City Councilwoman Tasha Diaz
By Dan Murphy
Yonkers City Councilwoman Tasha Diaz issued the following statement after her democratic colleagues on the council removing her as Majority Leader on Feb. 8, based on a complaint filed by Councilwoman Corazon Pineda-Isaac for threats made against her by Diaz.
“This evening the Yonkers City Council took historic and unprecedented measures to remove me as Majority Leader of the Yonkers City Council. While I am disappointed that my colleagues took these measures due to unsubstantiated stories without any review by an independent body or wrongdoing found, I am undeterred and look forward to serving my constituents as their councilwoman.
“Political opponents on the City Council may be able to remove me as Majority Leader, but I stand proud to continue to fulfill my constitutional duty to the voters of the district, who re-elected me in a mandate.
“Stability in government that is working for the betterment of the people is something that voters have wanted , as seen this past year where the three incumbents for city government won re-election. Sadly that stability will be forever lost by this distinguished legislative body due to the actions of my colleagues.
“Many of the allegations levied against me in news reports were stated on the record in the reorganization meeting two years ago when I was first elected majority leader, yet many of the very Council members who voted to remove me today had supported me back then.
“The illegal audio recording taken of me by Councilwoman Pineda-Isaac was recorded over 2 years ago. Even more troubling, during the November 2023 SOMOS conference in Puerto Rico, City Council President Lakisha Collins-Bellamy approached me and informed me about the illegally obtained recording, but still voted to re-elect me as Majority Leader a few weeks ago.
“Many may wonder what spurned the stories and action by the Council considering many in the Council were well aware for months and years of the allegations, but only decided to take action after stories were published. Recently, I fired my Chief of Staff for wrongdoing and since then there has been a coordinated effort to take things out of context and paint myself in a bad light.
“This vote that occurred today was nothing more than political expediency for 4 Council members concerned about their re-election prospects in 2025.
“In the future, I hope all my colleagues hold themselves to the same standard that they held me to today. My colleagues can continue to waste time and city resources on this matter; however, I look forward to delivering to the people of Yonkers and keeping our city moving forward in the right direction,” said Diaz, who raises several legitimate questions.
I-If the recording was made two years ago, and is so serious that it warranted her removal as Majority Leader, why did it take two years for the audio to be shared with the pubic, and two years for a vote on her removal?
II-The same question can be asked of the other councilmembers-why wait two years to take action, if the matter was so serious?
III-Why not conduct an independent review of the matter before making any determination?
IV-We have been told that both Councilwoman Pineda-Isaac and Councilwoman Diaz have filed criminal complaints against each other. Pineda-Isaac’s complaint alleges harassment, while Diaz’s complaint alleges illegally recording her private discussion.
We have also learned more about the audio tape. This was not a recording between Pineda-Isaac and Diaz, but a recording that Pineda-Isaac made outside of Diaz’s office that she overheard. This type of recording may NOT be protected under NYS Criminal law. We had previously reported that anyone in New York State can record their conversation without the knowledge of the other person. That is not what happened in this case.
Many of the allegations included in Pineda-Isaac’s complaint, which can be found in our other story https://yonkerstimes.com/city-council-votes-diaz-out-as-majority-leader-replaced-by-rubbo/, are third person accounts, and were not made directly to Pineda-Isaac from Diaz, and may not reach the level of criminal harassment.
Councilwoman Diaz has told us that she “has had no interactions with her (Pineda-Isaac) in two years.” “When she comes into the room, I leave,” said Diaz. This fact points to no interaction between the twoThis since the re-organization meeting two years ago, and thus, no escalation of any threats or comments made against Pineda-Isaac in two years.
In an earlier NY Post story about the incident, Diaz said, “Language taken out of context does not give the full picture and is mainly used as metaphors. If language used has ever offended anyone, I apologize.”
The City Council also voted to censure Pineda-Isaac for recording private conversations in Council chambers and offices. If Diaz was speaking to someone else in her own private office, and did not know that Pineda-Isaac was recording her comments, does that constitute harassment?
Pineda-Isaac will also not likely be charged for illegally recording the conversation between Diaz and someone else in her closed door office.
Editor’s Note: As we watched the special council meeting, we saw how emotionally distraught Councilwoman Pineda-Isaac was when she recounted the comments made by Diaz against her.
This reporter has covered the Yonkers City Council for more than 20 years. I have seen disagreements between other council members turn into a dislike that turns into hate, with council members cursing at each other.
Unfortunately, this is nothing new in Yonkers politics. And while I personally do not agree with the tone taken by Diaz, I believe that the City Council took action against her because of the media attention given to Pineda-Isaac’s complaint in The Journal News, News 12 and the NY Post.
Councilwoman Tasha Diaz has been elected twice by the people of the Third District. A review of the comments posted below Diaz’s statement indicate that they still support her.
Yes, Diaz comments are indefensible, but in our view not illegal. In fact, we see this type of disagreement between elected officials in Washington DC that are much worse that what happened here in Yonkers.
And in our national politics, there seems to be an effort to remove one candidate from the ballot, instead of defeating that person in the election booth. We believe that the voters of the Third District knew that Diaz “speaks her mind,” and yes her language can be construed as distasteful by some.
Diaz has never been accused of touching anyone or physically harming anyone in this matter, or in Pineda-Isaac’s complaint.
Diaz writes, “Sadly that stability will be forever lost by this distinguished legislative body due to the actions of my colleagues.”
Mayor Mike Spano talked about ending the political drama in Yonkers, when he first ran for Mayor 12 years ago. During the past two decades, Spano and others have been able to do that…until now.
What I watched at the special council meeting on Feb. 8 was reminiscent of council meetings of 20 years ago, and a divided city council.
Yes the Council took action against both Diaz and Pineda-Isaac. But they also opened a political Pandora’s box that only time will tell if it can be closed.
Some want Diaz removed from her council office-but she’s not going anywhere. And without her due process, she has every right to stay and serve the people who elected her twice.
All reactions:
1313
