Peace In Passaic County, For Now
Sami Merhi, the controversial Arab-American businessman who was to be the Democratic nominee for Passaic County Freeholder until key Democrats -- including Governor Jon Corzine and Senator Bob Menendez -- stopped his candidacy, will drop his Independent bid for Freeholder today and endorse the Democratic ticket.
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The lawsuit alleges that Merhi was the victim of anti-Arab prejudice, saying that his removal as a candidate violated his civil rights and the rules of the Democratic organization. The suit calls for Merhi's name to be reinstated on the primary ballot.
9/11 Flap Leads To Candidate Suit In Paterson
PATERSON, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- An Arab-American political candidate who was dumped by Passaic county Democratic leaders for comments some people interpreted as sympathetic to suicide bombers is suing to get on the ballot.
Democrats put forward Sam Merhi's name as a nominee for a county freeholder seat in the June 6 primary, but withdrew it in March amid political backlash from remarks Merhi made in 2002 about the 9/11 attacks.
Merhi, a Totowa businessman active in Democratic politics, said during a political fundraiser that he was outraged by the 9/11 attacks. When asked whether those feelings also applied to Palestinian suicide bombers in Israel, Merhi said he did not see a comparison. He later elaborated, saying that while all terrorist attacks are wrong, 9/11 was unique because it was on such a massive scale.
The lawsuit alleges that Merhi was the victim of anti-Arab prejudice, saying that his removal as a candidate violated his civil rights and the rules of the Democratic organization. The suit calls for Merhi's name to be reinstated on the primary ballot.
"The stated reason for the withdrawal was 'politics,' but the underlying basis ... is the fact that Merhi is an Arab-American and exercised his constitutional right of freedom of speech," the lawsuit reads, according to The Record of Bergen County for Saturday's newspapers.
John Currie, the chairman of the Passaic County Democratic Committee, one of the suit's defendants, said it was "ridiculous" to think that the committee had discriminated against Merhi.
The Democrats replaced Merhi with Joanne Graziano, who later pulled her candidacy over allegations that she forged education documents.
Merhi's lawsuit claims that he never gave up his candidacy and that the county's Democratic committee didn't correctly remove him. Merhi wants the county to reprint ballots to include his name.
However, Currie said Merhi never was the party's official candidate and that he always had the option of filing petitions to get his name on the ballot as a challenger.
A court hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday in Paterson.
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