Independence Party Candidates ‘Encouraged’ to Collect Signatures for Castro

We have heard a few complaints from Democratic candidates who also have the Independence Party line throughout Westchester, about the arm twisting they are receiving from County Independence Chair Dr. Giulio Cavallo, strongly encouraging them to collect signatures for Tony Castro, Democratic candidate for district attorney.

Castro has the Ind line, thanks to Cavallo and Sam Zherka, but he also wants to run in a Dem primary against Janet DiFiore and needs to collect a few thousand signatures in order to get on the ballot.

Dr. C has made it known that all Dem candidates with the Ind line need to help Castro get on the ballot. This puts these Dem candidates in a bad situation because the leadership of the party, and the rank and file, have nominated DiFiore.

Also what right does Cavallo have in telling the Dem Party how to conduct their primaries?

Another fact that points to serious involvement by Dr. C and Sam Z in the political elections this year in Westchester.

Dr. Giulio Cavallo

Cavallo and Independence Party Denies Yonkers Amicone Republicans: Why? — Sam Zherka

Dr. Giulio Cavallo

 

In our previous post, we printed the press release from Westchester Independence Chairman Dr. Giulio Cavallo, who made his endorsements for Yonkers City Council. Cavallo gave the Independence nomination to Ted Winnicki in the Sixth District, John Rubbo in the Fourth District, Virginia Perez in the Second District, and Chuck Lesnick for council president.

Cavallo denied three Republicans the Independence Line — John Larkin in the sixth, Dennis Shepard in the fourth, and Jim Castro-Blanco for council president. Dr. C also denied Democrat Wilson Tererro, who is the Dem Party nominee in the second.

While all four candidates endorsed by Dr. C are worthy of his endorsement, Cavallo usually mixes up his endorsements with Dems and Reps to hedge his political bet. This time in Yonkers, he chose all Dems and two long-shot picks in Rubbo and Perez.

Why? Cavallo’s relationship with Sam Zherka, publisher, Manhattan DA target, etc.

Zherka’s top three most wanted politicians are, in no particular order:

I- County Executive Andy Spano

II- District Attorney Janet DiFiore

III- Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone

Zherka’s distaste for Amicone stems from the city’s removal some of Zherka’s Westchester Guardian boxes. So Cavallo, as a favor to his friend Sam Z, denies Amicone his picks for the Independence line.

Cavallo is also annoyed at Amicone for denying him a job placement for his #2, Deputy Dhyalma Vazquez, who was being chased out of her job with the County DSS.

It is sad but true that Dr. C and Sammy Z. are deeply involved in this upcoming Westchester election.

Westchester GOP Chairman Doug Colety on the Hot Seat!

doug colety

Our blog has been heating up lately, and increasing our numbers of viewers and posters, thanks to all of you — we appreciate it. Keep it coming!

Lately, a lot of focus has turned to Westchester County Republican Chairman Doug Colety. I will reprint them at the bottom of this post, but here’s my take:

Colety is very close to Westchester Independence Party Chairman Dr. Giulio Cavallo. The two frequently travel to poltical events in Albany together, and have also formed a political alliance of sorts over the years, which has benefitted Republican candidates, who were able to run with the Republican, Independence and Conservative (an overwhelming majority of Republicans get the Conservative line, or used to) party lines, giving them a chance against Democrats, who hold enrollment edges countywide by 100,00+.

For many years Republicans benefitted from this friendship, but things changed this year. This year, Cavallo has found another friend, Sam Zherka, publisher of the Westchester Guardian, and admitted target of the Manhattan District Attonrey criminal probe.

Zherka is backing Rethinking County Government, and wants to shake things up in Westchester politics. So Cavallo, to appease his new friend, agreed to back some of Zherka’s fave politicians, most notably Tony Castro, running for DA.

But the old arrangement with Colety and Cavallo takes a back seat to the new friends — Dr. C and Sammy Z. And Republican candidates get screwed in a number of races, (a lot in Yonkers) and don’t get the Independence line.

Colety puts all of his chips in one race — county executive. He asks for the line from Dr. C, and he gets it, because its a natural fit for Sammy Z, because it denies Andy Spano, a Zherka enemy, of the Ind. line.

But most of the other Republicans who want and need the Independence Party line are being left behind by Chairman Colety, and they’re pissed.

While I need time to determine if the allegations by the posters are true, I will say that I have heard about the printing for a long time, and have had discussions with Doug about our newspapers and a possible print job, mailings etc., all completely legit.

But in my opinion, I would agree with the anonymous post that there is a cloudy line being crossed with the chairman of the Repulican Party in Westchester getting print contracts for any candidate.

Even if there is no wrongdoing, which I think is the case, just the appearance of impropriety makes it best to stop this practice.

#1-ANONYMOUS-if fresh thinking is needed in yonkers, how is it
that the IND party could possibly endorse chuck lesnick
the answer of course is that zherka’s fine hand is in
all of this…remember that zherka is now in league with
cavalo..and zherka does not like amicone or anyone who
is remotely associated with him because of the taking
of the guardian boxes…you may recall there is still
a defamation lawsuite pending against amicone by
zherka…now when you couple that with the fact that
colety sold everything he had to get astorino the IND
line…colety was left with nothing at all….and cavalo
did what zherka wanted him to do…its another reason
why these minor party cross endorsements have to be
eliminated

#2-ANONYMOUS-colety gets paid for what he does..check the number of candidates that give him printing …..bet that all the candidates endorsed by the ind party give colety their printing whether or not they have republican support….does anyone think that the republican county leader should be doing printing for a candidate not a republican….check morabito’s printing for county clerk…and castro’s printing bills….bet colety is doing them all…because its not about rebuilding the republican party its about how much money he can make

#3-Captain America-That poster earlier had it right. When are republicans going to realize that Cavallo is Colety’s pimp? Covallo controls the Westchester Independence Party AND the Westchester Republican Party. Colety is only doing Cavallo’s bidding when he double crosses Amicone. Colety shouldn’t be trusted by real republicans.

Andy Spano Campaign Manager Says “We Did Not Seek the Independence Party Line”

We recently spoke with Paul Bader, campaign manager for Andy Spano’s re-election for county executive. Bader challenged our coverage of the Independence Party’s role in the county executive’s race.

Recently, the Independence Party endorsed Rob Astorino for county executive, and numerous sources have told us that the Spano campaign was actively seeking the nomination, including using the $100,000 county DSS job of Dhyalma Vazquez, Yonkers Independence Chair, as a bargaining chip.

Bader called our coverage “totally erroneous.” “We were not interested in the Independence Party this year. It wasn’t a question of a choice being made we were never interested, and no effort was made.”

Possible reasons why the Spano campaign wasn’t interested in the Independence Party include the relationship betwee West Ind Chair Dr. Guilio Cavallo and Sam Zherka, publisher of the Westchester Guardian and an admitted target of a Manhattan DA criminal probe.

Zherka is the driving force behind Rethinking County Government, which aims to ablolish county government and the office of County Executive. Zherka also pulled out of obscurity Dave Spano, son of Andy, who railed against county government and tried to run for his dad’s job, clearly irritating Andy and Co.  “We didn’t want the line because of the relationship with strip club owner Sam Zherka. It’s not an association that Andy wanted to have,” said Bader.

“The Independence party endorsed Astorino, and there appears to be a relationship between the Independence Party, Astorino, and Sam Zherka-he’s supporting him,” said Bader.  

This is a clear indication of how the Andy Spano campaign, and others, will run this fall’s campaign-They intent to highlight the link between Zherka and any candidate he endorses.

This strategy was used in the race for Yonkers mayor two years ago, with Democrat Dennis Robertson gettting the support of Zherka, but having it backfire and used against him by Mayor Phil Amicone.

While all of Spano’s reasons are rational, we remind our fellow bloggers about the stories we have all heard about Dr. Cavallo looking for a job for Dhyamla around Westchester. Why would Cavallo do it if Dhyamla’s county job was safe?

Regarding the Conservative Party nomination for county executive, to be held on Thursday, Bader said “there is an interest and a willingness from us and is a line that we would welcome.”

“Andy has had the Conservative line in the past, and one of their biggest issues is fiscal constraint and under Andy Spano Westchester has a AAA bond rating. I hope we do get the line,” said Bader.

Bader’s comments on Andy’s conservative record may be seen as a stretch to some, but point to a real possibility that Andy gets the Conservative Party line tomorrow night, which is a big problem for Astornio, who needs every line he can get in his challenge to Andy.

Cavallo Leaning on Dems to Support Tony Castro for DA at Dem Convention on Wednesday

 

The upcoming Westchester Democratic convention tomorrow has one race that everyone is talking about. Who gets the nomination for district attorney?

Incumbent DA and former Republican Janet DiFiore, as well as Tony Castro, are the two vying for the party nod. DiFiore has received the endorsement of the County Democrat Executive Committee and many of the local party endorsements throughout the county.

But there are pockets of Castro support that we have heard about. This support comes from Dems who worked on Castro’s two prior races for DA in 2001 and 2005.  Other Castro support comes from diehard Democrats who believe that Castro is the real Democrat in the race, and DiFiore a Republican in disguise.

It gets interesting here — we have heard from several Democrats in different Westchester locales that Westchester Independence Party Chairman Dr. Giulio Cavallo has been “lobbying” Democratic district leaders to support Castro.

How can Cavallo, chair of the Independence party, attempt to intervene in the Democratic Convention, to be held on Wednesday at the county center? By using his party’s line to Dems running for office this fall.

We know who these few Dems are but don’t want to name them because they have not accpeted Cavallo scurrilous invitations.

Dr. Cavallo is pushing hard for Castro, which is an indication of his ever-closer political friendship with Sam Zherka, Westchester Guardian publisher, and admitted target of the Manhattan DA.

We have it once again folks, and we should be ashamed. Cavallo is working his black magic on another important county election.

When will it end and when are the Feds coming?

Fed’s Corruption Probe to Burst in Two Weeks?

are they coming soon?

A prior post shared information that we received regarding the fact that the federal investigation into political corruption will become public within the next two weeks.

About 45 days ago, we were told that there was a 30-day countdown; it seems they are running a few days over.

While the prior post said that Sam Zherka would be one of the targets, we cannot confirm, but believe the investigation to be on multiple front with multiple targets. It seems undeniable, however, that Zherka’s recent behavior, and outbursts, make him more of a target.

Cavallo Takes on the Spanos to Get a Job for Dhyalma Vazquez

Westchester Independence Party Chairman Dr. Giulio is getting desperate to find a cozy job for his right hand, Dhyalma Vazquez, the Yonkers chair of the Independence Party.

Cavallo is feeling the heat from the campaign of County Executive Andy Spano, who is running for re-election and wants the Independence line. Vazquez currently works for the county DSS, at a salary of over $100,000. The Spano forces are leaning on Dr. C to stop his alliance with Sam Zherka and Dave Spano — Andy’s son.

Cavallo is in a pickle, and has completely flipped on politicians he has supported, and benefitted from, in the past — most notably Andy Spano and District Attorney Janet DiFiore. He needs to appease Zherka and sees $$$.

While Dr. C has already pitched a Vazquez job at City Hall, he has been rejected. But Cavallo has returned to Yonkers in another effort to secure a job for him, and he is once again using the Independence Party to get it.

Cavallo now wants Vazquez to be appointed a deputy city clerk, and is demanding that the current deputy, Vinny Spano, be replaced. Cavallo is using his Ind. line endorsement to “lean” on members of the City Council to appoint Vazquez. (Kudos to Hezi for getting this information  first — I confirmed it and add the following:)

This pits Cavallo against the Spanos, incluidng Nick Spano, who is another old Cavallo ally now on his s*** list.  Dr. C has been ranting about Nick lately, and the attempted removal of Nick’s brother, Vinny, is an indication of flip flop on all the Spanos — Andy, Nick and Vinny.

The Democrats on the City Council control who gets appointed deputy clerk and what, if any, changes are made. While it is unlikley that the council will buckle to Cavallo’s demands, Cavallo can use the Ind line endorsement against Council President Chuck Lesnick, who is running for re-election and wants the line.

Isn’t there a saying about playing both sides and getting burned in the end?

Cavallo Up To His Old Tricks Westchester Independence ‘Club’ Holds Fund Raiser

There has been confusion about the Independence Party in New York state ever since the party was vaulted into prominence by Tom Golisano, who built up the party and ran as their candidate for governor three times in the 1990s and beyond.

If a N.Y. resident registers to vote and doesn’t want to be a Dem, or Rep, or Cons, or a Working Families party member, they have two choices: They can either register with the Independence Party or they can choose not to register to any party – thus the confusion.

Here in Westchester, Independence Party Chairman Dr. Giulio Cavallo has confused matters even further by creating a Westchester Independence Club. Cavallo has used the club over the years as a political operating slush fund for the Westchester Independence Party. Fundraisers for the club have been held over the years, with no financial records of the money raised from the event with the Westchester Board of Elections.

Cavallo held such a fundraiser last week, which was well attended by many elected officials seeking to get Cavallo’s endorsement. Two candidates for district attorney, Tony Castro and Dan Schorr, attended Cavallo’s event, which one person who attended characterized as a “kiss the ring of Cavallo” event.

While Schorr attended with the hopes of getting Cavallo’s nomination, all signs lead toward Cavallo endorsing Castro, as proof by Cavallo’s nasty personal attacks on DiFiore at the event.

Also at the event was Sam Zherka, who, together with Cavallo, is on a pro-Castro/anti-DiFiore crusade.

Cavallo’s biggest problem is who to endorse for county executive. Incumbent Andy Spano wants the line, and as another commenter told us, has indicated to Cavallo that he will have to find another job for his right hand, Yonkers Independence Party Chair Dhyalma Vazquez, who currently holds a six-figure job with the County Department of Social Services.

Cavallo wants to endorse someone else for county executive, namely David Spano, Andy’s son who appeared in a TV commercial in support of eliminating county government and who appeared at a recent Rethinking County Government tea party rally in White Plains, announcing his candidacy against his father.

Zherka wants Cavallo to endorse Dave Spano and give him the Independence line, but the Dr. is caught in a pickle. What to do?

The Unholy Alliance? Colety, Cavallo and Zherka

 

Doug Colety

Westchester GOP  Chairman Doug Colety is taking a lot of heat from fellow Republicans for his recent attendance at a fundraising event for Tony Castro. Castro, a Democrat, has run for Westchester district attorney on two occasions, and is said to be considering a third run for DA. It’s easy to see why republicans would be a bit peeved that their leader and chairman, Colety, was seen and photographed at a fundraiser for a prominent Democrat, Castro.

 

Colety was caught recently on the pages of the Westchester Guardian at the fundraiser with Westchester Independence Party Chairman Dr. Giulio Cavallo and Castro. We spoke to Colety, who told us, “I was invited to an event by Dr. Giulio Cavallo to honor Tony Castro, who, as far as I know, has not announced that he is running for anything.”

“The Republican Party does have candidates (plural) interested in running for DA, all of which will be interviewed by the executive committee and nominated at the convention by the rank and file,” Colety said. “I will not be selecting the candidates alone, and there is a process that we will be going through next year. My attendance at the event in no way should indicate that I’m supporting any candidate.”

When we followed up with Colety and asked if Castro could be the Republican candidate for DA next year, he called it “total nonsense. My feeling about Tony Castro’s bid to run, if he decides to run in a Democratic primary, is that I believe he is best served running without the Republican endorsement. Strategically, in a Democratic primary, a Democrat cannot win with the Republican line.”

But Colety added this caveat to his friend Cavallo, saying, “If the Independence Party asks us to interview a candidate whom they are supporting, we will consider doing so. My friendship with Dr. Cavallo will benefit Republican candidates throughout the county.”

There is no disputing that Colety and Cavallo share a strong political alliance that has turned into a friendship over the years, and if Doc Cavallo asked Colety to come to this event, he would do so. It is also true that the two political parties that Cavallo and Colety preside over  need to work together in order for Republicans to have any chance of remaining a viable party here in Westchester. This is another reason for Colety to appear at this event for Cavallo.

But that’s where the rationale for Colety attending this event ends. Here’s the other side of the argument against Colety attending. First, this was not an event for Cavallo, or his Independence Party. It was for a Democratic candidate for district attorney very likely to be running again, and possibly running against the Republican Party’s candidate for DA, in 2009.  If Cavallo asked Colety to attend a Hillary or Obama event, would he do it?

Second, as Colety stated above, there is more than one Republican candidate interested in running for DA next year. Dan Schor is the one DA candidate from the GOP already actively campaigning and raising money, and yes, some of the rumblings we heard about Colety attending the Castro event came from Schor supporters (but we got calls and e-mails from Republicans from Yonkers, Harrison and Rye complaining about the photo in the Guardian).

Third, the growing relationship between Colety, Cavallo and Westchester Guardian Publisher Sam Zherka deserve mention, and attention from the powers that be. Cavallo and Zherka have become friends over the past year after a group led by Zherka attempted to overthrow Cavallo from power as Westchester Independence Party chairman. Since then, the two have formed a mutual opppostion to current District Attorney Janet DiFiore.

When Cavallo brings his good friend Doug Colety into the mix with Zherka and co., you have a very powerful and dangerous political alliance. In theory, a political candidate, who has the blessing of Sam Zherka, could easily have two political party lines to run on here in Westchester: the Republican and Independence lines.

This is what got Republicans and others in Westchester so upset about the photo in the Guardian; most thought this meant that Castro was going to attempt to get the Republican line. While Colety disputed those rumors in his quotes to us, he may have simply backed off the idea because of all the intense opposition to it.

One thing is clear: that photo, assumed to be taken by Guardian Editor-in-Chief Richard Blassberg, did not have the intended outcome. It exposed Colety, Cavallo and Zherka and put them all on the hot seat.  It also didn’t  help Blassberg’s eternal candidate for DA, Castro. Or is this what Dick wanted to do all along — expose this unholy alliance to the public? But how can you justify that to your boss, or does Sam even understand this?  

Let’s also realize that current DA Janet DiFiore is now a Democrat, so if Castro wants to challenge DiFiore again in 2009, he must do so in a Democratic primary.

More analysis on this upcoming race , and the unoly alliance,  in our next post.