By Dan Murphy
The political season in Yonkers and across New York State will be much longer this year because of the changes made to move up the primary season for local and state offices. Petitions are out for candidates running for City Council, mayor, City Court judge and county legislator.
This year, the NYS Board of Elections reduced the number of petitions required for those running for office; mayoral candidates now require 750 valid signatures instead of 1,000, city Council candidates require 500 signatures, and county board candidates require 500 signatures.
This year’s primaries will be June 25. After the primaries, there will be four months of campaigning before the Nov. 5 election.
The race for Yonkers City Council in the Third District has two democrats seeking to replace Council Majority Leader Michael Sabatino, who is not running for re-election. Former Councilman Dennis Robertson is seeking a return to the council and was endorsed by the Yonkers Democratic Committee. Democrat Olasubomi Macaulay is also running and collecting signatures.
The race between Robertson and Macaulay is symbolic of the different factions in the democratic party, in Yonkers and across the country. Robertson is an old-school moderate democrat. He also brings to the race a lot of experience, or “baggage” – however you choose to view it.
In addition to the Yonkers Democratic Party, Robertson has the support of former Yonkers Democratic Party Chairwoman Ann Muro. “I have been politically active in our city for many years and was also the first woman of either party to serve as party chair in a large city,” said Muro. “As chair of the Democratic Party, I had the opportunity to work with many candidates and I always urged them to run positive campaigns and not smear ones.
“Much to my dismay, I don’t see that rule being adhered to today, whether it be on a local, state or even national level. Rather, many campaigns are not only negative, but are filled with lies about opponents.
“Such was the vicious attack on our third district councilmanic party endorsed candidate Dennis Robertson by his primary opponent,” continued Muro. “I have known Dennis for many years and have always admired and respected him for his honesty, yes, his integrity.
“Many candidates, at a meeting or a debate, when questioned on a particular issue, will answer with what they think the audience wants to hear, as opposed to what he or she really believes and has always adhered to. I like to refer to these types of candidates as political hopefuls who lack credibility and will tailor their answers to their audience. Dennis Robertson was an excellent councilman for many years and I am glad now to have him this year as our party’s third district candidate.”
Macauley and her democratic supporters sent out a mailing that read: “Yonkers wake up! Today the republican party also endorsed Dennis Robertson as the 3rd District candidate for City Council. Say no to Dennis who is truly a republican pretending to be a Democrat, who makes $40,000 a year working at City Hall. He also has the cleaning contract for City Hall and Empire Casino. He did nothing for the 3rd district last time he ran and many years ago when he worked for the IDA he gave developers 30-40 tax abatements, which is affecting us today. Sign petitions for Olasubomi Macaulay, the voice of the voiceless who will hold everyone accountable and make City Hall transparent for all to see. Your vote is your power.”
This mailing has a few inaccuracies.
Robertson was not endorsed by the Yonkers Republican party. The City GOP did not run a candidate in the third district this year. And as a member of the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency, Robertson voted – along with IDA members – to provide incentives to developers and builders for Yonkers projects.
Robertson also supports a project labor agreement for new development projects in the city, which mandates that union labor be hired and included in any development.
Finally, while Robertson does work as a liaison to the city council for Mayor Mike Spano, many see that position as an attribute. Having worked with the current city council, and based on his experience serving one term previously on the council, Robertson would “hit the ground running” if elected.
Other Yonkers races to also include possible democratic primaries if candidates can collect enough signatures. Councilwoman Shanae Williams is being challenged by Democrats Terrence Miller and Bob Walters. Miller got the endorsement from the Democratic party; Williams has the support of Spano.
In the county board race to replace Virginia Perez, democrats London Reyes and Jose Alvarado are collecting signatures. Alvarado has the party endorsement, while Reyes ran for this seat two years ago.
Another county board race from Yonkers has incumbent Republican Gordon Burrows facing a challenge from democrat Ruth Walker. This is a rematch of their race two years ago, which Burrows won by a 54% to 46% margin.
