A New York State Senator from the Hudson Valley is running unopposed in November, but an Orange County activist is looking to change that.
Republican Senator John Bonacic, of Mount Hope in Orange County, is running for his 10th two-year term in the 42nd District, which includes Sullivan County and parts of Delaware, Orange and Ulster Counties. Activist Pramilla Malick, who is with Protect Orange County and fights against the CPV Valley Energy Center in Wawayanda that is under construction, has submitted to the New York State Board of Elections a petition with some 1,600 signatures for the opportunity to ballot.
“This is an entirely grassroots effort. This is the people’s campaign,” Malick says. “And we got 1,600 signatures in five days which, I don’t know if it’s precedented or not but it’s pretty, I think, impressive, and that’s because of people who are really concerned about the future of New York State and our health and safety and our environment.”
The minimum number of signatures required is 1,000. But that doesn’t mean Malick’s name will be on the ballot in November. Rather, Democratic voters could write-in a candidate’s name, which could be Malick’s or someone else’s.
“And, if that is the case, there are many people who would write my name in and I would be more than happy to do this because nobody is challenging him and, because of that, all of the issues are not getting a full and fair public airing out and they’re not part of the election discourse, and they really should be,” says Malick.
According to a state Board of Elections spokesman, Bonacic’s campaign has filed a general objection to Malick’s petitions and would need to file specific objections by August 1 to move forward. In an emailed statement concerning Malick’s push for the opportunity to ballot, the Bonacic campaign writes, "This process appears to be spearheaded by the Orange County Democratic Chairman, and as such, it is advised that you speak with him." Brett Broge is chair of the Orange County Democratic Committee. He says both the county and state Democratic committees approached a number of potential candidates early on, but none committed to run. Broge says he did offer assistance to Malick.
“And certainly it was late in the petition process when we first got in touch. I’m certainly interested in having a Democrat run for this seat so I certainly provided her with the direction and some other assistance to get this thing off the ground,” Broge says. “But, at this point, I think it would certainly be up to her to decide how to run her campaign.”
The state Democratic Party did not reply to requests for comment. Malick, who resides in Minisink in Orange County, fought against the Minisink compressor station that has been up and running since 2013. She says environmental and a host of other issues should be discussed among candidates.
“Again, I’m not a career politician, but I am looking forward to a vigorous campaign and a vigorous debate,” Malick says.
Malick and activist and actor James Cromwell stood outside a Stop Legoland forum in Goshen July 18 urging registered Democrats on their way in to sign Malick’s petition. While there, Malick voiced concerns about Merlin Entertainment’s proposed Legoland theme park for Orange County. Bonacic, in a July 20th press release, announced his support for the project, contingent upon issues related to water, sewer and traffic being resolved.
Bonacic chairs two Senate committees — Judiciary and Racing, Gaming and Wagering. He is a member of nine other committees. Bonacic, who advocated for casinos in the Catskills for some time, is credited with helping to make this a reality.
