By Dan Murphy
Democrats in Mt. Vernon may have a choice of five candidates when they vote in the Democratic primary in late June to select their next mayor. Joining incumbent Mayor Richard Thomas in that democratic primary will be Shawyn Patterson-Howard, Clyde Isley, and former Mayor Ernie Davis and City Council President Andre Wallace.
All five candidates will appear on the democratic primary ballot if they can submit more than 750 valid signatures. Patterson-Howard, who is running a grass-roots, outsider campaign and who said she wants to be the city’s first African-American mayor in Mt. Vernon, submitted 2,253 signatures, ensuring her a place on the primary ballot.
“I’m running for mayor because, as a lifelong resident, I know the heart of this city,” said Patterson-Howard. “I know our interests are not represented at City Hall. Every one of us is tired of the unkept promises and dirty politics. The lack of transparency and accountability has torn apart the fabric of our city. It’s time to believe in our city again.
“To move Mount Vernon forward, we must have hard conversations and get diverse minds around the table. I believe in forging relationships, not making empty promises. It is time for us to work together to take back our city.”
Last month, in what many viewed as a surprise decision, the Mt. Vernon Democratic Committee endorsed former Police Commissioner Clyde Isley for mayor. The decision by the democrats means that incumbent Mayor Richard Thomas will have to collect signatures and run against the party machine.
Isley was the choice of Mt. Vernon Democratic Party Chairman Reginald LaFayette, (who also serves as the democratic commissioner at the County Board of Elections) with Council President Andre Wallace second, and Mayor Thomas, former Mayor Davis and Patterson-Howard rounding out the group.
Isley said he is running to restore the reputation of Mt. Vernon, which has seen bond degradings, the arrest of Mayor Thomas, and an inability to get Memorial Field cleaned up and open again. Isley also portrays himself as the candidate who can clean up City Hall, and said he will not be the subject of any federal law enforcement probes. Isley, now 77, served as Mt. Vernon police commissioner 25 years ago, and also served as deputy commissioner of the Westchester County Corrections Department.
It appears that in addition to the party faithful and Chairman LaFayette, the elected leaders of Mt. Vernon have also lined up behind Isley, with long-serving Assemblyman Gary Pretlow and County Legislator Lyndon Williams supporting Isley’s nomination, as did three members of the Mt. Vernon City Council: March Griffith, Janice Duarte and Lisa Copeland. The combination of Democratic support for Isley, who ran for City Council two years ago and lost, is a vote of no confidence in Thomas.
Two other democrats are collecting signatures to get on the ballot, but did not seek the party’s nomination: Councilwoman Delia Farquharson and Carlo Jean Baptiste.
An early poll conducted by veteran Democratic pollster Tom Kiley and posted by Hezi Aris-Yonkers Tribune, shows Andre Wallace with 21 percent of the vote, Richard Thomas at 19 percent, and Clyde Isley at 18 percent, in a statistical dead-heat, with Shawyn Patterson-Howard close behind at 15 percent. The poll has a margin of error of 3 to 4 percent.
