By Dan Murphy
City Council president Mike Khader celebrated his 100th day in office April 10 by passing a set of transparency resolutions and laws aimed at providing the people of Yonkers with more information about their government and where their tax dollars go. The ordinance and resolution call for a public database of City employees, their salaries, and demographic backgrounds to be regularly updated and available to the public.
“People feel disconnected with the government, and the number one job of any elected official is to go out and connect with the people of Yonkers,” said Khader, who when he first took office after the New Year met with all councilmembers. “They need to know who I am and judge me on the way I govern.
“We have to work together regardless of party. Councilman Merante is my councilman in the 6th District. I said let’s work on issues that we can agree on and share a commitment to it. I want to govern by consensus and not by bickering. We are more alike than we are different, and my approach is more pragmatic than idealistic.”
As part of his transparency agenda, Khader worked to get council meetings aired on Facebook live. “Social media is the way of life today, so residents can still watch on the city’s public access channel through Cablevision and FIOS, but this gives them another option, and we want to give everyone more options to see what we are doing and get more involved,” he said. “I want to open the window of our government to the people.”
Khader has already created new committees and advisory boards to get more public input in the process of solving some of the issues in Yonkers. A Special Needs Advisory Board, made up of educators, doctors and parents of students with special needs, has been created, and will examine the way in which special-needs students are educated and how the $35 million in funding for special education is spent in Yonkers Public Schools.
“This will be one of the most proactive boards in the city,” said Khader. “We hope to show the pubic a problem, give examples and provide solutions. This board received more than 40 well qualified applicants, all who were willing to volunteer their time and expertise. We plan on coming up with a white paper and making recommendations to the Board of Education. We have a moral obligation to educate all students.”
Constituent services is always an important part of the council president’s role in the lives of the people in Yonkers, and after the recent harsh winter storms, which resulted in blackouts for many Yonkers families and homes, the need was even greater. Khader’s office was flooded with calls from residents seeking information about the power outages and how long it would take to restore power.
Khader was one of the first to call for an investigation of Con Edison and its lack of preparedness for a major power outage in Yonkers. “As the days went into a week with many residents without power, it was unacceptable that Con Ed could not provide information about how many days it would take to restore power. Hardworking families deserved to have more information, and more Con Ed workers on the ground here in Yonkers. I understand that there were outages all over Westchester but I’m here to serve the people of Yonkers. Their struggles are my struggles.”
Other calls to the Council President’s Office concerned illegal dumping, concern about the flu, residents being evicted and a few detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In response, Khader is working on a whistleblower law that will help residents identify and call in illegal dumping, and a free flu vaccine event at St. Joseph’s Hospital in February that resulted in more than 50 people getting the free vaccine.
“I have a hardworking and qualified staff that was ready on day one to begin to try and help the people of Yonkers,” he said. “We wouldn’t be successful without their efforts.”
Weeks before the nation witnesses another shooting at a high school, this time in Parkland, Fla., the City Council passed a resolution urging Congress to fund the Center for Disease Control to avoid gun tragedies related to mental health issues. The four council Democrats, including Khader, supported the resolution. “I support the Second Amendment but there is a clear connection between mental health issues and mass shootings,” he said. “We have the vision to look forward before another unfortunate incident validates our resolution.”
How does Khader like serving the people of Yonkers as council president? “I’m privileged that I have been blessed with this opportunity to help the helpless and try to provide solutions,” he said. “Everyone knows our city’s challenges. They want us to stand up and do something; take action.
“You won’t get lip service from me. I will give you a concise, precise answer, even if it may not be what you want to her. I love this city – it’s where I was born and raised. I wanted to raise my family here, but I want to be part of the solution to some of the problems we face.
“On Election Day the people spoke, and I will always remember their trust in me, and to stay humble,” said Khader. “I have not and will not take this role for granted. It’s an honor serving the people of Yonkers.”
