With the close of the 2018-19 legislative term, the Westchester County Board of Legislators is honoring four lawmakers who are departing.
Former Board Chairman Mike Kaplowitz, Minority Leader John Testa, Minority Whip Gordon Burrows and Legislator Virginia Perez were presented with Distinguished Service Awards during a Dec. 3 ceremony. The four of them combined have contributed for more than 50 years of service on the county legislature.
Burrows and Perez represented Yonkers on the County Board.
Burrows is a member of the Law and Major Contracts, Legislation, and Public Safety Committees, and has been a member of the board for 14 years. According to his colleagues, his experience as a lawyer, and his prior decade of service on the Yonkers City Council, made him a formidable legislator. His ability to drill down into language and issues to shape legislation, vet contracts, and examine other legal matters has been a tremendous asset to this board, saving money and ensuring better outcomes for the people of Bronxville, his native Yonkers, and all of Westchester.
Perez departs after eight years on the board. She was the first Latina elected to this position, and chaired the Public Safety Committee, then the Committee on Legislation for five years, where she played an important role in key protections for the people of Westchester – including passage of the Immigration Protection Act, the law raising the age for the purchase of tobacco to 21, the law to ensure access to paid sick leave for workers, and the law to the combat the wage gap by eliminating hiring questions about salary history, said her colleagues.
“Honoring departing colleagues is a bittersweet moment, but we thank Mike, John, Gordon, Virginia for their dedication to the people of their districts and all of Westchester County,” said Board Chairman Ben Boykin. “We will always be guided by their example, and wish them the greatest of success in their future endeavors.”
