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Justice Keith Cornell Dismisses Petition For Lack Of Standing, Provides Roadmap For Petitioners To Re-File For Relief
The battle for control of the Rockland County Republican Committee continues.
A decision by Acting Rockland County Supreme Court Justice Keith Cornell dismissing a challenge brought by two elected officials and two Republican activists was met with a new filing on Tuesday seeking to cure the problems with the original challenge – that the matter was not ripe for review.
This complicated legal issue requires unpacking.
As previously reported, Clarkstown Town Clerk Lauren Marie Wohl, Clarkstown Councilman Jon Valentino, Aidan Rowan and James Foley filed suit against the Rockland County Republican Committee (RCRC) challenging the legality of a RCRC bylaw that prohibited “elected officials” from serving on the RCRC Executive Committee.
RCRC Chairman Lawrence Garvey represented the RCRC in the proceeding. The beleaguered chairman is presumably running for re-election for the party chairmanship, a position he has held since Vincent Reda stepped down in 2014.
The Petitioners argued that the bylaw precluded “elected officials” from leadership positions like chair, vice-chair, and treasurer of the Executive Committee, though they were not technically barred from running for the County Committee. The County Committee is a creature of state law and eligibility to run cannot be restricted. Members of the County Committee also serve on the RCRC’s Executive Committee so the RCRC’s bylaw effectively to bar their ability to run and serve.
These legal wranglings come amid a movement to replace Garvey as chair – though no candidate has yet come forward to announce his or her candidacy.
Without deciding the validity of the bylaw, Justice Cornell dismissed the case, saying he could not find a “justiciable controversy that is ripe for judicial review,” meaning that neither Wohl nor Valentino alleged they were seeking any of the elected positions and so the judge viewed their injury as essentially hypothetical.
Cornell did go on to say “If indeed Wohl and/or Valentino do seek party offices they will have certain remedies available to them, including the possibility of the ability to affect a rules change or seek judicial intervention at that time.”
His decision essentially provided a roadmap to Petitioners.
Cornell wrote, “Of course, once justiciability is established, a proper petitioner should have access to judicial redress, without the necessity to pursue a rule change in a case where a rule challenged is contrary to law.”
That roadmap led Petitioners to file a new case on Tuesday. Justice Cornell set a new briefing schedule on the merits of the case, giving each side an opportunity to respond again.
This time, both Wohl and Valentino have announced intentions to run for the County Committee positions of Vice Chairman and Secretary, respectively. Because the RCRC bylaw prevents them from serving, they are asking the court once again to declare the bylaw invalid and allow any enrolled member of the RCRC to run for leadership positions. They are also asking the court to enter a temporary restraining order preventing the RCRC from holding its re-organization meeting while the petition is pending.
The court will decide the issue, based on the papers submitted, on or after October 18th.
The battle for leadership of the RCRC, according to insiders who wanted to remain anonymous fearing retaliation, relates to a general dissatisfaction from members of the Republican party and elected officials with Garvey’s leadership. They say he has too many distractions, including a legal case pending against his law firm, as well as outstanding tax warrants, and a DUI.
Last month, Garvey was sued by Rockland County Legislator Walter Kennelly for negligence, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty. Kennelly charged that Garvey mishandled a real estate transaction, added an undisclosed commission to the deal, and failed to produce a closing statement. Garvey denied the allegations and filed a third-party complaint attributing the closing deficiencies to others.
Last December, Garvey was arrested by New York State Troopers after being stopped for a broken taillight; at that time he failed sobriety tests and refused a Breathalyzer test. Garvey’s driver’s license was suspended after he was arraigned in Elmsford Justice Court.
Garvey serves as part-time in-house counsel for Rockland Green earning $81,000 per year and represents the Town of Clarkstown in various cases, earning $191,000 from 2022 to date, based on FOIL-ed documents.
Last year, Garvey was a defendant in a lawsuit charging election irregularities in the selection of a candidate for Clarkstown Town Supervisor for the Republican Party.
According to Rockland County public records, a civil judgment in the amount of $23,000 was recorded against the Law Office of Lawrence Garvey in favor or New York State for failing to carry Workers Compensation Insurance from September of 2021 through December of 2022.
Also, public records also show three unsatisfied tax warrants against Lawrence Garvey’s law firm totaling over $17,000, and one tax warrant against Garvey individually in the amount of $28,000.
Last week, Garvey filed a Notice of Claim against Clarkstown Town Supervisor George Hoehmann, Clarkstown Town Attorney Kevin Conway, and Clarkstown Director of Finance Colin Schmitt, charging town officials retaliated against him for his role in attempting to derail what Garvey called an “illegal donation” to pay off outstanding debts from George Hoehmann’s 2023 re-election campaign. Clarkstown officials deny the allegations.
