Council to Investigate Eugene's Residency
Both Vincent Ignizio and Dr. Eugene will be asked to sign an affidavit that affirms they each meet the qualifications for office (age, citizenship, etc), including residing in his district on the day of the election. This includes providing documentation of meeting the qualifications, which could include but not be limited to a lease, drivers license, rent payment, electrical bill, etc.
Because credible allegations have been made about Dr. Eugene's residency, we will also begin an investigation to determine whether Dr. Eugene had established residency on Election Day. This investigation will include, but not be limited to, talking to Dr. Eugene, his family, his landlord and neighbors.
The full statement is after the jump.
-- Azi PaybarahSTATEMENT BY SPEAKER CHRISTINE C. QUINN Re: City Council Special Elections
Following the recent City Council elections, questions were raised about when the Council should swear in newly elected members.We have determined that we will, for this and all future elections, only swear in members after official board of election certification of the election results.
Questions were also raised about the residency of Dr. Mattieu Eugene. Since residency is one of the qualification for elected office as determined by State Law, and as clear guidelines were not readily available on which entity is responsible for determining whether a candidate-elect meets the proper legal requirements, the Council wrote to Attorney General Cuomo asking for guidance on which body has the legal authority to make residency determinations, and whether residency is required by the day of the election, or the date the election results are certified.
In a letter received last night, the Attorney General's office cited both the Public Officer's Law and several legal cases in saying that candidates are required to live in the district in which they run for office on the day of the election.
The Attorney General was not aware of any State agency in whose jurisdiction this determination would lie, nor did the office make any specific recommendations on how to proceed. Based on this, the City Council will make this determination through its own Office of Investigation.
The following steps will take place immediately:
Both Vincent Ignizio and Dr. Eugene will be asked to sign an affidavit that affirms they each meet the qualifications for office (age, citizenship, etc), including residing in his district on the day of the election. This includes providing documentation of meeting the qualifications, which could include but not be limited to a lease, drivers license, rent payment, electrical bill, etc.
Because credible allegations have been made about Dr. Eugene's residency, we will also begin an investigation to determine whether Dr. Eugene had established residency on Election Day. This investigation will include, but not be limited to, talking to Dr. Eugene, his family, his landlord and neighbors.
Once this process is complete, the City Council will make a determination whether Mr. Ignizio and Dr. Eugene meet the necessary qualifications for office. Upon Board of Election certification and determination of meeting qualifications for office, both will be sworn in.
Speaker Quinn said, "This is an unprecedented issue for the New York City Council, hence the need to seek a legal opinion from the State's highest ranking attorney, and to proceed with all due deliberation. It is regrettable that there has been so much uncertainty for candidates and their constituents."
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Haitians Unite !!!!!
This Christine Quinn is stopping us from taking our rightful God given seat because Sister Una Clarke
supported the fine young man Congressman Anthony Weiner for Mayor.
Quinn wants to run for Mayor and is making us pay.
Look at her with her her cursing and loud voice. That kind of woman doesnt deserve to be in the public eye.
The Council is going to investigate? The Council is going to be a court of law?
Dr. Eugene: get a lawyer quick.
All Ms Quinn has to do is investigate the 18 hours between the time Dr. Eugene admitted on the Brian Lehrer show that he lived out of the district and when the polls opened the next morning. Did he actually move in, change his address, tell his mortgage holder that the Canarsie house was no longer his residence, open Con Ed and BUG accounts, sleep in the new apartment in those 18 hours.
What happens when the investigation reveals that the Councilmember elect did not establish residence in the 40th before February 20?
The Office of the Speaker of the City Council, like any elected office, becomes the fingerprint of the office holder.
Probably not since the beginning of time has a more demented group of people had any small semblance of power since the group the Christine Quinn has dragged in off the street and into the City Council.
Since Speaker Quinn has taken over, the City Council has been known as Spawn Ranch because the chain of command in Quinn's City Council is like that of the Charles Manson family of the 1960's.
Rob Newman has been lobotomized and Jeremy Hoffman is the closet thing to a walking toilet since Charles Manson.
Christine Quinn's top staff has no idea what in the world they are doing. Her chief aides are also alienating the lower staffers.
This is the most outrageous violation of not only the rights of the candidate but the rights of the electorate that I have ever heard of in the 27 years that I have been practicing law. Ms. Quinn is violating a host of federal laws by taking this action.
The biggest injustice here is that Ignizio cannot take office (and I say this as a Democrat) and start voting and serving on committees to represent his district. He and his staff are also suffering as they are not getting paid and have no benefits including health coverage. Forget about Eugene who may or may not have violated the law but be concerned about people who did nothing wrong.
With all the different statements Eugene has made about when he moved in how can the Council believe any of them? They should take a special look at the NY1 report Sunday that was arranged by PR failure Scott Levenison. That was the most corrupt piece of journalism ever.
If you check his cell phone from the 19th and where the calls were made want to bet none of them were made at his new apartment!
Why didn't Dr. Eugene invite the press to "his" new apartment prior to the election? He claims he was living there. It seems that he wasn't willing to move into the 40th until he knew he had to.
no question that quinn's gambit violates the voting rights act. wooten---do something!
Is this supposed to be Quinn in action, bullying the cities first elected Haitian council member?
Hopefully this investigation is more thorough than the investigation in McMahon's use of employees for personal errands
"BULLYING HAITIANS" Do you think they would have acted differently if Wellington Sharpe had one. Either you live in the district or you don't. Residency is a requirement for all.
Yeah, enough with the ethnic mau-mauing, and please don't slam Speaker Quinn's otherwise-unknown staff members by name -- both are just the behavior of bullies with no meaningful points to make. Haitian or not, the law is the law! Eugene is not Papa Doc, and he does not get to declare himself Councilman if he doesn't live in the district in which he ran!
Mathieu Eugene is a ton ton macoute.
The Council is investigating???The Council? The same Council that decided that Lucy Cruz lived in her district based upon a basement apartment with spoiled milk and some old clothes??
Why isn't DOI investigating??
This is simply shameful, if Mr. Eugene or Unagene (read that on another site and I could not resist) had one shred of decency he should resign now and run again with his address in the district. This community has suffered enough with incompetent, lazy and dreadful representatives who have done nothing but line their pockets. Mr. Eugene's arrogance of the law and his lack of understanding on what he is doing to the residents of the 40th is a direct reflection on his biggest backers, Una Clarke and Congress members Yvette Clarke and Anthony Weiner. I hope that they understand that this will be an issue for them as they seek reelection and attempt to run for higher office.
The only thing historic about this election is that less than 10 percent of the electorate even bother to vote, that Eugene could be the first Haitian Council member in recent history to be unelected before taking office and that the residents of the 40th have not had a representative since January.
What is a ton ton macoute? I am from Kansas is that a mule?
What's all this garbage about the investigation of Eugene's residency being a violation of voting rights? The attorney general has issued an opinion based on the Public Officers Law--Dr. Eugene needed to live in the district at the time of his election. The Public Officers Law, Article 2, Section 3 states that a candidate for office must be "...a resident of the political subdivision...for which he shall be chosen, or within which the electors electing him reside..." An investigation is not only appropriate, but necessary. Dr. Eugene and his supporters were ill-served by Paul Wooten's failure to advise Eugene to move into the district prior to the election.
Like all attorneys, you're full of crap.
Now the Dr. claims to have been sleeping in his Argyle Rd. apartment since early February.
When Brian Lehrer asked him on February 19th about the allegations of non residency - why didn't he reveal his new sleeping arrangments in the 40th District? Unless he was still living in far away Canarsie and thought that he had time to secure an apartment if he won on the 20th.
Why does everyone at the Council hate Rob Newman and Jeremy Hoffman?
dear kansas
a ton ton macoute is or was a para military organization in haiti that conducted assasination, kidnappings, intimidation, spying, harassment and general political thuggery on behalf of several haitian dictators- in particular the duvalier dictatorships. in haiti when people have a tendency of forcing their way into power by using force, lies, and deception they are referred to as a ton ton macoute.
Fidel, how about a response with some substance? I'm sure Dr. Eugene's supporters are more intelligent than your post reflects.
What supporters? Dr. Eugene's 2000 votes were delivered by 1199. I have yet to hear anyone give a reason to have supported him. His positions on the issues were unclear and the only exp[erience he brought into the race was running a Clarke funded youth program.
There were no Dr. Eugene supporters, just 1199 and the Haitian voters voting for a Haitian.
Has anyone seen Dr. Eugene in Flatbush?? Ever since I read that the candidate moved into an Argyle Rd. apartment in the district, I've been looking for an sign of him with no luck. Has anyone spotted him?
"Haiti has a corrupt legal system where cronyism and corruption are the order of the day," Judge John Lyons wrote in his decision. "Justice is dispensed according to who can pay the going rate."
FLATBUSH IS NOT HAITI
Doesn't Dr. Mathieu Eugene have any defenders? Does anyone think his subterfuge is proper in order to get Haitian representation on the Council?
J'ai
Please expand on the relevance of Cuomo's ruling as of today?