Is ACORN Back to its Old Tricks?

While ACORN itself effectively ended, ACORN reformed on the state level.  Many of its leaders went into other ACORN-related groups, such as Project Vote and the Working Families Party.  In New York the latter is headed by Bertha Lewis, former President of the national ACORN. 

The Working Families Party(WFP) in New York is mired in allegations of impropriety from all directions and all over the state.  Now at least one prosecutor has decided to present the evidence to a grand jury:

A prosecutor investigating possible wrongdoing by the upstart Working Families Party said he’s about to present evidence to a grand jury.

Special prosecutor Roger Adler declined to comment on the evidence, but told the Daily News he expects to convene a grand jury shortly after Veterans Day as part of his probe into allegations the WFP illegally gave candidates below-cost campaign-related services in 2009.

Of course the current leader in the polls for the New York City Mayoral race, Bill de Blasio, is one of the candidates who had the backing of the WFP in 2009.  De Blasio went out of his way to thank the WFP for his Democrat Primary Mayoral victory recently which barely exceeded the run off margin.  A margin likely provided by WFP.  Is New York City about to elect the Mayor from ACORN?   

According to New York Post Columnist Bob McManus, the answer is yes.

[The WFP is] fundamentally a vehicle for advancing the narrow, often-reactionary interests of unions.

Founded in 1998 by Lewis’ radically redistributionist ACORN, quasi-private-sector unions like the exquisitely ideological Communication Workers of America and fundamentally self-interested organizations as the United Federation of Teachers, the WFP early on saw a soulmate in de Blasio — essentially lifting him into the City Council in 2001.

Four years ago, the alliance was renewed as de Blasio successfully sought the city’s functionally powerless, but politically well-placed, public advocate’s office.

Now de Blasio and the WFP will ascend to the mayoralty together.

The allegations against WFP are not limited to New York City.  In Plattsburgh, New York the WFP may be illegally filling out ballots for voters.

Republicans cite an alleged effort on behalf of the Working Families and Democratic candidates to target voters who live in public housing or are SUNY Plattsburgh students who are registered voters but have a poor participation record in recent elections.

Republicans are concerned about the possibility that the voters were encouraged to submit falsified absentee ballots.

The effort, they claim, began with volunteers providing people with absentee-ballot applications, which is perfectly legal, and having the voters sign them. The volunteers, some Republicans claim, then filled out the rest of the form and returned it to the Clinton County Board of Elections.

. . . If an absentee ballot or application is filled out fraudulently, it could result in a felony charge for the voter and the volunteer who assisted them, according to Plattsburgh City Police.

Up to now it has all been allegations.  But that could change with a grand jury after Veterans Day. This could be just the start of problems for WFP.