Three Council Seats & Mayor Up in November
By Dan Murphy
The recent passage in Albany of state election reform also includes a provision to move the state primaries from September to June. This allows the federal and state primaries to be held at the same time – a move expected to save $50 million across the state in elections costs, and $500,000 in Yonkers.
As the primary election clock moves up 10 weeks, so do the other parts of the political calendar. Political parties must nominate candidates and those candidates must collect petitions to get on the ballot, all before the June primary.
The first year of the change in election dates is now – 2019, and in Yonkers, that means all candidates interested in running for one of three City Council seats (first, third and fifth district) and for mayor, must make their decision known within the next 30 days.
The recent amendments to term limits means that two councilmembers, Majority Leader Michael Sabatino and Minority Leader Mike Breen, can run for a third term if they decide to do so. A breakdown of the races and candidates so far is:
City Council First District: City Councilwoman Shanae Williams will seek re-election. She was appointed by Mayor Mike Spano to complete the term of Christopher Johnson, who was elected to the County Board. Williams also ran last November unopposed, but has to run again this November for a full four-year term. Yonkers Rising has been told there is more than one democrat interested in challenging Williams, but we have yet to receive a name.
Please email your name or interested candidate to dmurphy@risingmediagroup.com
City Council Third District: Majority Leader Michael Sabatino will have to decide whether he will seek a third, four-year term this November. At least two democratic candidates are said to be interested in running if Sabatino decides not to run and serve in another capacity.
Fifth District: Councilman and Minority Leader Mike Breen told Yonkers Rising he is running again for a third term. “I haven’t made a formal announcement but I’m getting my paperwork ready to collect signatures,” he said. “Serving the people of the Fifth District has been the most enjoyable job. There is a lot going on in my district and in the city, and I believe that I can continue to be a positive force moving the city forward and working with Mayor Spano. This City Council has, for the most part, worked together for the good of the city and I want to continue that.”
Democrat Scott Dennis is one name that we have heard as a challenger to Breen, a republican. We hope to learn more about Dennis and report to you in a future issue.
Mayor’s Race: Mayor Mike Spano is expected to formally announce that he is running for a third term next month. Most in Yonkers would be shocked if Spano doesn’t run for a third term, but the mayor is telling supporters that he still hasn’t made up his mind.
Currently there are no other announced democratic candidates, with the deadline based on the new political calendar fast approaching. Former City Council President Chuck Lesnick has been considering a run for several months, and the last time we spoke to Lesnick last year, he said he wanted to wait until the city budget for 2019 came out. The new political calendar makes that impossible; Lesnick must make up his mind next month.
Lesnick had no comment on his future political plans.
The other democratic name we keep hearing as a possible opponent to Spano is Council President Mike Khader, who won election in 2017. “Khader is the one democrat who might be able to pull the upset against Spano, just like he did against Liam (McLaughlin) two years ago,” said one prominent Yonkers Democrat.
The question is, does Khader want to run for another city-wide race so soon, and is it in his best personal interests, with a young family and professional career, to make a run and try to dethrone the mighty Spanos?
Most people we speak to say Khader will not run, but he is the name that democrats respond with when asked, and not Lesnick.
Khader, or any democrat who might want to challenge Spano, may get some help from the construction unions, who continue to be “furious” with the mayor for his decision not to renew a project labor agreement that requires developers who get tax breaks and incentives from the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency to hire union workers on their job sites.
The city said it tried the PLA for one year and it didn’t work. Construction unions and other unions who support their plight say that one year is not long enough to determine its success or failure. A rally was held outside City Hall last month. Since then, there have been no discussions to try and negotiate a settlement between the Spanos and Ed Doyle, president of the Westchester-Putnam Building Trades Council.
Sources tell Yonkers Rising that the same construction unions are looking for a candidate, and a progressive candidate to step forward and challenge Spano in a democratic primary. That challenge could come with the help of the indivisible, progressive wing of the democratic party. While no candidate has been found, a minority or women candidate is believed to be the preferred alternative to Spano.
The only republican candidate making any noise is Councilman Anthony Merante, who told Yonkers Rising last month that he would step forward and run to make sure the mayor had an opponent. Now that the election calendar has been moved up, Merante’s decision to run for mayor becomes more complicated.
“That was a drastic change made, to change the date of the state primary and move everything,” he said. “Now people have to collect petitions in March when it’s cold, and that time of year is my busy tax time (Merante is a certified public accountant) and it’s also budget time for the city. The change in the election dates make it very difficult for me to run because I run into multiple walls. But I have not made a decision at this time. Right now I am focused on being a councilman and working on the budget. Everything else right now is a distraction.”
