Rye City Republicans are challenging more than 130 signatures collected by independent mayoral candidate Rick McCabe in hopes of bouncing him from the race.
McCabe, 52, beat the May 27 deadline for independent candidates to file petitions with the Westchester County Board of Elections to certify his candidacy. He told The Record he submitted 446 signatures from city residents supporting his campaign.
The Republicans have challenged 136 of those signatures, hoping to thwart McCabe’s run. The county BOE would have to disqualify 111 of them to kick him off the ballot.
McCabe said he’s confident that more than half of the GOP objections will be dismissed.
“I understand why the Republicans did it and it’s certainly their right now to do so, but I’m confident that I’ll have the valid number of signatures to be on the ballot in November,” he said.
If the board certifies at least 336 signatures, then McCabe can move forward with his wild card campaign and appear on the Election Day ballot alongside Republican Bill Henderson and Democrat Josh Nathan, whose candidacies have already been certified.
McCabe confirmed he has retained an election attorney and is willing to take the case to court if the BOE doesn’t OK his run. But, he said, he hopes there isn’t a need for that.
“I’m willing to fight for it beyond the Board of Elections,” he told The Record. “I don’t think anyone wants to see this become a legal battle, but I think that it’s important enough that it’s worth the fight.”
The challenge by Republicans’ likely stems from fears that McCabe’s candidacy could peel away votes from Henderson.
Although McCabe is a registered independent, he ran a short-lived campaign for City Council as a Republican last year before dropping out of the race in September over an undisclosed illness.
He still received more than 40 percent of the final vote.
Plus, active Democratic voters in the city outnumber their Republican counterparts 4,800 to 3,008, county enrollment figures show. Meaning Henderson and the GOP can’t afford to lose any votes in what is expected to be a hotly contested race for mayor against his rival, Nathan.
City Democrats did not mount any challenges to McCabe’s campaign.
The Board of Elections has scheduled the hearing for June 17 at 2:30 p.m. in White Plains.
