Ali Muhammad on ballot for mayor

Ali Muhammad

By Jeff Simms

Former Beacon City Council Member Ali Muhammad will be on the ballot in November as the Independence Party candidate for Newburgh mayor, but he was unable to force a June 25 Democratic primary with incumbent Torrance Harvey.

The Orange County Board of Elections last week upheld Harvey’s objection to Muhammad’s Democratic nominating petition, disqualifying 117 of its 341 signatures. A candidate needed 259 signatures from registered party members.

At the same time, the board rejected Harvey’s objection to Muhammad’s Independence Party petition, which required 18 valid signatures.

No Republicans submitted nominating petitions.

Harvey was appointed mayor last year to complete the term of Judy Kennedy, who died in April. Muhammad served on the Beacon council from 2014 to 2017 before moving to Newburgh.

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Behind The Story

Type: News

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

Jeff Simms has covered Beacon for The Current since 2015. He studied journalism at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. From there he worked as a reporter for the tri-weekly Watauga Democrat in Boone and the daily Carroll County Times in Westminster, Maryland, before transitioning into nonprofit communications in Washington, D.C., and New York City. He can be reached at [email protected].