Questions raised over how 83-year-old Maria Delgado got on the ballot in Huntington
Delgado’s vote total nearly doubled the difference between Smyth and Macco’s election results, despite a lack of any type of formal campaign.
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Questions are swirling around how 83-year-old Maria Delgado ended up as the Working Families Party nominee for Huntington Town supervisor — even as party leaders say they’ve never met her.
Delgado won the Working Families primary in June, defeating Democratic candidate Cooper Macco to secure a spot on the November general election ballot. But state party leaders now claim the Working Families line was “hijacked” in an effort to mislead voters and benefit Republican candidates.
On Wednesday night, party officials said Delgado has no real connection to the Working Families Party, despite being a registered member. They allege that individuals with ulterior motives circulated petitions to get “spoiler candidates” onto the ballot.
“The Working Families Party even went so far as to text registered members on Election Day that the candidates on their line were not real Working Families candidates,” said Macco, who was the Democratic nominee for supervisor.
Macco says he was endorsed by the party in the general election.
Suffolk County Republican Chairman Jesse Garcia pushed back against those claims.
“What occurred in Huntington were members of the Working Families Party that were so disenchanted with the Democrats that they formed their own slate in a primary and defeated them,” Garcia said.
A News 12 review of the petitions that placed Delgado on the ballot raised further questions. News 12 attempted to contact the two witnesses who collected signatures for Delgado’s petition, but were unable to locate them.
One witness listed a Greenlawn home as their address. Four people from that address signed the petition — but public records show the property was sold about four years ago to someone with a different name. The current resident told News 12 that no one living there signed the petition.
Now, calls are growing for an official investigation.
“People don’t like feeling like they’ve been hoodwinked or taken advantage of, and I think that’s what we’re seeing right now,” Macco said.
While it’s not yet clear if a formal investigation will be launched, the New York Attorney General’s Office confirms it is reviewing complaints related to the election.
