Subject: Third Lines & Parties

There has been a little confusion regarding the "Third Line," and I hope I can clarify a few things.

The Name of the Line:

We (TeaNewYork) fought very hard for the name Taxed Enough Already, which would have been abbreviated T. E. A. on the ballot. But we were told there are some legal ramifications involved with the similar name Tea Party, as some lawyer registered that name with the Federal Board of Elections, and

is suing anybody that tries to use it. Naturally, my argument was "Sounds like a bunch of hooey! It's like having a monopoly on the word patriot!" Some groups (mostly 912's) were adamantly against anything with the name TEA in it, because they said they were afraid the Media will marginalize us.  Carl's

campaign may have been concerned about the erroneous allegation that Carl has co-opted the Tea Party, and were looking for a name that describes our shared sentiment without specifically naming us.  Regardless, the final decision rested with Carl, and we support that.

So it is what it is, and we are all rallying around that name.  Naturally, individuals and individual groups can do as they please with respect to running another line with another name, as there is no governing authority in this Tea Party Movement.  But we strongly encourage reform candidates to take advantage

of this line, get the necessary signatures, and get those petitions to the Board of Elections as soon as possible -- the reason being, it is an "open" line and anyone who has the necessary signatures will be on the ballot.  But only one candidate for a particular office will qualify, and the way the law is written, it is the candidate who gets his signatures to the BoE first.  Crazy stuff, but these are unusual

circumstances.  The Paladino campaign has spent an enormous amount of money and resources on this line, and it would be a shame to waste it.  If a candidate needs petitions formatted, you can contact me.

Party or No Party?  Let's Party!

Parties and campaigns have been running third lines for years. Former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi lost to Edward Mangano last year, largely attributed to the Tax Revolt Party line.  After that election, the Tax Revolt Party ceased to exist.  It was just a line on the ballot, not an established party -- the BoE simply requires "Party" to be included on the petition.  The difference between this and similar scenarios and a Governor's race, is that should any gubernatorial candidate receive just 50,000 votes on a third line, that line stays on the ballot for four years, until the next governor's race.  That line then needs to receive another 50,000 votes to remain on the ballot for the next four years, and so on.  As such, it necessitates an organizational structure to maintain the vote count (much like a "Party") and it is allocated federal funding.  Such was the case with the Right-to-Life line.  It was less a "party" than a statement of beliefs, but it failed to garner 50,000 votes in a successive election, and its line on the ballot ceased to exist.

That's why there was such a bloodletting on the floor of the Conservative Party Convention.  At least 43% of the delegates were afraid the Conservative line will fail to get the necessary 50,000 votes if they endorsed pro-choice, anti-gun big government Lazio.  The Conservative party will then cease to exist. As a registered Conservative, my hope is that we can win back the endorsement in the Primary (via Ralph Lorigo), but if we can't, it will be a sad, sad day for true Conservatives in NYS.  In that case, I say let it crash & burn!

The short answer is, who wants crumbs, when we can have the whole hot pie?  A "Line" (without 50,000 votes in the Governor's race) will dissipate after this election. 50,000 votes in the governor's race will secure the Line for four years.  It will have an organizational structure, which the Board of Elections refers to as a Party.

Splitting the Line:

Carl Paladino has vowed not to run on the third line alone.  If he does not win the GOP Primary, he will likely concede to Lazio.  Anyone but Cuomo!  We hope other reform candidates around the state will make a similar commitment.  If they have or can win back a major party line in the primary, and have the additional Taxpayer line as an extra measure of support, chances are good enough votes will come from people who are serious about reform.  But if they don't have a major party line, and they can't win

it in a Primary, it would be far better to concede to the more conservative of the remaining two candidates. 

Sorry this was a little long-winded!  If you have any questions, just call or email. If I can't answer them, I will find someone who can! 

Jul Thompson

TeaNewYork.com

info@teanewyork.com

716.406.7407