Carlucci Questions Valentine Signatures, Slows Down the Process

Tight lips at the Board of Elections as they work to verify signatures hurriedly 

BY SARA GILBERT

New York State Senator David Carlucci challenged over 1,100 petition signatures gathered by Democratic candidate Grant Valentine and his supporters.

Valentine, of Chestnut Ridge, plans to challenge Carlucci, of New City, for the 38th Senate District, which includes most of Rockland County and some of Westchester, in the September 13 Democratic primary.

“We don’t have the money, time or resources to do this,” said Valentine in a phone interview on Friday, referring to how difficult the job of verifying the signatures is. “We’re just trying to give the people a choice,” he said as his reason for wanting to run opposite Carlucci.

In a small corner of the Board of Elections office in New City, a handful of Valentine supporters gathered around one computer trying to be helpful to election workers. They need to verify at least 70 signatures in question, prove they are real and then send them to Albany in time.

The deadline is Tuesday, July 31, and it looks like completing the work will come down to the wire.

None of Valentine’s volunteers were willing to talk to the Rockland County Times.

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