Sullivan County, NY – Rabiner Official Winner In Bloomingburg Election

Sullivan County, NY – Nine days after a highly contested election, a Chasidic resident has successfully earned a seat on the Bloomingburg Village Board.

With all sealed ballots and affidavits counted, Aaron Rabiner led incumbent Katherine Roemer by a margin of nine votes, but due to allegations of misconduct, the election was expected to be decided on Monday in a Sullivan County courtroom. Roemer’s attorney Alan Goldston dropped his challenge on Friday with a letter to Sullivan County Supreme Court Judge Stephan Schick conceding the election, but left open the possibility of pursuing the matter further with the state attorney general.

The 26 year old Rabiner told VIN News that he plans to advocate for all Bloomingburg residents in his role as a trustee and hopes for a more united future for the small village.

“I’m looking forward to representing everyone in the village, working with the mayor and other board members to have the village come together,” said Rabiner. “I’m very happy to be able to serve the village of Bloomingburg.”

Rabiner who is originally from Borough Park, moved to Bloomingburg 14 months ago from Harris, New York. Rabiner works in Monroe, where he has a men’s clothing line and will be getting married at the end of May.

“I am very much looking forward to raising a family here,” said Rabiner. “I really believe in this village and that we can live together, work together and respect each other. I have high hopes that the village will come together.”

Controversy swirled around the election with the Sullivan County Board of Elections challenging the registration of 184 residents, 160 of whom were Chasidic, in January. A group of 27 Chasidic Bloomingburg residents filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the Board of Elections was engaging in discrimination and depriving Chasidic voters of their right to vote, as previously reported on VIN News.

27 of those voters had their right to vote restored before the March 18th election by Judge Schick.

“The board of elections moved to cancel those registrations without any explanation even though the law requires them to provide one,” said Michael Fragin of Bloomingburg’s Jewish Community Council. “The law allows for an appeals process but with no explanation there is no way to go to a judge and appeal, which is why Judge Schick stayed those cancellations.”

In his letter Goldston charged that Rabiner’s nine vote lead is a direct result of those votes.

“The ballots of ineligible persons substantially exceed that margin and therefore plainly affected the outcome,” wrote Goldston. “If the Board had simply carried out the mechanical implementation of its February 27 determination, Ms. Roemer would today be the clear winner of the election.”

While Rabiner may have won this election, Goldston’s letter alludes to possible further action on the state level. While the results of this election cannot be invalidated, the attorney general could call for a new election, something Fragin called “extremely unlikely.”