By Eric Wolf Schoen
The Spano’s
Every few years when a Spano runs for office, you can count on the Journal News or it’s Predecessor, the Herald Statesman to run a story on how many Spano relatives are in public service. This goes back to Leonard Spano, the patriarch of the family right up to his son Mike, current Mayor of the City of Yonkers.
Do you have 16 brothers and sisters? If they play by the rules would you have a problem with your relatives working for the city of Yonkers, Westchester County or New York State? Should they be denied the right to public service just because they are related to you?
Of course the answer is no. No one told you you couldn’t have a big family. And if they play by the rules no one says they can’t have a career in public service. Jobs in the Fire Department and Police Department are appointed off of Civil Service lists. You take a test, sometimes with 100’s of other people. The top scorers if they can meet the physical agility and other tests are appointed to good paying jobs.
Environmental Maintenance Workers which could be garbage men or work in one of the city maintenance departments initially are appointed at the discretion of the Mayor but receive their promotions just like Police and Fireman by taking civil service tests. You do well you move up, you have special skills you move up, and your overtime is not assigned by the Mayor but by your Department Head.
Now let’s take a moment to be clear. You are elected Mayor, President or to any office and you want to get re-elected? You surround yourself with people you trust. People that will take their job responsibilities seriously, do a good job and help you get re-elected. The President of the United States doesn’t surround himself with people who are not loyal to him, and neither does the Mayor of the City of Yonkers when he is selecting his top officials to help him run the government.
If you want a job working in City Hall in Yonkers and it’s not an exam appointed off a Civil Service list, there is nothing to stop you from putting in an application and talking to the Mayor or other appointed officials about the possibilities of appointment. You know the old phrase, ‘It’s not what you know but who you know!’ I would say the vast number of people, all hard workers obtained their city government jobs by putting the word out that they want a job in government. Or someone told them there was a position open in government they should apply for. This again goes from Mayor of Yonkers to President of the United States.
And don’t just think this is the way that things work in the public sector. When you are applying for a job in the private sector your knowledge of those involved in hiring or connections you may have help you get your foot in the door. It’s been that way for years.
David Wilson, the scribe of this year’s Journal News article on ‘Spano Foothold’ is a long time employee of the paper. I am sure he has written articles like the one about ‘nepotism’ and particularly about the Spano’s many times before. The articles for the most part are generated by the opponent to the elected official. If this was something new or a new official with all these relatives on the payroll I could see the big deal. And some will read Wilson’s article and say, ‘Gee, he forgot someone!’
Corazon Pineda Isaac is running against Spano in a primary for the Democratic nomination for Mayor. I’m sure if she was in government as long as the Spano family and had as many brothers and sisters as Mike has, many of them would be working for the City of Yonkers. She just happens to be the one to bring up the issue this year. Believe me, it’s been brought up many times before by candidates running against the Spano’s.
The solution to the ‘problem.’ Stay on top of Civil Service lists and apply for jobs you know you are qualified for. Between Covid and retirements there will be many jobs open over the next 3-5 years. Apply for them. Take the tests, and good luck to you!
On the issue of Spano relatives serving as paid lobbyists for city unions and companies doing business before the City of Yonkers, I would surely hope that the Board of Ethics and Inspector General have been consulted for legality of this. And remember, if you see something you think is illegal or unethical, you as a citizen have every right to file a formal complaint with these agencies or the governing bodies of the commissions or agencies involved.
Remember, our door is always open here at Rising Newspapers to publish legitimate complaints from taxpayers or organizations. That’s what we are here for together with providing news about your community and neighbors.
Good Luck Ms. Pineda Isaac. This column is not meant to discourage you from bringing up issues where you disagree with the current Mayor (like the extension of term limits again which I think is terrible.)
What floors me is that reporter Wilson was unable to get comments from Anthony Merante, the Republican candidate for Mayor or Margaret Fountain Coleman, another Democrat seeking the nomination on the Spano’s family involvement in city public affairs. My only thought is that it’s going to be a quiet election and as is typical in Yonkers, the opponents will be looking to have their names on a City of Yonkers employee (not elected official) pay check. We certainly have witnessed that before!
Friends, the Spano’s. They, too are Yonkers!
Listen to Eric Schoen on the Westchester Rising Radio Show Thursday’s from 10-11 a.m. On WVOX 1460 AM, go to WVOX.com and click the arrow to listen to the live stream or download the WVOX app from the App Store free of charge. Reach him at thistooisyonkers@aol.com.
