How the Suffolk Dem leadership fight upended judicial elections

Daily Point

The case of the Schaffer judicial candidate vs. KCQ

On an Election Day full of seismic upsets and a resetting of the electoral table nationally, perhaps the most shocking results locally were for the normally yawn-inducing eight state Supreme Court seats for judges in Nassau and Suffolk.

Sources told The Point that the fact that the four Democrats not cross-endorsed by Republicans or Conservatives won justice seats — and that a fifth was thwarted from victory by his own party — was "epic," "shocking" and "ground-shaking."

The top two vote-getters this year — Joy Watson and Leonard Steinman — are both sitting judges from Nassau, where cross-endorsement deals held firm. Richard Ambro, a registered Democrat who received the Republican line, was also elected. The next four candidates elected — Mary Porter, John Kelly, Eric Sachs and Stephen Ukeiley — had only Democratic Party backing.

Republican James McDonaugh, who also ran on the Conservative line, won the final and eighth justice seat. He was the only winner without Democratic Party backing.

William Wexler, a registered Democrat who lost Republican backing this summer when cross-endorsement deals frayed, missed the cut by about 2,600 votes. Election results still haven't updated with absentee ballots, so there's a chance Wexler could edge his way onto the Supreme Court bench. He trails McDonaugh by three-hundredths of a percentage point.

Credit Kathryn Casey Quigley, the Southold Town Democratic Party chair who challenged and lost to Suffolk Dem leader Rich Schaffer in September, with the Democratic wins and possibly keeping Wexler off the bench.

Still smarting over backroom deals that leave Democrats without a candidate in some local elections, Casey Quigley took to social media to specifically endorse four Democrats who were not cross-endorsed — Kelly, Porter, Sachs and Ukeiley — while specifically telling her supporters not to vote for Wexler.

Casey Quigley said Wexler is a Schaffer ally and emblematic of insider deals leaving Democrats without choices. Wexler, the Ocean Beach Village justice, was described by one longtime Suffolk Democratic source as a "Schaffer lieutenant." Wexler is also a private attorney and shares office space with Schaffer on Deer Park Avenue in North Babylon, and his wife is a longtime party donor, Newsday has previously reported.

A message left at Wexler's law firm was not returned.

Casey Quigley said she told her supporters to leave Wexler off their ballot to increase the chances that Kelly, Porter, Sachs and Ukeiley would win. The bullet-voting scheme worked. She said her post telling supporters to back those four but not Wexler drew 60,000 unique views.

"It was a message that we don't need Republican cross-endorsements to win elections," Casey Quigley told The Point. "The enthusiasm was palpable."

Longtime Suffolk Republican strategist Michael Dawidziak said few things in politics and elections catch him off guard. "I'm amazed," he said. "Very little surprises me in politics anymore. But this surprised me."

State Supreme Court justice elections on Long Island are almost predetermined thanks to cross-endorsement deals. In fact, this year marks the first time in over a decade that a candidate for state Supreme Court, 10th District ran on just the Democratic line. The last time it happened was in 2012, when Hope Zimmerman lost a seat on the bench by about 4,800 votes. The power to get a judgeship in a surefire way is one of the reasons why attorneys donate to the political parties and do volunteer work for them.

For years, leaders of Suffolk's three main political parties brokered deals to get cross-endorsements for justice candidates while clearing the field of any competition. Voters grew accustomed to seeing cross-endorsed candidates running unopposed, leaving them frustrated with not having options.

The cross-endorsement deals went south this summer when Jon Estreich, the Democratic candidate for county comptroller, refused to take the Conservative Party nomination for justice as a ploy to get out of the comptroller's election. Anthony Portesy, the Democratic Party candidate for county clerk, did take the Conservative line for a judgeship, thereby knocking himself off the ballot for county clerk, also part of the long-rumored deal.

A few other factors possibly impacted the race, including the massive Democratic gains nationwide and momentum generated locally from Casey Quigley's challenge. But one Republican source told The Point it was ironic that Casey Quigley actively avoided endorsing Wexler, a fellow Democrat, when she railed against Schaffer for making deals that kept Democratic candidates off the ballot.

"It certainly shows how her influence could backfire," the source said. "If you accuse the party of making deals and now you're admitting to helping not elect a Democrat, it looks like you're guilty yourself."

In a statement to The Point, Schaffer credited Democratic wins across the nation and state with propelling Democratic justice candidates to victory. "… that helped deliver wins up and down the ballot, including our judicial candidates," Schaffer wrote. "These victories are a testament to the hard work of every one of our candidates, committee members, and volunteers."

Neither Suffolk Republican chair Jesse Garcia nor Suffolk Conservative chair Mike Torres returned texts seeking comment.

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

Pencil Point

A red alert

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Final Point

The lost causes of county execs

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has become the latest in his position to try but fail to become New York State governor, as foreseen last week. In the 21st century, these failed candidates have included Rob Astorino (Westchester), Tom Suozzi (Nassau, twice) and Marc Molinaro (Dutchess), and, back in 1986, Andrew O'Rourke (Westchester).

Yet as a longtime Long Island politico points out to The Point, the pattern extends back even further — 60 years, in fact. Nassau County Executive Eugene Nickerson, in office between 1962 and 1970, had been the first Democrat to win a countywide seat since 1912.

Interesting note for true junkies: 1912 was the year that the Bull Moose Party of longtime Oyster Bay resident, former President and ex-New York Gov. Theodore Roosevelt split the Republican vote with his populist third party, allowing Democrat Woodrow Wilson to win the White House. That November election featured a past president (TR), current president (William Howard Taft) and future one (Wilson).

Nickerson, who died in 2002 at 83, was the first of several Democrats to announce for governor in 1966, seeking to face GOP Gov. Nelson Rockefeller that fall. Nickerson's candidacy fell short at the party's state convention. He withdrew, and New York City Council President Frank O'Connor became the candidate, losing to Rockefeller in a three-way race.

Nickerson's luck proved no better when he tried again in 1970.

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

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