J.J. Pavese, erstwhile Democratic candidate for District 9's seat in the Sullivan County legislature, announced on Friday that he's dropped out of the race after failing to gather enough signatures to appear on the November ballot. If he had been able to run in November, Pavese would be challenging sitting Republican Alan Sorensen.
The Catskill Scoop has posted a copy of the letter Pavese sent to Sullivan County media. In it, Pavese blames Democrats from the village of Monticello for sinking his candidacy:
I am disappointed to find out that the Village members of the Thompson Democratic Committee, including Democratic Trustee TC Hutchins, discarded the petitions that were given to them and refused to gather signatures for a single Town or County candidate and only gathered for their own personal committee seats. They failed to notify the Chairman of their intentions and as a result it appears I was short the minimum number of signatures.
Because Pavese is a registered Conservative, he could not collect his own signatures, and relied on local Democrats to gather and witness them. The Times Herald-Record reports that a feud between local Democratic pols in the town of Thompson and the village of Monticello is to blame:
Monticello Mayor Gordon Jenkins said he withheld support because he is happy with Sorensen's efforts as Legislator and because Pavese's campaign was aided by businessman Sean Rieber, who Jenkins accused of being overly critical of the village.
Jenkins, who temporarily switched parties in 2006, has also for years charged some Democrats with failing to support minorities.
"I got absolutely no help from any of the Democrats," he said. "They are so disrespectful to the minority community, it's pathetic."
