Charter Revision Commission Would Place Term Limits Change on Referendum
By Dan Murphy
Mayor Mike Spano recently appeared on Yonkers Voice for an interview with Ru Ros. During that interview, Ros asked the Mayor if there was support for him to run for a fourth term, would he do it? “You have moved Yonkers forward, but there’s always room for more improvement. We want you to finish the job-what if there was popular demand for you to continue”
Mayor Spano asked, “how would we know if they want that?” adding “four years ago, I had no intentions of running for a third term, but I bought into it and it turned out to be the right thing for me personally and the city.”
There are two ways that Mayor Spano would be permitted to run for a fourth term next year (2023). The City Council would have to vote to overturn term-limits, as they did four years ago, or a change- repeal to the term limits law would have to be approved by the voters in the form of a referendum.
And with the Mayor asking for the people to decide on whether he should run for a fourth term, a referendum would give the people a voice, in saying yes Mayor Spano, run for a fourth term, or no, 12 years are enough.
Six months ago, we spoke with a prominent democrat in Yonkers, who was not necessarily a Spano supporter, but admitted that the City has made great strides under Mike Spano’s leadership. And she wanted to know how it would continue, and didn’t see any viable alternatives to keep the progress going.
That same sentiment remains among many people in Yonkers, who like Spano, are searching for someone to replace him. Two members of the Yonkers City Council, Corazon Pineda-Isaac, and John Rubbo, have been testing the waters about a run for Mayor. And Yonkers Democratic Party Chair Tom Meier and Assemblyman Nader Sayegh are the other two names that are in the mix.
But the usual assumption has been that one, or all four, would run for Mayor if Spano doesn’t run. While that decision may change, all four have not thrilled the stakeholders, unions, and party leaders to the point where Mayor Spano feels comfortable handing the keys over and departing.
“The one thing I hear again and again about Mayor Spano is stability. A lot of people in Yonkers want the stability that Mayor Spano has brought the city for the past 11 years. They also see what’s happening in other communities and they don’t want that to happen in Yonkers,” said one Yonkers democratic leader.
“If there was someone out there to take over and continue the progress and move the city forward that the party leaders and others were comfortable with, then we wouldn’t be having this discussion. But there isn’t and the Mayor doesn’t want to see the work in Yonkers, on test scores, safety, jobs and development go in the other direction. There’s more to do, and for some, the work of Mayor Spano isn’t over. It’s like having a coach leave before the game is over.”
“Usually after 12 years, there’s voter fatigue, to the point where the Mayor, or Governor, knows it’s time to go and the people want you to go. But that’s not the case here in Yonkers. There remains a large segment of the population happy and ready to vote for a fourth term.”
One question remains in all of this: Mayor Mike Spano has yet to officially agree to move forward with a referendum on a fourth term. He said as much to Ru Ros, saying the job of Yonkers Mayor “is all consuming, and a completely unnatural lifestyle. There are a lot of needs that the city has and a lot that needs to be accomplished.”
If the Mayor agrees to play the scenario out, The Yonkers Charter Revision Commission would meet and go over any proposed amendments to the City Charter. The next step would be to hold public hearings and create the ballot question, on term limits and any other charter changes, and to set a date for the referendum.
Another Yonkers democrat said, “If I want to vote for Mayor Spano again, why can’t I. Someone else can also run and try to beat him. Who is going to step up? I think his popularity, even after 12 years, is the answer to that question. Let the people decide.”
Other supporters of the Mayor, and a fourth term, point to the fact that 91% of local governments have no term limits, and their leaders can serve as long as the voters want them to serve. Watch the interview with Ru Ros at https://www.facebook.com/ykersvoice/videos/391850973020393, and email us with your thoughts to dmurphy@risingmediagroup.com.
There are other candidates interested in running for Mayor. We will include them all in the weeks to come.
