Had been slated as independent candidate
Ben Cheah, who had been set to appear on the November ballot for the Philipstown Town Board as an independent candidate, on June 27 asked the Putnam County Board of Elections to remove his name.
Cheah and Ned Rauch had been endorsed by the Philipstown Democratic Committee for two open seats on the board. But in a Democratic primary on June 24, Nat Prentice won one of the two lines in November and Rauch won the other.
Cheah and Rauch had filed by a May deadline to appear on an independent line (Philipstown Focus) in November, which would have put them on the ballot regardless of the outcome of the Democratic primary.
In a statement on Facebook, Cheah wrote that before the primary, “there was a lot of speculation that Ned and I would continue on to the November election on an independent line, regardless of the outcome. For me, that was never the plan.” He said he withdrew because it is “the healthiest choice for both the Philipstown Democratic Party and my own career” and endorsed Rauch and Prentice.
The Philipstown Democratic Committee will vote at its July meeting on whether to endorse Prentice.
