ANOTHER MOVE AT THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS: There was a shake-up in the state Board of Elections in December when Democrats in the state Legislature replaced long-time co-chair Doug Kellner with attorney Henry Berger.
There’s now been changeover in the other Democratic spot on the board. Andy Spano, Westchester County’s former executive, recently stepped down from his role as a commissioner after a decade.
He was replaced at a Tuesday meeting of the board by Essma Bagnuola, a former clerk for the Nassau County Board of Elections. That spot is filled by state party chair Jay Jacobs.
“During my tenure with the Nassau County Board of Elections, I oversaw the core functions of election administration,” Bagnuola said in a statement formally announcing the move on Thursday. “This experience will be invaluable in my new role as Commissioner, and I look forward to assisting in the implementation of new legislative changes before the Board.” — Bill Mahoney
Democrats remove New York's top elections official
A formal announcement by the legislative leaders is expected soon.
BY: BILL MAHONEY
12/17/2023 12:45 PM EST
ALBANY, N.Y. — Democrats ousted the party’s top elections official in New York late Friday, four individuals with knowledge of the shake-up said.
Doug Kellner was removed as co-chair of the state Board of Elections after 18 years on the job.
He is being replaced by Henry Berger, a former New York City Council member who was Mayor Bill de Blasio’s special counsel from 2014 through 2018.
The move happened after Kellner broke with other Democrats over the reliability of new voting machines. It also comes as the board is due to play a key role in launching a public campaign financing system that starts next year — a system that Berger helped create when he served on the 2019 commission that established the program.