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Westchester County Legislator Michael Kaplowitz (D/Somers) withdrew his lawsuit against Republican challenger Yorktown Councilman Terrence Murphy and the Board of Elections Tuesday. That means there will be an Independence Party primary in District Four on September 13.
We found evidence that there were quite a few improper things going on, but it would have been far too burdensome in time and money and angst. We would have had to subpoenaed several people, causing them disruption in their lives, Kaplowitz said. I didnt think it was worth it. The election in November is completely unrelated to this primary.
Murphy said while he took the lawsuit seriously, he knew he had not completed any kind of fraud as Kaplowitz alleged.
I took it seriously, but I knew we didnt do anything wrong. How can you turn around and say theres irregularities, or theres fraud when I know we didnt do anything wrong, and the board of elections even agreed that my signatures were all fine, Murphy said. Thats the reason why he dropped his lawsuit. Im thinking he knew he didnt have a leg to stand on, we did it the right way. All he did was waste more tax money, more peoples time and the courts time.
Kaplowitz stressed that his record will speak for him in the November election.
My record is cutting taxes and controlling spending. In 2011 I cut taxes and Terrence Murphy raised taxes. Ironically, Terrence needs to look in the mirror, he wasted a million and a half dollars of tax payers money by undoing consolidation efforts, and hiring people and costing money just because he had a personal vendetta against one person in the town, Kaplowitz said. His record is one that hes going to have to defend, and I think its one people will be very much repulsed by. He needs to practice what he preaches.
Murphy said Kaplowitz suffers from incumbency syndrome in doing anything and everything to keep anyone else from taking his place as the incumbent. He also stressed that in four of the past five years Westchester County has been the highest taxed county in the United States.
You dont get the nickname Tax Hike Mike for no reason," Murphy said. "Kaplowitz has raised county taxes, Westchester County is the highest taxed county in the United States of America, basically the world. Westchester County has been the highest taxed county in the country for four of the past five years. The buck stops with him.
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