Despite dropping out of the mayoral race earlier this month, Jim Walden's name will remain on the ballot for the November election, a judge ruled on Thursday.
Walden, a lawyer who was running as an Independent, suspended his mayoral campaign on Sept. 2 so a clear opponent can emerge to defeat Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral nominee who is the current leader to win the race according to recent polls.
State Supreme Court Judge Jeffrey H. Pearlman however ruled on Thursday that Walden had missed his deadline to cease his campaign. When Walden submitted his paperwork on Sept. 5 to the Campaign Finance Board and the Board of Elections to officially end his candidacy, the CFB accepted his campaign termination but the BOE did not, the ruling said.
Walden then filed a petition to get his name removed from the November ballot, arguing that "it is arbitrary and capricious" for the BOE to refuse his termination as "voters will be fundamentally misled" should he be listed as a candidate in the general election.
But under state election law, a candidate has five days after he declares his candidacy to reverse course. Therefore, Walden had to terminate his campaign by May 30, 2025, the ruling said.
After the ruling, Walden said on X that he wished the result would have been different. In addition, he may be "compelled to participate" in the upcoming mayoral debates in October, since that is a condition of having accepted public funds.
"Won’t that be interesting!" he noted.
