TROY, N.Y. -- Failed Troy Mayoral candidate Ernest Everett is facing forgery charges. According to police documents, Everett is accused of falsifying his nominating petitions that were filed with the Board of Elections.
Candidates Rodney Wiltshire and Patrick Madden said they are disappointed.
"I felt all along that Ernest was taking votes away from me. Not too many people agreed with that, but subsequent to the primary we looked at where his votes came from those are areas that I work and where I have a lot of connections," said Patrick Madden.
Both candidates say Everett's alleged actions could have had a major impact on politics in Troy. Earlier in September, Madden got the Democratic nod, and Wiltshire is the Working Families candidate. There was an initial margin of five votes for the Democratic nominee during primary elections, then 50 votes when absentee ballots were counted. Everett earned 14 percent of the votes.
"Based on our polling and our effort that we put forward, we feel that those votes that went to him would have naturally went to us and that would have put me in a clear victory in the Democratic primary," said Wiltshire.
If indicted, Everett will face charges of felony of forgery in the second-degree and felony in the first-degree offering a false instrument for filing. Neither Everett nor his attorneys will be commenting until next week; however both Wiltshire and Madden say voters in Troy deserve better.
"I think his heart was in the campaign," said Madden. "I do hope it's not true. I think he is a bright guy. I think he's got a future and I hope he didn't screw it up."
Speaking of voter fraud in the past, Wiltshire said, "He's now hung out to dry and the entire election process has been corrupted by a few individuals. It's really unfortunate for our city."
A warrant is out for Everett's arrest. It cannot be determined if these allegations are grounds for a revote. Election Day is November 3.