Walter Calls Nolan’s Decision on Vaccination: “A Failure of Leadership”
By Dan Murphy
The County Board race between democratic legislator Ruth Walter and republican challenger James Nolan, in the 15th District, (Bronxville and East Yonkers) remains in the top three races on the county board this year.
Nolan has been campaigning actively, with his signs and his campaign van seen all over the district. At a recent debate, Nolan said that he and his campaign team have knocked on 25,000 doors.
Last month Nolan told Yonkers Rising that he was not vaccinated, and since that conversation, and our article from Sept. 9, there has been no public statement from Nolan that he has since been vaccinated.
Legislator Ruth Walter, called Nolan’s decision, “A failure of leadership. If you want to be a leader, part of your job is to remind people that the vaccine is safe and effective. You want to support the nurses and health care workers by reducing the number of sick patients. That is the role of the county, in making our vaccination races high enough to open our schools. We want to people to know it’s safe, and he chose the opposite. Being a public figure and being a candidate is not the same as what you chose to do.”
Walter also challenged the claim that as a legislator from Bronxville, she has not delivered for Yonkers. “I have done more for this district in 18 months than my predecessor had over several years, (referencing former Legislator Gordon Burrows a republican, who beat Walter in 2017 but Walter beat Burrows in 2019).
Walter pointed to her ability to secure $330,000 from the county budget in 2021 for community-based organizations in Yonkers including Groundwork Hudson Valley, The Greyston Foundation, and The Yonkers Public Library. Walter has also proposed and is studying a plan to install noise cameras in the east Yonkers neighborhoods that have been complaining about the drag racing and loud mufflers all through the night along Central Avenue and the Sprain Parkway.
“That’s who I am and why I’m here. To help people. That is the most satisfying,” said Walter who underscored her experience as a court clerk as one way she learned how “to get things done working in government.”
But James Nolan keeps on campaigning, and walking, talking and driving around the district. And regardless of his vaccination status, he has a large group of supporters. That is why leaders from both parties we spoke to called this race too close to call and the one to watch.
Low turnout is also expected by both parties, with democrats trying to get out more voters because there are more democrats in every race.
One Westchester democrat told us that while campaigning and knocking on doors for a competitive County Board race, most voters who answered, “didn’t even know there was an election.”
If turnout is low in democrat heavy parts of the county like Yonkers and Mt. Vernon, then democrats are concerned that their overall numbers might be lower than the landslide that many predict for County Executive George Latimer in his re-election bid.
But in Yonkers, voters have a reason to come out, with a Citywide Council Presidents race, three City Council races, and Walter- Nolan. Plus a race for State Supreme Court with Yonkers City Court Judge Tom Quinones on the ballot. Another Westchester democrat told us the he believed that “The Trump factor is starting to wear off. Many democrats are not as enthusiastic about going out to vote against Trump in an off year election. They did it in 2017, but I’m not so sure about 2021.”
Early voting starts on Oct,. 23 and ends Oct. 31. Election Day is Nov. 2.
