Buffalo Dem will not run in this fall’s election

By Daily Record Staff
Posted: 6:22 pm Thu, August 26, 2010

The New York State Court of Appeals has denied leave to Emin Eddie Egriu of Buffalo whose nominating petitions were invalidated.

Egriu, 48, sought to challenge Rep. Louise Slaughter of Fairport in a Sept. 14 Democratic primary, but his petitions were challenged by a Slaughter supporter, Erie County Democratic Committeeman Robert E. Brown, leaving him 233 signatures short.

“Given the irregularities and fraud in the petition signatures, removal from the ballot was a necessity,” said attorney Christopher D. Thomas, of the Rochester Nixon Peabody firm, who represented Brown. “We’re very pleased the proper result was reached.”

Egriu claims the election system in New York is unfair and said he will run in 2012 for the 28th Congressional District seat Slaughter has held for more than 23 years.

“New York makes it very difficult to get on the ballot,” said Egriu’s attorney, James Ostrowski, also of Buffalo. “The reason we fought so hard was to give the voters a choice. What people have to understand is that New York has one of the toughest election laws that reduces competition and that’s why there are so few competitions in primaries in Western New York this year.”