By Dan Murphy
This year’s Nov. 5 elections include all 17 seats on the Westchester County Board of Legislators. Currently, democrats hold a 13-4 majority and, unbelievably, if democrats win the four BOL seats that are competitive, it is feasible that republicans could have 0 members on the board. Legislator Margaret Cunzio is a conservative and is running unopposed next month, so she will return.
Westchester Republicans are hopeful that in this year’s election, without a major contest like governor or county executive on top of the ballot, Westchester democrats might not be as motivated to come out and vote as they did in 2017, which saw a “blue wave” of democratic, progressive support sweep through the county.
And to his credit, Westchester Republican Chairman Doug Colety found a handful of BOL candidates that could win Nov. 5. The four county board races where republicans hope to split are:
District 1 – This is an open seat with the retirement of Legislator John Testa. Republican Frank Catalina is running against Democrat Colin Smith. Catalina is the former mayor of Peekskill, so he has name recognition in most of the district that includes Peekskill, Cortlandt and xxx. But Catalina lost his recent re-election for Peekskill mayor. Smith is running an active campaign and this seat could flip to the democrats depending on turnout.
District 4 – Legislator Michael Kaplowitz is stepping down after xx years of service as a voice of reason on the county board. The district leans democrat and democrat Vedat Gashi is running to replace Kaplowitz, against republican Michael Grace. Grace also has name recognition in some of the district because of his term as Yorktown town supervisor. But Grace also lost his re-election bid in 2017. Gashi has run for office before in most parts of the district, which includes Somers, Yorktown and New Castle. If Grace wins this race then republicans are having a good night Nov. 5.
District 10 – Democratic Legislator Damon Maher is running for a second term in the 10th district, which includes parts of New Rochelle and Tuckahoe-Eastchester. First-time candidate Chris Garitee is running as the republican, as the GOP seeks to take back this seat after former Legislator Sheila Marcotte lost to Maher in 2017. This will be another closely watched race that will determine whether the GOP has a future in Westchester.
District 15 – Legislator Gordon Burrows is facing off in a rematch against democrat Ruth Walter. Burrows defeated Walter in 2017 with a 52 to 48 percent margin in the middle of the blue democratic wave in Westchester. The district remains a good one for republicans, comprised of Bronxville and East Yonkers. So why is this race the number-one race on the county board this year?
Walter said she has learned from her defeat two years ago and can build on that. Regardless of the outcome, this will be Burrows’ last election for county board; he is term-limited if he wins this year. If Walter can win this race, then Democrats will be having the big victory night Nov. 5.
Other county board races of note include:
District 2 – Democrat Kitley Covil has an opponent in Gina Arena. This race was a republican seat two years ago, with former Legislator Francis Corcoran losing to Covil, so it is good to see republicans putting up a fight. The district includes the quiet northern Westchester communities of Bedford, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, North Salem, Pound Ridge and Somers.
District 3 – Conservative legislator Margaret Cunzio is running unopposed. This race is interesting because it does not have a democratic candidate running; it is the only BOL district that does not offer democrats a candidate, despite the fact that the district includes the towns of Mount Pleasant, North Castle and Pleasantville, with democrats controlling the offices in North Castle and Pleasantville.
District 9 – Legislator Catherine Borgia has an opponent in republican Bob Outhouse, who ran against her two years ago. This is a safe Democratic seat, but we applaud Outhouse and the republicans for running.
Nine county board seats have no opponents; eight of those seats are held by democrats, and include County Board Chairman Ben Boykin, fifth district; Nancy Barr, sixth district; Catherine Parker, seventh district; Alfreda Williams, eighth district; Terry Clements, 11th district; MaryJane Shimsky, 12th district; Lyndon Williams, 13th district; and Christopher Johnson, 16th district.
While we applaud Chairman Colety for putting up a few good candidates for county board, we take him to task for leaving some of the eight seats held by democrats without a republican opponent, most notably Barr in the sixth district, running unopposed.
Barr defeated republican Legislator David Gelfarb two years ago by a slim 52 to 48 percent margin. The sixth district is comprised of Harrison, Port Chester and Rye Brook. Harrison is one of the remaining republican towns in the county, and Harrison Mayor Ron Belmont is running for re-election this year and could have helped a republican BOL candidate win or at least field a challenge to Barr. Waiving the white flag and handing this seat to the democrats is a bad sign for the GOP.
District 11, currently held by Legislator Terry Clements, is another district without a republican candidate, and another disappointment for those seeking a choice when they go to the polls. The 11th district, made up of parts of New Rochelle, Pelham and Pelham Manor, was held by republican Jim Maisano for 20 years. A special election was held when Maisano stepped down and democrat Terry Clements defeated republican Jim Freeman 54 to 46 percent – not a horrible showing for Freeman and republicans, and certainly not enough of a loss to warrant not running a candidate this time, especially in Colety’s hometown of New Rochelle.
District 14, held by Republican Legislator David Tubiolo, is the only republican seat without a democratic opponent. The district includes parts of Mt. Vernon and Yonkers. The fact that Tubiolo is running without opposition has resulted in some cries of a non-aggression pact between the two parties, in this race and in Yonkers politics. Tubiolo has also been long rumored to be switching parties, to become a democrat at the end of the year. His father, Justin Tubiolo, is the republican chairman of Yonkers.
All voters in Westchester will be voting for county legislator when they go to the polls Nov. 5. The question in the outcome will be: Can republicans take back some of the seats they lost in 2017, or are those seats now gone forever in democratic control?
The possibility that republicans could lose all of their seats, through the election and defection, is a frightening possibility for at least 40 percent of the county who are either republicans or independents looking for a choice when they go to the polls.
