State Supreme Court Judge Gerald W. Connolly on October 18 dismissed a lawsuit brought against Democratic candidate Pramilla Malick, who is running against incumbent Republican Senator John Bonacic for the state senate district that includes Sullivan County and parts of Orange, Ulster and Delaware.

Several people, including Richard Coombs, the chair of the Sullivan County Republican Party, had sued Malick charging, among other things, that she does not have a right to run for office here because until July of this year, she was registered as a voter in New York City and not at her Orange County address.

The New York State Courts have consistently ruled that a person who owns more than one home in New York State, in many cases, may register to vote and hold office in either residence. In his decision the judge said Malick would not be eligible to hold office because she had not been considered a resident of Orange County for a full year as required, be he dismissed the case because it was filed too late.

Bonacic was not named as a petitioner in the lawsuit, but Malick’s campaign indicated in a press release that they believe the lawsuit was brought for his benefit. They charge that this is an attempt to keep Bonacic from having any challenger in the election, which has been the case for the past two election cycles.

The press release says, “Malick’s lawyer, Lawrence Mandelkar, termed the lawsuit 'abusive.' He believes it was intended to force the Malick campaign to spend money defending itself in court so it wouldn’t have the resources to mount an effective political campaign.”

Bonacic’s spokesperson Conor Gillis denied that Bonacic is involved with the lawsuit. He wrote in an email, "Senator Bonacic is not a party to this lawsuit, and any discussion to the contrary is not true."

Malick and her husband have owned a home in Minisink for 16 years, and she has been active in fighting the Minisink Compressor Station and the CPV power plant.