Remembers things a bit differently
In a Letter to the Editor in the last edition of the West Haven Voice, West Haven Corporation Counsel Lee Tiernan took umbrage with statements made by the plaintiff in the Cohen vs. Rossi, et al, lawsuit, attacking the plaintiff Mr. Cohen with false and ridiculous accusations. Attorney Tiernan stated that Mr. Cohen wanted to reveal how people voted. That statement was not only ludicrous, but as a commissioner of the court, he should know better.
In the 2021 West Haven Mayoral Election, the lead went to Mr. Cohen over Mayor Rossi for voters who cast their votes at the polling places without one dispute. Once the machine voters were tallied, the results revealed that Barry Lee Cohen led Nancy Rossi at this juncture in the process.
It was not until the absentee ballots were counted that not only did the Cohen campaign recognize the flawed process, but eventually so did the Superior Court and the Supreme Court. The court determined that absentee ballots were missing and West Haven election officials violated two-thirds of the laws relating to the absentee ballot process, which included over forty violations of twenty state statutes. So, while voters stood in line and cast votes without any issues, the election officials at city hall violated the law, didn’t keep accurate records on the number of ballots returned and had total disregard for their election statutory duties. Both courts expressed a concerning lack of overall compliance with statutory guidelines by West Haven election officials.
There are some individuals in West Haven, who are elected, appointed (as Attorney Tiernan) and the so-called “politicos”, who took issue with Mr. Cohen’s lawsuit. As a former town chairman and candidate for office, I recognized for quite some time that there were issues with absentee ballots in West Haven that are not anecdotal, but real time problems. However, there were not enough resources, either physically or financially to investigate these issues further, considering that not one Republican candidate for mayor in 30 years came as close as Mr. Cohen to being elected mayor. Nothing the Republican party could have done before the 2021 election would have made a difference in the results.
And let’s not forget the active four lawsuits throughout the State of Connecticut regarding absentee ballot malfeasance as well as the latest conviction of Stamford operatives who cheated using absentee ballots. This form of voting has been proven time and again to be subject to abuse.
It is a candidate’s right to challenge results when they are questionable due to the sloppiness of election officials and interference by campaign operatives. It is also a municipalities corporation counsel’s duty to uphold the law. And because of Mr. Cohen’s lawsuit, West Haven citizens were made aware (if not confirmed) of what happened in the 2021 election. Let’s hope that the action taken by Mr. Cohen sets the tone for honest and future elections ensuring that what happened in 2021, doesn’t happen again. We are a land of law. The voters deserve better.
Michele Gregorio
Ed. Note: Michele Gregorio is a former Republican Town Chairman and mayoral nominee