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Lawrence Garvey’s Fight To Prevent Elected Officials From Running For Committee Leadership Positions Fails
By Tina Traster
The Rockland County Republican Committee (RCRC) has violated Election Law by restricting elected officials from serving on the Executive Committee, according to a court decision rendered today in Rockland County Supreme Court. The court declared a RCRC’s bylaw to be illegal and declared it “null and void and deemed stricken from the Bylaws and of no further force and effort.”
In his decision, Acting Supreme Court Justice Keith Cornell, struck the bylaw and ordered the RCRC to hold its statutorily required organization meeting within the next 30 days.
The case pitted the RCRC against two plaintiffs who alleged the offending bylaw precluded them from running for seats on the County Committee. The plaintiffs alleged that New York State law required the RCRC to permit any “enrolled member” of the Republican Party to be nominated and stand for election to the offices of chair, secretary, treasurer, or any other Executive Board positions.
This anticipated decision clears the way for Lauren Marie Wohl and Jon P. Valentino to run for election during the RCRC’s upcoming reorganization meeting.
RCRC Chairman Lawrence Garvey represented the committee in the case.
“We’re grateful to Judge Cornell for paving the way for all Republican citizens of Rockland to serve their party,” said Wohl, who plans to run for Vice Chair. “I’m excited to run for Vice Chair and continue my service to the people of Rockland. We have advocated for free and fair elections and change is coming.”
Valentino plans to run for party Secretary.
Sources say Mike Lawler is considering challenging Garvey for Chairman. Although no challenger has yet to throw his or her hat into the ring against Garvey, by all accounts, the litigation was filed to unseat the long-term Chairman.
As previously reported, Clarkstown Town Clerk Wohl, Clarkstown Councilman Jon Valentino, Aidan Rowan and James Foley filed suit against the RCRC, challenging the legality of a RCRC bylaw that prohibited “elected officials” from serving on the RCRC Executive Committee.
Cornell on Oct. 1 dismissed the challenge brought by the two elected officials and two Republican activists but gave them the roadmap to cure the problems with the original challenge – that the matter was not ripe for review. At that time, neither Wohl nor Valentino had announced an intent to run for office.
Following this decision, Wohl and Valentino refiled their suit and declared their intention to run for committee positions. The RCRC sought to dismiss the new petition, claiming that the Petitioners were not entitled to a “second bite at the apple.” The court disagreed, saying though on the first petition, there was no “justiciable issue” – the matter was too hypothetical for the court to decide, on the second petition, the Petitioners’ announcements of their intention to run cured the problem.
“Based on the court’s reading of the allegations contained in this petition, the Petitioners have now established a justiciable controversy,” Cornell wrote. “The petitioners show that there is a legitimate and imminent threat to their rights to seek party office. Under these circumstances, the alleged harm to the petitioners is not theoretical or speculative. It is real and imminent. Given the sensitivity of Election Law cases, and in this case, an intraparty skirmish, the court is mindful of providing a prompt determination.”
The Court ultimately found that because the bylaw limited who can serve on the Executive Committee, it ran afoul of state law that only requires party membership to be eligible to run. 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 barred their ability to run and serve.
Earlier this month, Rockland County Republican Chairman Lawrence Garvey lost a bid to stack the deck of the Rockland County Republican Committee (RCRC), dealing a blow to his attempted 2024 re-election bid. The Court denied Garvey’s request to dismiss a case that challenged the illegal appointment of 46 vacancies on the County Committee, and ruled the appointments null and void.
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.
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.
Mike Lawler did not return a call seeking comment.
In his parting words, the Justice said, “This determination does not enmesh the Court in the internal workings of a political party. Like the making of legislation and sausage, the internal affairs of the party committees are not always a pretty sight. Committees are free to manage their internal affairs provided that the requirements of applicable state law are met.”
