Albany bill seeks to change candidate selection process

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A bill in Albany aims to change the process in how candidates are chosen for special elections.

Assemblymember Jon RIvera says a lot of influence is handled by one person and can be easily manipulated for the wrong reasons. He says in New York State there's s a system where if someone leaves office midterm, like when Sean Ryan, left the State Senate to become mayor, he was elected and half of his term was still ahead of them.

"What it did was create as it currently stands. The process is there are no petitioning, there's no need to engage with voters, there's no need to get a sense of where the public sentiment is," says Rivera. He says there's no primary election, and many of the elections that happen in Western New York are determined in a primary. "Instead, a county leader or county chairperson, in this case Jeremy Zellner, can just create a scenario where, in which they can choose themselves," contends Rivera.

He says that is troubling, and it's not netting good candidates.

Zellner says he's disappointed in Rivera.

"[He] apparently doesn't remember that he actually put in place the process and voted on it through the elections committee in the State Assembly to have the process that we have," contends Zellner. "I just think this is just another one of his contradictions that he's had in the last couple of months. He wasn't concerned about any of this until he was running for the seat, and I just think this is a political stunt, and I'm just disappointed."

Zellner says he can always look at changes, but right now there is already a structured system in place.

"But I think these two bills don't refine that system at all, they just have two different conflicting replacements. So, I don't think that these bills really accomplish much," Zellner added.

Rivera says this would apply to any party, and expense would not be an issue.

Rivera and Zellner square off for the State Senate seat June 23.