Crown Hts. Election Said to Be 'Tainted'

NEW YORK -- Shining the spotlight on the dirtiest race in Crown Heights' history, the watchdog group that policed last November's race for control of the community is saying that the election was marred by bitterness and voter harassment.

Officials at the Honest Ballot Association, which was ordered by the courts to supervise the elections for the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council, walked away so troubled by the election-day shenanigans that they contacted the judge in the case and asked him to hold a hearing to see what went wrong.

Representatives of HBA refused to comment. However, both an attorney involved in the case and the presiding judge, Elliott Golden, confirmed that a top executive of the association said in a closed-door meeting in his chambers on Monday that the election was fraught with problems, and used the word "tainted."

In addition, a confidential letter sent by HBA to Judge Golden and reviewed by the Forward suggests that officials there were horrified by what they witnessed at the polls. "During the course of the election, there were many attempts by observers to influence the voters by speaking foreign languages," says the letter, which is signed by Maralin Falik, HBA's executive director. "In all cases, these observers were removed from the premises by our supervisory personnel....In no way did we expect an easy election, but we did not anticipate the bitterness and disrespect we encountered."

`Strife' Cited

Ms. Falik, who could not be reached for comment, met with Judge Golden to present the final tallies and, according to both the judge and one of the attorneys, proceeded to voice concern over the Lubavitch election. In attendance was the attorney for the group that filed a lawsuit seeking to overthrow the current regime at the community council, which is headed by Rabbi Joseph Spielman, as well as the lawyer for the faction sympathetic to Rabbi Spielman.

Dealing a blow to those who hoped the election would be overturned, Judge Golden chose to ignore the HBA's concerns and decided not to throw out the election results. However, in an interview with the Forward, Judge Golden said he had left open the door for another legal challenge to the election.

"The Honest Ballot Association did observe that there was a lack of harmony and cooperation, a lack of freedom from strife and harassment and intimidation," Judge Golden told the Forward. "Unfortunately, in a community whose basic tenets would seem to indicate the contrary," he added, alluding to the fact that most of those who voted are Chasidic, "there was a great deal of strife."

Asked why he had chosen not to throw out the election results, the judge said that was not his purview and that anyone unhappy with the results was free to challenge it in court. "Were there claims of disharmony? Absolutely. Did Honest Ballot voice concerns? Yes. They voiced concerns that [their] integrity was being attacked, and they didn't like it. I am not about to make a judgment, however, absent a proceeding."

Crying Foul

Judge Golden's action was distressing to the group that felt HBA had all but discredited the election. Saul Feder, the lawyer for the dissidents, cried foul. "Honest Ballot said the election was `tainted' and that it was its preference to set aside the results and hold a new election," Mr. Feder told the Forward. He added that Ms. Falik had gone so far as to tell the judge that the Crown Heights election "was worse than a Teamsters' election." An official at HBA, Sy Gottlieb, denied that Ms. Falik had used the word `tainted,' saying: "She would never use the word `tainted.' "

Mr. Feder, a partner in the firm of Regosin, Edwards, Stone & Feder, expressed disappointment over the results of the closed-door hearing and said he and his clients were mulling whether to pursue litigation to have the election set aside or simply to abandon the struggle against the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council.

The election is the focal point of a larger, sordid struggle. Intense fights have broken out between those who wanted Rabbi Spielman to remain in power, and those, linked to a controversial rabbi, David Fischer, who wanted him overthrown. Rabbi Fischer, a major landlord in Crown Heights, has been the subject of a number of lawsuits regarding his acquisition of various buildings in the area. Everyone from the late Menachem Mendel Schneerson to Mayor Giuliani has been roped into the fray. Rabbi Fischer could not be reached for comment.

The Honest Ballot Association, which, according to Judge Golden, has monitored even rough-and-tumble Teamsters' elections, seemed to have been thoroughly befuddled by what took place on Eastern Parkway. Despite boasting a board whose ranks once included President Theodore Roosevelt and Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, they note that in this election, they received "many letters from members of the community which question our integrity."

Rabbi Spielman, for his part, applauded the decision of the judge to let the election stand. His slate of candidates, he pointed out, received 84% of the vote -- a clear mandate to rule. Asked about allegations of voter harassment, Rabbi Spielman replied: "What in this election has been tainted? I do not understand. I do not understand the accusation, and to whom it is directed. It is hanging in the air without explanation." The election "stands as the judge says -- as reported by Honest Ballot to the judge," the rabbi said.