And then there were three.
The Westchester Board of Elections upheld enough of independent candidate Rick McCabe’s petition signatures officially setting up a three-way race for Rye City mayor.
Election officials presided over a hearing in White Plains on Tuesday to determine the status of McCabe’s candidacy following city Republicans challenging 136 of his petition signatures in hopes of kicking him off the November ballot.
His candidacy was confirmed in a BOE letter dated June 18.
McCabe told The Record he was “very excited” to be joining the ballot following Tuesday’s hearing.
“I appreciate the support of everyone who signed the petition for me and my friends around town who helped me gather the signatures,” he said.
McCabe, 53, submitted 445 signatures from residents supporting his campaign ahead of the May 27 deadline for independent candidates.
He needed 336 of those to be certified by the BOE to make his mayoral run official. That meant Republicans had to have 111 of their objections — challenges to the legality of signatures the McCabe campaign collected — upheld during the hearing.
Election officials, however, only sustained 88 of the GOP’s objections. The BOE dismissed 48 of the challenges leaving McCabe with 357 signatures — officially placing him on the ballot.
Matt Thomas, a Rye GOP consultant, said city voters deserve a “certain standard in their candidates.”
“I would have expected the campaign to do a much better job in what they submitted to the Board of Elections,” Thomas added in pointing to about 20 percent of McCabe’s petitions being dismissed.
The ruling finalizes an intriguing three-way race for the city’s top elected seat this November with majority control of the City Council potentially on the line. The independent McCabe, widely viewed as an underdog in the contest without any major party backing, will square off against incumbent councilmen and party establishment candidates, Republican Bill Henderson, and Democrat Josh Nathan.
“I think Rye is at an important crossroads with many high priority projects and issues to be addressed,” McCabe said. “I look forward to good-natured debate with Bill and Josh between now and November 4th.”
City Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 4,800 to 3,008 margin, according to county enrollment data. But there are also 3,746 active voters in Rye that are unaffiliated with either major party.
Nathan said local races “work best when multiple voices are heard.”
“I welcome the opportunity to discuss the most important issues facing Rye with Mr. McCabe and Mr. Henderson this fall,” he added. “In contrast to the rancor of Washington, I am optimistic of our city will get what it deserves: a civil and thoughtful debate. That’s democracy.”
Henderson and Nathan’s candidacies have already been certified.
Election Day is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 4.
