Corwin In Good Position For Conservative Party Nod

By Jessica Taylor // March 2, 2011 | 6:01 p.m.
Updated: March 4, 2011 | 8:55 a.m.

The New York Conservative Party could pick their nominee for the 26th District special as early as this week, and after sitting down with Iraq War veteran David Bellavia on Wednesday the party's chairman still sounds sold on Assemblywoman Jane Corwin, who got the GOP nod last week.

"We had a good meeting. He's a pleasant individual. [Bellavia] laid out his case and I discussed with him some of what I see as his problems," Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long told Hotline On Call. "I made it very clear that I felt that [Corwin] had a leg up on him because she's had our endorsement before."

Corwin has been endorsed by the party in her previous state races, and according to their legislative rankings she is the second most conservative lawmaker in Albany. Long also pointed to the fact that the Monroe County Conservative Party voted last week to endorse Corwin as another positive for her campaign.

Long said the party's executive committee, who will make the decision, could meet later this week or early next week to vote on their nominee, in part so that no one is "looking over their shoulders" and "so that we can clarify where we stand."

After being passed over for the Republican Party nomination, Bellavia has said he would try to run on the Conservative Party line, but also hasn't ruled out petitioning onto the ballot to run in the yet-to-be-called special election to succeed former Rep. Chris Lee (R-N.Y.), who quickly resigned last month after a report that the married congressman had replied to a personal ad on Craigslist with a shirtless muscle photo of himself.

In an interview with Hotline On Call, Bellavia still struck a positive tone after his meeting with Long, saying he felt the Conservative Party's process has been more open and fair than the Republicans', which Bellavia and his supporters have said happened too quickly.

"I was impressed that he took the meeting, that he honored his word," said Bellavia. "I had a really good talk with him for over an hour. Thus far, it's been a pretty fresh breath of air."

Bellavia has made Corwin's position on abortion a central part of his campaign. The state assemblywoman has said she supports legalized abortion in the first trimester, but does not support late-term or partial birth abortions. He reiterated that he would reserve making a decision on an independent run until after the Conservative Party votes, but said he is beginning to set up a campaign infrastructure and has had talks with every major party in the state. "We are fundraising, and we do have people across the country who are raising money, and we have fundraisers planned," said Bellavia. "We're doing everything we can. We're gearing up and raising money, and if they make that decision, we'll be ready to go." Republicans are eager to avoid another divisive situation like the one that occurred in New York's 23rd District special election in 2009, when the a split between the Republican Party's choice of Dede Scozzafava and the Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman helped Democrat Bill Owens capture the seat. But Long said those comparisons aren't relevant to this situation. "The Republican Party tried to ram down the throats of the Conservative Party a liberal Republican who clearly did not represent our beliefs," said Long. "In this case, no one is trying to ram anyone down anyone's throat." Even Bellavia backed off terming Corwin a "liberal Republican," saying only that he believed she was a "weaker candidate." "I think I'm more conservative," said Bellavia. "She's not a liberal and she's not a left-winger. She's a moderate New York Republican. I'm not."

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