A Long Island Democrat running to be a county legislator — who bizarrely went missing nearly five months ago — will remain on the November ballot anyway, a Nassau judge ruled Monday.
County legislature candidate Petros Krommidas, 29, disappeared in April after going for a late-night swim in Long Beach, where police later found his car abandoned near the boardwalk with his clothes and cellphone left behind on the sand.
But Republicans successfully sued to block Democrats’ efforts to replace Krommidas with community advocate James Hodge, with the judge siding with the GOP’s contention that the candidate wasn’t “legally declared deceased,” according to Supreme Court Justice Gary Knobel’s decision.
The move left county Democrats fuming and considering an appeal as early voting is set to begin later this month.
“Nothing says Republican democracy like suing to keep a dead guy on the ballot,” Keith Corbett, an attorney for the Democrats, told The Post.
“[Nassau’s] Republicans once again choose to put their party over people, and are denying citizens the right to choose their representatives,” he added.
Corbett called Judge Konobel “a fine jurist.”
“However the law does not allow for him to determine if someone is missing or dead,” Corbett said.
Stephen Martir, an attorney representing the county GOP, declined comment.
The election is set for Nov. 4.
Krommidas’ name will appear on ballots for the Board of Legislators District 4 alongside Legislator Patrick Mullaney, a Republican completing his first two-year term in office.
The district includes Atlantic Beach, East Atlantic Beach, Long Beach, Lido Beach, Point Lookout, Harbor Isle, Island Park, Barnum Island, Oceanside and Bay Park.
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