LONG BEACH, N.Y. (AP) — A political candidate in a New York City suburb went for a nighttime swim in the Atlantic last spring and never returned.
Petros Krommidas’ phone, keys and clothes were found in the sand of Long Beach on Long Island. The 29-year-old former Ivy League rower, who was training for a triathlon, had parked his car right on the scenic boardwalk.
As the months passed, local Democrats tried to find a replacement for the Nassau County Legislature seat.
But two Republican electors went to court and won: A state judge recently ordered Krommidas’ name to remain on the November ballot, ruling that he is still missing and not officially deceased.
Now, as Election Day approaches, voters in Long Beach and other South Coast communities have a strange choice: re-elect the Republican incumbent or elect the Democrat who has seemingly disappeared into the sea.
The Democrats want to elect the missing candidate
James Hodge is among those urging residents to vote for Krommidas anyway, hoping to trigger a special election in which Democrats can field another candidate against county Legislator Patrick Mullaney.
The Long Beach resident worked with Krommidas on the Nassau County Board of Elections and was selected by Democrats to run for his job.
“We must stand with him and honor his name and his memory,” Hodge told The Associated Press. “Let’s give him victory. It’s the right thing to do.”
Republican voters argued in their lawsuit that Democrats could not claim Krommidas was dead because authorities still considered him a missing person. By law, someone must be missing for at least three years to be legally declared dead, they argued.
Judge Gary Knobel agreed, writing in his Sept. 29 ruling that “missing person status is not considered a vacancy that can be filled.”
Dead candidates have won elections before
In his ruling, the judge referred to a similar situation decades earlier in Alaska.
U.S. Rep. Nicholas Begich Sr. disappeared in a plane crash weeks before the 1972 vote but still won re-election. The Alaska Democrat was eventually declared dead and his Republican opponent claimed the seat in a special election.
More recently, Nevada brothel owner Dennis Hof, who was featured in the HBO documentary series “Cathouse,” died just weeks before the 2018 election but still won a seat in the state legislature.
In 2020, North Dakota legislative candidate David Andahl died of COVID-19 a month before the election and still won. And in 2022, Pennsylvania state Rep. Anthony DeLuca won re-election after dying of lymphoma the month before.
Hodge and other Democrats argue that Republicans only sued to secure victory because they wanted to strengthen their majority in the county legislature. They say the lawsuit has only prolonged the grief of Krommidas’ family.
“I understand politics, but there is a time to stop and be a human being,” said Ellen Lederer-DeFrancesco, who met Krommidas through the local Democratic Party. “Petros is someone’s son, brother, friend.”
Nassau County Republican Committee Chairman Joseph Cairo Jr. promised in a statement that the party and its candidates “will demonstrate the highest level of sensitivity during these challenging times for the Krommidas family.”
Krommidas’ family declined to comment when reached by phone, but his mother and sister recently shared a post on Facebook urging residents to “honor and vote for him.”
“My Peter cared deeply for people and his community and continues to bring kindness and unity to our community,” his mother Maria wrote in her post.
Eleni-Lemonia Krommidas, his sister, described him in her own post as a first-generation American who loved his country and “believed in equality, education and the power of unity.”
Voters comment on the beach where he disappeared
In the days after his disappearance, family and friends joined first responders in searching the wide, 3-mile-long stretch of sand in Long Beach, east of the New York City borough of Queens.
Some of the missing persons fliers they posted with pictures of Krommidas’ youthful, smiling face are tattered and faded but can still be seen on telephone poles around Long Beach.
Campaign signs for Mullaney, his opponent, are now prominently displayed on fences along major roads and on manicured lawns in residential areas. The Republican did not respond to emails seeking comment.
Last week on the Long Beach boardwalk, longtime resident Maude Carione was speechless about the choice facing voters in November.
“It’s crazy to put your name on the ballot. It’s going to confuse people,” said the 72-year-old, who supports Republican President Donald Trump but did not plan to vote in the upcoming election, which is largely local. “To be fair, you have to give another candidate a chance for the Democrats. You have to.”
For resident Regina Pecorella, the decision was bleak but clear.
“If it’s between those two, I’m voting for the person who’s still alive,” said the 54-year-old independent, who voted straight for Republicans in the last election. “I don’t know how else to answer that.”
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Associated Press reporter Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, contributed to this story.
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Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo
