From IP State Chairman Frank MacKay

Independence Party of New York

From: Chairman Frank MacKay

To:      Erie County Public Official

Re:      Party Raiding

June 30, 2008

 

“This letter is to inform you that at a meeting this past Saturday in Albany, the State Committee of the Independence Party of New York voted to remove the ability of the Erie County Independence Party to issue Certificates Of Authorization to non-party candidates within Eire County and gave this issuance to the State Executive Committee of The Independence Party of New York.

The State Committee obtained the right to do this through a Court of Appeals decision issued earlier this month concerning our ability to remove this power from constituted county committees in New York City and give this authority to the State Executive Committee.

In short, all Certificates of Authorization for non-party candidates for both cross county districts and offices wholly contained within Erie County will be issued by our State Executive Committee for the 2008 cycle.

In order to designate/nominate the appropriate candidates, our leadership has appointed Chairman Tony Orsini, Judy Orsini and Jan Harding-Buffam to advise the State Executive Committee on these endorsements.

The reason for our state party to make such a dramatic move was that it has come to our attention that our local Erie County leadership has come under attack by the infiltration of our party by members of other political parties.

Let me make this perfectly clear, the leadership of the state party is firmly committed in its support of Erie County Independence Party Chair Tony Orsini. Over the last several years, Tony has stood shoulder to shoulder with me and our executive committee to lead our party back from near extinction to a position where we are the preeminent third party in the United States. His loyalty to me and our entire party was unwavering through this very trying time for our party.

Furthermore, our commitment to Tony is not only for this cycle but will continue into the 2009 election cycle. If this infiltrating group were to dislodge Tony from his position, our party would bring its full legal and political weight down upon the infiltrators and those public officials who have participated in this infiltration, no matter the public office, be it congressional down to town council.

In conclusion, to sum up, the Independence Party of New York takes party raiding seriously and we will be there to support Tony Orsini while dealing with this problem over the next two years.

As public officials, I implore you to work with Tony and keep the Erie County Independence Party free from infiltration while truly being an independent voice in Erie County.”

Thank you for your attention to this matter,

Best Regards, Frank MacKay State Chairman Independence Party of New York