State AG's office: Reviewing complaints in Huntington supervisor's race

The state Attorney General's Office is reviewing complaints in the Huntington Town supervisor's race, an agency spokesperson confirmed to Newsday.

The confirmation comes several days after a Newsday report detailed concerns about Maria Delgado, the Working Families Party candidate in the town supervisor's race. Incumbent Ed Smyth, a Republican, defeated Democrat Cooper Macco by 602 votes, according to unofficial returns from the Suffolk County Board of Elections.

Delgado, 83, of Huntington Station, according to online voter records, received 1,195 votes in the election, returns show.

On Friday, Delgado told Newsday outside her home that she had "no idea" she was on the ballot. Macco won the state Working Families Party endorsement in the spring, but Delgado collected enough signatures to qualify for a primary on June 24. She won the primary, 109-26, election results show, denying Macco the advantage of a third-party ballot line in the general election. Delgado's tally, roughly 3%, was large enough to have possibly swung the election to Macco. Republicans have held the town supervisor's office since 2018.

Documents provided to Newsday by the Suffolk County Board of Elections this week show Delgado voted in person in the June primary as well as the Nov. 4 general election.

Delgado could not be reached for further comment on Wednesday.

Delgado's previous comments and questions about her candidacy prompted an uproar among Suffolk County Democrats and officials in the state Working Families Party. The Working Families Party tends to back progressive candidates and legislation including stronger tenant rights and universal child care.

Ana María Archilla and Jasmine Gripper, co-directors of the state Working Families Party, said in a statement the party “proudly” endorsed Macco and other Democratic candidates for town races.

“We believed, and continue to believe, that they were the best choices to deliver a better life for working families in Huntington,” their statement said. “Republicans have tricked voters and hijacked the Working Families ballot line to skew election results their way. What happened in Huntington is proof that Republicans have little respect for our democracy and for working people who stand to lose so much with their disastrous policies.”

Jesse Garcia, chairman of the Suffolk County Republican Committee, said his party had no role in the petition-gathering process in the Working Families Party primary. "The Democrats in Suffolk County are so extreme that even the radical Working Families Party rejected them in a primary," he said.

On Friday, Delgado's daughter Linda Morales told Newsday her mother was "flabbergasted" by her appearance on the ballot.

“This is unbelievable, who registered her with that party?” Morales said last week, adding: “Is that a joke, or something?”

Members of the Suffolk County Democratic Committee and state Working Families Party have accused Republicans and conservatives of raiding the minor-party line to siphon votes in the past.