Two Candidates Booted In The Race To The 45th Council Seat

EAST FLATBUSH — The pool of candidates looking to fill the vacant seat in the 45 council district just became smaller after two hopefuls were booted off the ballot Tuesday afternoon, turning the May 14 special election to a 8-person race.

Ten candidates registered for the special election and 11 candidates for the primary. Hearings for the June primary race occur next week.

Hercules E. Ried, on the Opportunity Party line, was first to meet his fate after filing his Certificate of Acceptance a day late. The offense would automatically disqualify a candidate from appearing on the ballot.

The 26-year-old community organizer argued that he didn’t see the calendar but also USPS delivered the mail on April 4, a day after the deadline.

“I understand this is a scenario that normally does not get overlooked,” said Reid who went on to advise the BOE’s executive board “use first class mail so that candidates receive them on time.”

The board unanimously rejected his request to remain on the ballot. BOE also pointed out that the candidate filed the Certificate of Acceptance incorrectly.

Candidates running in the primary will face another round of objection hearings next week.

Anthony Beckford, who filed under the Liberal line, will also not appear on the May 14 ballot. The Brooklyn native filed 581 signatures. BOE found all but 240 invalid, leaving Beckford considerably below the 450 signature requirement.

Beckford told Bklyner that he’ll be campaigning as a write-in candidate and he’s appealing Tuesday’s petition decision.

In an unusual turn of events, Jean Similien appeared unnecessarily to fight objections for the special election. The candidate filed incorrectly as a primary candidate. Similien will not appear on the May 14 ballot, nor did he register for the election.

BOE advised Similien that he’ll likely drop off the ballot next as well. The candidate faces a prima facie objection for improperly filing for the wrong race.

“It’s likely next week that you’re going to have a problem,” said a BOE rep at the hearing. “While we’re not going to decide today, there’s a strong possibility your candidacy will fail.”

Updates to this story reflect that BOE did not throw Jean Similien off the ballot, but rather the candidate registered for the incorrect race.