By Dan Murphy
Has the blue wave of Democratic progressive, anti-Trump support in Westchester finally subsided? The victory last month by Tuckahoe republican mayoral candidate Greg Luisi and a GOP win for one of the two other seats on the Village Board gives hope to better-known republicans up for re-election this November.
Luisi defeated Democrat John Fitzpatrick by a 52 to 48 percent margin for Tuckahoe mayor. In the race for two seats on the Village Board, republican Harmeet Goindi and democrat Renee Howell each won by less than 2 percent.
The results in Tuckahoe can be seen as the cup being half full or half empty, depending on what political party you support, with republicans claiming victory in a republican stronghold and democrats realizing they are coming closer and closer to taking over a republican town.
Eastchester Town Supervisor Anthony S. Colavita, up for re-election in November, can take satisfaction in the recent election results in the Village of Tuckahoe, which together with Bronxville is part of the Town of Eastchester. Colavita’s recent re-election in 2017 was closer than most thought it would be, 55%-45%.
Bronxville is another republican stronghold for decades, and the county legislator that represents Bronxville, republican Gordon Burrows, won his re-election in 2017 by a 52 to 48 percent margin and is facing the same challenger again this year in Democrat Ruth Walker.
Some see a republican comeback from the disaster that was 2017 as unlikely or even impossible. “Democrats now have a 13-4 advantage on the county board, and John Testa’s seat in Peekskill is up for grabs in November,” said one county republican. “All of the countywide offices (county executive, district attorney, county clerk) are democrats and have been for some time.”
“The Blue Wave wasn’t Doug Colety’s (Westchester GOP chairman) fault. The losses for republicans in Westchester are because of the negative view more than 60 percent of the residents feel about President Trump and because of the natural progression of old residents moving out who are republicans and new residents moving in who are democrats,” said a democratic county official.
In addition to Colavita in Eastchester, Harrison Town Supervisor Ron Belmont will seek a 4th term in November. Harrison is also one of the few remaining republican strongholds in Westchester, and Belmont easily won re-election, including in 2017 – the year of the Blue Wave.
Two other Westchester towns that have recently turned blue are in North Castle and Yorktown. Republican Matt Slater is trying to retake the Yorktown supervisor’s post from democrat Ian Gilbert, while in North Castle, democratic Supervisor Michael Schiliro seems headed for an easy re-election.
Another interesting vote total from the March elections came in the Town of Greenburgh and the Greenburgh school district. A proposed $115 million bond proposal was defeated by a large margin, with 2,101 “no” votes, and 1,210 “yes” votes, in what was described as a massive turnout.
“On March 19, many of you came out to vote on a consolidation bond proposal by the Greenburgh Central School District,” said Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner. “It was a historically high turnout for the largest-ever school bond proposal in Westchester County, and it was defeated by a large margin. Having spoken to many of you before the vote and in its aftermath, it is clear to me that a combination of concerns led to the failure of the bond. It is equally clear to me that the community would like to see the school district improve. The question is what to do and how to do it. As your supervisor, I would also like to facilitate a dialogue between residents and the school district.”
