With 10 days left before the Democratic Primary in the City of Yonkers, incumbent City Council President Mike Khader, who is running for re-election against Lakisha Collins-Bellamy and Peter Spano in the same dem. Primary, dropped a bombshell accusation against Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano by accusing the Mayor of being behind recent accusations and allegations made against him.
The two allegations against Khader, that he has presided over a council presidents office that has a toxic work environment for women, and that his appointment of counsel to the City Council was based on a quid pro quo rental agreement for law office space.
Those allegations were sent to the Yonkers Inspector General, Liam McLaughlin, by the other six members of the city council. McLaughlin, because he ran against Khader and lost in 2017, recused himself from this matter and appointed the law firm of is Ogletree Deakins to investigate the allegations.
According to the LoHud.com story by David Propper, subpoenas have been issued concerning the investigation. Also in the story is the allegation by Khader, made publicly for the first time, that Mayor Mike Spano is “100%” behind the allegations made against him, which he denies.
Khader called the investigation “calculated and orchestrated.”
“My character, my integrity has never come into question except in the last three weeks and a Yonkers primary. Concerning all the allegations, I fully deny the allegations that are being made against me. At the appropriate time in the near future, all your questions and documents will be provided,” added that “My existence in that office is a threat to their (Spano) existence and the patronage mill that they have,”
Khader has hired noted Westchester civil rights attorneys Randolph McLaughlin and Debra Cohen to represent him against any charges that may arise from the allegations. Khader told reporter Propper that he would share documents with him that would exonerate him, but then “reversed course” and said that his attorneys advised against it, but he did state that he received a subpoena on June 4.
Mayor Mike Spano denied any involvement in the allegations made against the Council President Khader. “I think he’s trying to deflect rather than deal with the issue at hand. The voters deserve to know an answer. They need to know that there’s transparency and honesty in our government here. He seems to have an issue, which is concerning to me, seems to have an issue with everyone,” Spano said in the LoHud story.
City Councilwoman Shanae Williams stated in the LoHud story that after reading the letter from a former female employee of council president Khader, “she contacted two women who worked for Khader. What the two former staffers told her were “absurd” and “disgusting.”
