Astorino allies taken off Independence Party rolls

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A state judge has removed 3,700 names from the rolls of Westchester County’s Independence Party after complaints from the party chairman that they were allies of Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino and improperly changed affiliations last year to ensure he’d be re-elected as county executive.

State Supreme Court Justice Robert DiBella’s decision Monday echoed a ruling by a midlevel state court that the party chairman has legal authority to cancel enrollments of those found “not in sympathy with the party’s principles.” The Appellate Division had concluded that the canceled enrollments were “just.”