POUGHKEEPSIE – Marco Caviglia,
the Dutchess County Democratic Elections Commissioner is suing party members
to dispute allegations of being a misogynistic bully, according to a lawsuit
he filed on June 28.
The suit names Dutchess County Democratic Chairwoman Elisa Sumner, former
Election Specialist Jasmin Vazquez and 50 “yet to be named”
defendants as people that have conspired to prevent Caviglia from being
re-appointed to his position by defaming him in emails and other communications
portraying him as a “misogynistic bully” that doesn’t deserve
to be reappointed to anther two-year term.
Caviglia is finishing up his fifth year according to his complaint and
he alleges that the county chairwoman is undermining him by making defamatory
comments against him to town Democratic committees while simultaneously
promoting a female alternative, namely Beth Soto. She is a union operative.
To become a commissioner of Elections in Dutchess County, either Republican
or Democrat, there is a special election. Each party’s county committee
holds an election and the winner’s name is submitted to the respective
party’s county legislature’s respective caucus. The legislators traditionally
present the winner’s name to the full board for approval. Only once in
recent history has that process not been followed.
In the 1990’s the Democrats attempted to replace their sitting commissioner.
The vote tally was questioned and the GOP legislators backed the majority
of the Democrats on the board, keeping Bill Egan as commissioner. That
battle led to a federal lawsuit that ultimately ruled that Egan stayed
in his job.
Caviglia, who has said that he “declines to comment on private, personal
litigation,” asserts that the two named defendants have defamed him
by telling eligible Democratic committee voters that he is a “bully”
and have characterized him as “misogynistic” in order to prevent
him from being re-nominated by the county’s committee. Caviglia claims
that defamatory comments have been spread by the defendants through, among
other methods, bulk emails and in speaking engagements.
Caviglia’s lawsuit seeks compensation of $617,500 in an estimated loss
of wages and benefits if not re-appointed along with $209,440 in reduced
retirement benefits based on life expectancy and $500,000 from the loss
of reputation and humiliation.
He is also seeking $750,000 in punitive damages from Sumner for “intentional
infliction of harm” directed at him. A former Democratic committee
member finds irony in Caviglia’s claim noting that the plaintiff had been
the hand-picked candidate of Sumner in the past.
Both Sumner and Vazquez are represented by attorney Michael Treybich,
who is also a member of the county’s Democratic committee. Speaking for
his clients Treybich said “my clients and I are confident that the
court will dismiss the lawsuit as frivolous. The only possible rationale
for bringing the action is that Mr. Caviglia is trying to suppress free
speech and discourse among the Democratic committee during a contested
election for commissioner of Elections.”
Treybich said that his client Sumner was served with the suit on Independence
Day and he was retained immediately after. Treybich sent a letter to the
plaintiff on July 9 and said in part “to avoid the conflict of interest
in performing your duties as commissioner when you filed the lawsuit,
you must recuse yourself from reviewing or ruling on any petitions filed
by any Democratic candidates this year, as all of the various petitions
for Democratic candidates were gathered by subscribing witnesses who are
possible defendants, and all of the candidates are members of the various
organizations, and are possible defendants as well.” Treybich continued
to protect his clients by including in the letter “”as your
deputy, Daniel Miller, Esq. is uninvolved in the lawsuit, he will make
a suitable, and indeed, a competent temporary replacement during the pendency
of your conflict of interest.”
Vazquez, one of the two named defendants, no longer works under Caviglia
at the Board of Elections and has indicated that prior to her resignation
she filed a complaint against Caviglia claiming that he created a hostile
work environment for her, which, despite being in her third trimester
of pregnancy, gave her no choice but to resign. Vazquez indicated that
she will be providing Mid-Hudson News a full record of her complaint against
Caviglia in the near future.
No judge has been assigned to hear the case. Defendants yet to be named
include many town committee chairs, including Hyde Park’s Michael Dupree
who declined to comment and directed inquiries to Treybich’s law firm.
