ALBANY COUNTY — Although Albany County Democrats currently have a leader, there is no consensus on whether or not he was rightfully chosen for the job.

Lengthy legal wrangling, recused judges, disputed voting processes, and a questionable vote total may sound reminiscent of a Law and Order episode, but for the county’s contested chairmanship, it’s a reality.

The post was sought by both Albany’s Frank Commisso, who was groomed for the job and had served as first vice chair, and suburban David Bosworth, who heads Guilderland’s Democratic party and was backed by a growing suburban contingent in the party.

Commisso won by a 253-219 standing vote.

The vote was called fraudulent by some suburban Democrats and a week later the case landed in New York Supreme Court, the lowest of the state’s three-tiered judicial system.

After first asking for a new election with a court-appointed monitor, the Bosworth slate now say they have definitive numbers showing Bosworth is the winner. Bosworth’s attorneys say the state court should name Bosworth as the county’s Democratic chair.
"We feel that the court should simply state that it should be given to the Bosworth slate," said L. Michael Mackey, the attorney representing the Bosworth slate along with Matthew Clyne, Democratic chair of Bethlehem.

Mackey said the weighted vote shows that 57 percent of the votes went to Bosworth and 43 percent to Commisso.

The chair election was the first of its kind in the county party’s 85-year existence. It is usually a position handed out by appointment, not election.

The case was brought to court on behalf of the entire Bosworth slate, which includes Jack McNulty, first vice chair; Jack Cunningham, second vice chair; Barbara Smith, secretary; and Shawn Morris, as treasurer.

Cunningham filed the suit.

The case, which has seen delay after delay since early October, has now been handed over to Supreme Court Justice Thomas J. McNamara of Saratoga, a Republican, after two other justices recused themselves. The Commisso slate has asked for several extensions to submit additional paperwork and to respond to complaints sent to the court.

There has been no word if McNamara will ask for oral arguments or simply review submitted papers to make his decision.
"You know it’s a political case when judges start recusing themselves like this," Mackey told The Enterprise. He added that judges give top priority to election cases and usually handle them in a timely matter.
Bosworth said the Commisso slate is asking for extra time to "bolster their case," but that the court has to hand down a decision within 45 days. Bosworth says he is looking forward to having the matter settled by Christmas, or New Years Day at the very latest.

What happened"
The lawsuit claims that, in accordance with New York State Election Law, a "weighted vote" should have been used.

The weighted votes are based on the number of voters from each political party who voted in the last gubernatorial election, unless there has been redistricting in an area, where the tallies from an assembly election is then used. Enrollment numbers are not used in calculating a weighted vote.

Urban Democrats say there are more Democrats living in the cities of Albany County (Albany, Cohoes, Watervliet, and Green Island), and cite enrollment numbers to support their claim.
Suburban Democrats say those numbers are "fallacious," calling Albany a "transient city" with inflated enrollment figures from college students and other short-time renters and residents. Democrats like Dick Barrett, a committeeman for the 41st District in Colonie, have been vocal in saying there are substantially more Democrats living outside of the county’s cities.

Barrett, like some other suburban Democrats, say the old days of urban rule over the entire county has come to an end and that suburban and rural Democrats deserve to be heard.

Betty Barnette, Albany’s city treasurer, was the county chair before the September vote.

She assumed the post in 2002 after the death of then-chairman Mike Burns from New Scotland.

She oversaw the election, using a standing vote instead of using a weighted vote, which suburban Democrats called for.

Confusion ensued following the standing vote. Over 600 people filled the Albany Polish Community Center as committee members mingled with other onlookers during the vote. As members stood for either Commisso or Bosworth, they had to be physically counted by hand in a packed room.

Proxies were not allowed under Barnette’s ruling.

Although Barnette could not be reached for comment this week, she has stated previously that she was within her legal right to order a standing vote and that her ruling for the vote was in no way politically motivated.

A motion against the standing vote by suburban Democrats was defeated. They failed to garner the necessary two-thirds of attending committee members to overturn Barnette’s motion.

Commisso stands by Barnette’s ruling.

Although Commisso could not be reached this week, he has told The Enterprise several times that he will not comment on the lawsuit while it is still under litigation. He has said that the party, which he is actively running as chairman, is moving forward.
Commisso originally said that he would retire from his Port of Albany position if elected chair of the county Democrats, in order to run the party "24/7," but now says he will wait until a decision is made.

Commisso is the majority leader of the Albany County Legislature. Bosworth is a Guilderland town councilman as well as the town’s Democratic chair.

Both men are highly respected and widely known in county politics, but, in an apparent suburban-urban split, backers of both say the other side is wrong.