West Village Candidates Pledge Not To Challenge Petitions

WEST VILLAGE, NY — Six candidates running for the West Village's open City Council seat announced a joint pledge recently not to challenge each other's required voter petitions, amid fears that gathering signatures in-person risks the exposure to the coronavirus.

State law requires City Council candidates to gather hundreds of valid signatures in order to appear on the ballot for the June 22 primary election.

This year, however, candidates have complained that collecting signatures poses a needless health hazard to themselves, their staff, and others forced to hit the streets to canvass for signatures.

Now, six contenders in District 3 have agreed not to challenge the validity of their fellow candidates' petitions — one of the first agreements of its kind in New York.

The Lower Manhattan City Council District also covers Greenwich Village, Hell's Kitchen, Chelsea, and parts of Flatiron, SoHo, and the Upper West Side.

"We trust that our fellow candidates will responsibly collect the legal number of valid signatures required to qualify for the ballot, and have collectively agreed to not challenge one another's signatures," the petition pledge reads.

The six candidates are Leslie Boghosian Murphy, Erik Bottcher, Phelan-Dante Fitzpatrick, Marni Halasa, Aleta LaFargue, and Arthur Schwartz.

If you see someone with green sheets and a clipboard, they are most likely petitioning for a candidate. Please be kind. They are working for our democracy.@phelandante @Marni4Council @advocat4justice @ebottcher @Aletafor3 pic.twitter.com/vNDWfGr19U
— Leslie Boghosian Murphy (@LeslieBMurphy) March 3, 2021

Read More: West Village City Council Race: Who Will Succeed Corey Johnson?

Patch reporter Nick Garber contributed to this report.