PIcks Up Another Endorsement, and a Letter of Support
On May 20, City Council President Mike Khader issued the following statement concerning the call by the six other members of the City Council for an investigation into allegations made by a former employee about his office’s work environment in City Hall, claims about the his private, law office space.
“The council has every right to investigate as they deem necessary and I fully intend to cooperate. Unfortunately, this is the par for the course for anyone who is politically independent in Yonkers. As for me, and my team, I’m focused on increasing affordable housing, helping our city recover from the pandemic, and making Yonkers a better place to live and work for all.”
Khader picked up another endorsement this week, from the NYS Nurses Association. “Mike Khader has dedicated his career to fighting for working people, and we are proud to support his re-election campaign,” said Jayne
Cammisa, RN, NYSNA Board of Directors. “This pandemic has uncovered the stark inequalities in our healthcare system and beyond, and more than ever we need experienced leaders fighting for protections for our healthcare workers, investing in our healthcare system, and building toward a more equitable future for all. Mike Khader is that leader for
Yonkers, and we’re ready to keep fighting alongside him.”
“Nurses have been on the frontlines throughout this pandemic, risking their lives to fight for our families, and I’m so grateful for all they have sacrificed,” said Khader. “As we recover, we need strong, progressive leadership to win stronger workplace protections for our healthcare workers, funding for our hospitals, and safe staffing guarantees. I’m proud to have the support of NYSNA and the hardworking members it represents, and look forward to continuing our fight for worker protections and access to high-quality healthcare for all.”
Since the councilmembers call for an investigation by the Yonkers Inspector General, there has been little or no dialogue between Khader and the other members of the City Council, according to more than one councilmember.
Which raises the question about being independent. Council President Khader has, indeed, been the most independent member of the council. He has stood opposed to certain initaitves and City budgets that he did not believe best served the interests of the people of Yonkers. And for the most part, the people of Yonkers support that type of analysis, and ability to offer alternative proposals and perspectives.
But now, based on the recent allegations, and on all six members of the City Council questioning his actions, the question that democratic voters will now make on June 22 is, can Council President Khader serve the needs of the people of Yonkers without working with the other six members of the City Council, and is his “independence” now hurting and not helping the city.
Khader received the endorsment of the Yonkers Democratic Party earier this year. Yonkers Democrats tell us that rumors that the party may take the endorsement away from Khader are not true. But as one Yonkers Democratic told us, “rank and file Yonkers democrats may not be working hard and may do nothing,”
After the Memorial Day weekend, there will be three weeks left before the Democratic Primary June 22. For Khader’s two opponents in the democratic primary for Council President, Lakisha Collins-Bellamy and Peter Spano, the time is now. All three will participate in a series of debates over the next two weeks, which we will watch and report back to you on.
“Khader was waltzing to an easy primary victory as of a few weeks ago. Now, yes, things have changed, but instead of being up by 30, maybe Khader is now up by 15. It is up to Lakisha to get out there and take it from him. Yonkers Democrats still need to know who she is and why she is running, and why they should vote for her over Khader,” said one Yonkers Democrat.
Another Yonkers Democrat said, “in a democratic primary, mostly people paying attention to politics are the voters who come out and vote. The accusations against our Council President are making their way around the city. Karen (Schullere) is well respected, especially in the police department. This could definitely hurt him.”
The other unknown is what will Mayor Mike Spano do? Will Mayor Spano make an endorsement?
Another unknown is who will come out and vote, or mail in their vote by June 22. Will Yonkers democrats be energized to cast their vote, and will progressive democrats continue to come out and vote?
One wise Yonkers democrat told me, “if you are going to primary someone who is an incumbent, you better win, because it just makes them stronger if you lose.”
Khader has Red Horse Strategies running his campaign.
We recently received this letter to the editor from Scott Dennis in support of Khader.
“Our council President Mike Khader must be doing something right if the Yonkers political machine is upset with him. When I read the May 21st article detailing the council’s desire to have him investigated I laughed out loud, imagine a man who has been vetted by the CIA and the New York bar association not meeting the standards of a council that voted for their own third term during a late night session, hilarious!
“I read the spurious allegations once, then twice and a third time just to be sure and they read like a group of employees who need to have their hand held and are overly sensitive-give us a break! I know I will be voting for President Khader in June and so should the readers of Yonkers Rising.”
This letter appears in the May 28th issue of Yonkers Rising.
