Former New York State Senator Cecilia Tkaczyk has filed a list of party officers and bylaws for the Women’s Equality Party of New York, listing herself as state chair. She was a Democratic State Senator for two years, 2013-2015. Here is a link to her filing. Here is a link to the wikipedia page about her.

The New York Women’s Equality Party already has a rival set of party officers. The party became ballot-qualified in November 2014 by polling over 50,000 votes for Governor, for its nominee, Andrew Cuomo, who was also the Democratic, Working Families, and Independence Party nominee. In New York, when a group becomes a fully-qualified party by polling over 50,000 votes, its statewide nominees are given the power to determine the identity of the new party’s officers. Governor Cuomo and his Lieutenant Governor running mate then signed papers choosing someone else as state chair of the Women’s Equality Party, but the other two statewide nominees did not sign that paperwork. State law says it is supposed to be signed by a majority of the statewide nominees. Therefore, the original filing is legally flawed.

Tkaczyk will sue to establish her claim to be state chair. The original chair is a registered Democrat and plans to remain a Democrat. By contrast, Tkaczyk has filled out a voter registration form listing herself as a member of the Women’s Equality Party. Thanks to Michael Drucker for the link.