Independent Candidate for Cheektowaga, New York, Town Board Placed on Ballot by State Court Even Though his Petition Sheets Didn’t Mention Cheektowaga

On July 24, independent candidate Daniel Kollander was put on the November 4, 2025 ballot for Town Board of Cheektowaga, by a lower state court. The Board of Elections had rejected his petition because the individual petition sheets didn’t mention the name of the town in the “Public Office” blank, although the name of the town was in two other places on the petition.


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Independent Candidate for Cheektowaga, New York, Town Board Placed on Ballot by State Court Even Though his Petition Sheets Didn’t Mention Cheektowaga — 14 Comments

  1. I am the candidate in this story, the only thing you got correct other than my name, is the result…I won.

  2. Dear Mr. Kollander, I strive for accuracy. Please tell me what I got wrong.

  3. The conspiracy was domestic. It was against Trump. It failed. Now the people behind it will finally be held accountable.

  4. How can they verify that every petition circulator really told every person who signed that the petition was for the Cheektowaga Town Board? They would have to interview everyone who signed and the signers may not remember. I am surprised they let this fly.

  5. Richard Winger: It was in State Supreme Court with Justice Edward Pace, It was done virtually for myself and my attorney, NO witnesses we in the courtroom or testified in person, they only signed affidavits in case they were needed, no evidence outside of the petitions itself was allowed by the judge. The Erie County Board of elections county supplied attorney argued the fact that under “public Office” on my petition, it only stated “Councilmember 4 yr term” and did not indicate a geographic area (Town) and this could confuse people. We argued The town was pre-printed in 2 other spots on the petition before anyone signed them. The BOE argued it has to be in that box “Public Office”. My attorney supplied case law, which were the exact same case laws we used for the BOE hearing on July 8th. that the BOE ignored.(Cook v. Zelazny, 49 nA.D.2d 1036, (4th Dept, 1975). From my attorney: A few points to clarify Dan’s court case:
    The NYS election law does NOT explicitly require that the political subdivision of an elected position appear on a petition.
    The courts have interpreted the New York State election law to require that the petition contain the title of the office being sought and the geographic territory covered by the office being sought. But the courts do not require that the geographic territory appear in any particular spot on the petition.
    Dan’s petition specified the geographic territory by way of his residence address and at the bottom of the petition it stated town of Cheektowaga.
    We had 4th department case right on point (Erie County is in the fourth department). In that case candidates for supervisor, councilmember, and Highway Superintendent all failed to specify the town of Shelby beneath the office they were seeking, but the petitions showed the residence as locations within the town of Shelby and thus the court held that was sufficient for purposes of the election law.
    Curiously, the board of elections cited a case but apparently didn’t read the case before putting it in their brief. In that case a person stated they were running for County judge but they did not specify the County beneath the designation of the office. The court held that the petitions were valid because the candidate stated his address was in a town located within the county and the court held that was sufficient to meet the requirements of the election law as interpreted by the courts.

    If you email me, I will supply you with the court transcript once we receive it.

  6. This is very concerning news.

    I Think My Dog’s A Democrat
    Bryan Lewis

    [Verse 1]
    Well, I think my dog’s a democrat
    And it breaks my heart
    To have to say
    An ugly thing like that
    But there’s a big old pile of evidence
    That all points toward the facts
    My dog might be a democrat

    [Chorus 1]
    I pay for all his health care
    And I buy everything he eats
    I provide him with a place to live
    Just to keep him off the streets
    But he just acts like he’s entitled
    Even tried to unionize the cat
    Yeah, I think my dog’s a democrat

    [Verse 2]
    He chewed up the Constitution
    That I keep on display
    And every time Benghazi’s on TV
    He looks the other way
    (“What difference, at this point, does it make”)
    I know he’s a liberal
    Even if he won’t admit it
    He pooped on my living room rug
    And tried to tell me George Bush did it

    [Verse 3]
    He ain’t got no papers
    And what really gets my goat
    Is if he could find a ride to town
    Well, I know they’d let him vote
    Sure we’ve had some good times
    He’s been fun to have around
    But if he ever barks
    About my right to bear arms
    I’m gonna have to have him put down

    [Interlude]
    (Who’s a good boy?)
    (Who’s a good boy?)

    [Chorus 2]
    I pay for all his health care
    And I buy everything he eats
    I provide him with a place to live
    Just to keep him off the streets
    You’d have to be a Socialist
    To ever act like that
    So my dog must be a democrat

    [Verse 4]
    His behavior has been hinting
    His mom might be Mrs. Clinton
    (“Oof-oof-oof-off, oof-oof-oof-oof”)
    Yeah, I thing my dog’s a
    Spread-the-wealth
    Government-health
    Flea-bitten democrat
    Dangit

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