A judge will hear the arguments to have 16 named petitioners banned from running for county committee member for the Independence Party.

Frederick Farrell, chairman for the Independence Party, will present his case to the Cayuga County Supreme Court at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 10.

Farrell is asking the judge to review a decision by the county Board of Elections that allowed the petitioners to run for the party's committee in the September primaries. Farrell wrote an objection to the board's commissioners Cherl Heary and Dennis Sedor saying the party opted to go with a system of state delegates because not enough members were interested in becoming county committee members.

The candidates can't run for spots that are not available, Farrell said.

However, Heary and Sedor rejected his objection, maintaining that every citizen has the right to try to run for office.

The court will decide if the petitioners can indeed run for the committee even though Farrell submitted a party list - or list of positions to be placed on the ballot - that included state delegates and omitted committee members.

Farrell, who is acting as his own attorney, says the real issue is the fact that the petitioners switched affiliations from Republican to Independence in October.

The “party raiders” are trying to take over the committee so they can control who is nominated for public office, Farrell claims.

He named the Board of Elections as well as Mark Murray, Michael and Patricia Shaw, Kathleen and Nicholas Holm, John Walters, Michael and Toni Italiano, Angelo and Cynthia Ervolina, Rene Blatchley, David and Kathleen Waby, James and Patricia Morrissey and Michael Lupo, et al, in the court documents.

Staff writer Jessica Soule can be reached at 253-5311, ext 267 or jessica.soule@lee.net