The following is an email Suffern mayor Dagan Lacorte sent to his supporters, following the Appeals court’s decision to affirm the invalidation of his candidacy for Rockland County Executive:

Thank you to my supporters who worked tirelessly for ten months — inspired by the opportunity to bring change to Rockland’s government. You demanded real solutions to the problems facing our community. And you wanted a leader who would unite us- black and white, religious and secular– from South Nyack to Sloatsburg.

I am deeply disappointed by the decision of the New York Court of Appeals invalidating my petitions on a procedural issue despite the Supreme Court’s clear and unambiguous finding that we had more than the required number of Democratic signatures.

New York’s outdated petition laws make it hard for candidates without party backing to get on the ballot and they are enforced by party-appointed Boards of Election. These laws are a relic of Tammany Hall-style politics and I will fight to change them.

I will be listening carefully to the remaining candidates and hope they speak to the concerns of the beleaguered taxpayers who supported my candidacy.