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The Mediterranean Political Action Committee hosted its fourth annual dinner gala March 9 at Westchester Manor, featuring guest speaker Mary Calvi, the first lady of Yonkers, television news anchor and author. Honorees included State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who received MPAC’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and News 12 anchor Tara Rosenblum, who received MPAC’s Lady of the Year Award.
“Sen. Stewart-Cousins has always supported MPAC and we wanted to congratulate her on being named Senate majority leader and for all of her accomplishments,” said MPAC President John Khader. “Tara Rosenblum was honored for her investigative reporting and ability to uncover stories that bring awareness to the people of Westchester.”
MPAC is a coalition of Westchester County citizens who represent a diverse community from all socio-economic backgrounds. These citizens are committed to promoting and implementing initiatives, activities and strategies that promote and advocate for social justice, equality and accountability for a large number of individuals who feel both disenfranchised and unaware of all levels of government.
The goals and objectives of MPAC are specifically designed to inform and educate its members and the community at large, allowing them to have a voice that is heard and an opportunity to participate in the political and social advancement, as well as making sure their issues are heard and addressed by public awareness and supporting candidates who share MPAC’s mission.
Members of MPAC say it has become a necessity as a result of political leaders and the political parties they represent losing focus on why they entered public service, and serving the community as a whole. “Part of the reason for this organization is to try to put the politicians in check and hold them accountable,” said Khader. “People think we aren’t being represented anymore. It seem that come election time they are around but you can’t find them after that. More can be done to listen to the people you were elected to represent.”
A full house of MPAC supporters and elected officials attended the gala, including Congressman Eliot Engel, Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, County Clerk Tim Idoni , Yonkers City Council member Anthony Merante, Yonkers City Republican Leader Justin Tubiolo, Westchester County Conservative Leader Hugh Fox and District Attorney Anthony Scarpino.
Many community sponsors and unions supported the event and support the efforts of MPAC, including Yonkers Firefighters Union Local 628, Teamster Local 456, and Local 60. Recent accomplishments of MPAC include helping elect Khader and Assemblyman Nader Sayegh.
One of the unique attributes of MPAC is that it is bipartisan and has supported Democratic and Republican candidates. For more information on MPAC, visit www.mpacnow.com. MPAC will host its fourth annual Arab Heritage Day on July 21 at Ridge Road Park in Hartsdale.
