David Paterson says special election will be held soon
WASHINGTON — Gov. David Paterson said Tuesday he will call a special election “as soon as possible” to fill the 29th Congressional District seat.
That means western New York and Southern Tier residents of the eight-county district could have a new congressional representative to succeed former Rep. Eric Massa of Corning as soon as next month.
A short election timetable should benefit Republican candidate Tom Reed, a former mayor of Corning who has been campaigning for the seat since last July.
“Either way, we are not going anywhere,” Reed said in a telephone interview Tuesday.
“Whatever the governor decides, we will be ready,” said Tom Basile, executive director of the state Republican Party. “We will have a very strong candidate.”
Democrats have been scrambling to find a candidate since Massa, a Democrat, announced Friday he would resign to avoid putting his family through a House ethics committee investigation into allegations he sexually harassed a member of his staff.
“There’s some sense of urgency on our part,” said Monroe County Democratic Committee Chairman Joe Morelle, a member of the state Assembly.
Morelle and the seven other Democratic county chairmen in the 29th District have the authority to select their party’s candidate for a special election.
People whose names have been circulated include state lawmakers and local mayors. Two of the possible candidates — Hornell Mayor Shawn Hogan and state Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton of Ithaca — already have taken their names out of the running.
Morelle said Democrats also are looking at non-traditional candidates with no background in holding elected office.
Democrats successfully ran a non-traditional candidate in the 20th Congressional District last March. Scott Murphy of Glens Falls, a venture capitalist with a record of helping small businesses grow and create jobs, eked out a victory against state Assemblyman Jim Tedisco.
Democrats don’t have a target date for selecting a candidate, Morelle said. But whomever they nominate will need time to raise campaign money and travel around the congressional district.
Paterson could decide not to recognize the vacancy — which means the Nov. 2 election would fill the seat — or he could issue a proclamation setting the date for a special election within 30 to 40 days.
The proclamation could be issued at any time. Last year, Paterson issued proclamations for special elections involving two congressional seats.
The first set a March 31, 2009 election date for the 20th Congressional District seat that Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand vacated Jan. 27. The second, for the 23rd Congressional District seat, was held Nov. 3 after John McHugh resigned on Sept. 21 to become secretary of the Army.
