In the CD3 special, 'Adam Gaza' was write-in there

Daily Point

Political write-ins in CD3

While Tom Suozzi beat Mazi Melesa Pilip handily in CD3’s February special election, hundreds of voters didn’t choose either candidate — instead writing in their own choices.

And many of them chose to make a political statement even in their write-in picks.

Topping the write-in candidate lists in both Queens and Nassau counties was Adam Gaza — a candidate who doesn’t actually exist.

Adam Gaza was invented about a decade ago during then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s reelection bid by activist and former New York City comptroller candidate Hesham El-Meligy.

In the summer of 2014, another round of fighting in Gaza was ongoing and Cuomo headed to Israel that August to show his support. Cuomo’s backing of Israel angered El-Meligy — and Adam Gaza was born.

Last year, after the Oct. 7 attacks, some voters sought to write in “Free Palestine” on their ballots. But El-Meligy said that lawyers with whom he had consulted had determined that slogans would not be fully reported or recorded in the official results.

Hence the return of Adam Gaza. In campaign literature online, an organization known as the New York Muslim Action Network advertised the Adam Gaza campaign, noting that neither Suozzi nor Pilip had advocated for a cease fire.

“All eyes are on this special election,” the flyer said. “Let’s make a difference for innocent civilians. Thousands of votes for ADAM GAZA will send a very powerful message across the country, not only in NY.”

As it turned out, Adam Gaza didn’t get thousands of votes. In Queens, 47 people wrote in Adam Gaza; in Nassau, the symbolic candidate received 52 votes. That was, however, the highest vote total of any write-in candidate.

Former Rep. George Santos ended up with the second-highest write-in total, with 26 votes. One individual wrote in Anthony Kitara — a nod to Santos’ drag queen moniker, Kitara Ravache.

Former Rep. Peter King, former President Donald Trump, former Rep. Ron Paul and former CD3 candidate Melanie D’Arrigo each were selected by multiple write-in voters. Other political figures or candidates got a single vote each, including Steve Israel, Laura Curran, Jack Martins, Jen DeSena, Tim Sini, Mike LiPetri, Mike Sapraicone, Liuba Grechen Shirley, Marianne Williamson, Greg Hach and Robert Zimmerman.

And in the unofficial totals provided to The Point, slogans — including “Free Palestine” and “Ceasefire” — were listed. So too were “Neither of these,” “They Both Stink,” “Anyone else” and “None of Three (sic) Candidates, Go Fish!”

The write-in votes strayed into fiction, too. Monkey D. Luffy, a character in a Japanese manga series, got a single vote. And while their names were misspelled, Jed Bartlet, who served two full terms as president on “The West Wing,” and Sheev Palpatine, better known as Darth Sidious, or the Emperor, from “Star Wars,” each got a vote, too.

While those votes might be one-offs, expect the Adam Gaza effort to continue. El-Meligy already is beginning to encourage people to write-in the candidate in upcoming primaries — and come November, too.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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