before Hon, David Schmidt, JSC (KSC, Pt. 47) brought by Gene R. Berardelli, Esq., on behalf of Russell Gallo,  against the Board of Elections and the Pro Se defendant, Ben Akselrod, has been disposed on procedural grounds in favor of the Defendants Akselrod and the BOE.

If this report is accurate, the Court would have left standing the prior BOE certification of the result of the “Opportunity to Ballot” Primary in the Independence Party won by Ben Akselrod over Assemblyman Steve Cymbrowitz and GOP challenger Russell Gallo. It had been reported in Gatemouth’s blog at “Room 8” that the Independence Party vote was certified with “Ben Akselrod as the Independence nominee for Assembly in AD 45, with 16 votes to Russ Gallo's 13 and Steve Cymbrowitz's 5 (two votes scattered)”; please note that Akselrod’s and Gallo’s votes were good “write-ins” and incumbent Assemblyman Cymbrowitz’ had been the Independence Party’s Wilson-Pakula petitioned designee, whose name had been pre-printed on all the ballots.

In an interesting development, “Republican Party Activist - the Jacob Kornbluh” has to be given a lion’s share of the credit for whipping the write-in vote in the Independence Party primary as part of the overall primary campaign for Ben Akselrod, which had to be waged on two fronts. The main front was the a one on one Democratic Party primary narrowly won by Assemblyman Cymbrowitz.  The “Second Front” effort was what worked out as the three-way Independence Party Primary between Mr. Akselrod and Messrs. Cymbrowitz and Gallo. This means that in the fight between GOP insiders, with Kornbluh lining up against Berardelli and Gallo, Kornbluh is the clear winner.

At least the Gallo side avoided what was likely to have been a very interesting cross-examination of Theresa Alfano, one of Gallo’s affiants in his case against the BOE and Akselrod.

In any case, it looks like the general election race will be another three-sided contest with the incumbent Cymbrowitz facing-off against both Gallo and Akselrod.