WESTCHESTER, NY—The Westchester-Putnam Chapter of the New York Working Families Party joins Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard of Mt. Vernon, former Westchester County Legislator Damon Maher, Damon K. Jones, Publisher of Black Westchester, and others in condemning the voter suppression tactics of Susan Cacace’s campaign to become Westchester County District Attorney.
In a statement released on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, the Westchester-Putnam Chapter of the New York Working Families Party wrote;
By attempting to remove William O. Wagstaff from the Democratic primary ballot and the WFP ballot line, Susan Cacace is attempting to deny Westchester voters their right to choose which of the candidates they want to serve as District Attorney.
More than 6,000 Westchester voters signed petitions to put Mr. Wagstaff on the ballot. Multiple voters who signed petitions to put Mr. Wagstaff on the ballot attested to having been harassed by a purported investigator working on behalf of the Cacace campaign. Filing a baseless lawsuit over technical issues and intimidating voters are the same kinds of voter suppression tactics used by MAGA Republicans on a federal level to undermine our democracy.
“This isn’t the first time we have seen political operatives from Yonkers use this type of manipulation of the petitioning process to interfere with voters’ rights by trying to remove popular candidates from the ballot,” said Westchester-Putnam Chapter Co-Chair Peter Bernstein in the statement. “Voters should decide elections, not political bosses.”
The Working Families Party invited Ms. Cacace to participate in its endorsement process and she declined to do so. Both of the other candidates submitted lengthy questionnaires and were interviewed by a committee of Westchester voters. Those members voted overwhelmingly to award Mr. Wagstaff with the party’s endorsement.
On Sunday, April 14th, voters, community activists, civil rights advocates, and organizations, including the Westchester Alliance for Police Reform, former County Legislator Damon Maher, and Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, stood with Westchester County District Attorney candidate William O. Wagstaff III for a “Rally for Justice” press conference at the Westchester County Courthouse to denounce what they alleged is voter intimidation, harassment, and disenfranchisement of Black communities by Susan Cacace’s campaign for Westchester District Attorney.
Cacace’s campaign told Lohud she denied any intimidation or harassment in the “routine” process of reviewing petitions and said all candidates have to be held to the same standards.
“It is unfortunate that Mr. Wagstaff’s actions have put his campaign in jeopardy and he is now making these baseless accusations,” her campaign stated. “But when the evidence indicated that Mr. Wagstaff had likely committed fraud, it was appropriate to confirm those allegations by speaking respectfully to voters and potential witnesses.”
