Court Hears Appeal As Cuomo Supporters Seek To Knock Democratic Challenger Zephyr Teachout Off Ballot
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Supporters of Gov. Andrew Cuomo have returned to court in an effort to force a Democratic challenger off next month's primary ballot.
A trial judge rejected the challenge to Zephyr Teachout's campaign last week. The ruling was appealed, and the challenge went before an appellate court Tuesday in Brooklyn. The four-judge panel is expected to rule later this week, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.
Teachout told Diamond that Cuomo's supporters are appealing because the governor is scared.
Court Hears Appeal As Cuomo Supporters Seek To Knock Democratic Challenger Zephyr Teachout Off Ballot
"I think he's worried that I'll beat him," Teachout said. "Andrew Cuomo hasn't been a Democrat. This is a Democratic primary.
"And through these trials and retrials and all his efforts to kick me off the ballot, all he's done is wake more people up to the fact that there's an alternative," she added.
The two men behind the challenge are listed online as Cuomo campaign interns. In court papers, they allege that Teachout is ineligible to run against Cuomo because she doesn't meet a five-year residency requirement. They note that Teachout obtained her New York driver's license this year.
Martin Connor, the attorney who is arguing to have the Fordham law professor removed from the Sept. 9 ballot, said Teachout retroactively changed her residency when she decided to run for governor.
"She was choosing the Vermont residence because it's clear, if you have two residences, you choose which one is your domicile," Connor said. "And that's really the issue."
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