By Ron Matten
Running for political office involves various steps. One of the first steps is qualifying to appear on the ballot. To appear on the ballot, candidates must circulate petitions to registered, qualified voters. A minimum number of signatures are required, usually 5% of the party registered voter in the constancy district. The last day to circulate petitions was April 3, but the final Yonkers candidates are still undecided.
The candidates that have been finalized are as follows:
- Incumbent Republican Party, Anthony Merante, 6th Council District
- Challenger Democratic and Conservative Party, Timothy, Hodges 6th Council District
- Incumbent Conservative Party, John Rubbo, 4th Council District
- Challenger Republican Party, Tony Solieri, 4th Council District.
- Incumbent Democratic and Working Families Party, Corazon Pineda Issacs 2nd Council District
- Challenger Democratic Party, Alberto Velazquez 2nd Council District
- Incumbent Democratic Party, Lakisha Collins Bellamy, City Council President
- Challenger Democratic and Working Families Party Chuck Lesnick, City Council President
- Challenger Democratic Party, Mike Khader, City Council President
- Challenger Democratic Party, Tasha Diaz, City Council President
- Challenger Republican Party, Dean Politipoulos, City Council President
- Challenger Republican Party, Ron Schutte, City Council President
- Incumbent Republican and Conservative Party, James Nolan, 15th Legislative District, uunopposed
- Incumbent Democratic Party, Shanae Williams, 16th Legislative District, running unopposed
- Incumbent Democratic Party Jose Alvarado, 17th Legislative District, running unopposed
- Incumbent Democratic Party David Tubiolo, 14th Legislative District
There are a number of a candidates who have filed petitions, which are being challenged by constituents from within the districts they wish to represent. This is happening for political office as well as party leaderships positions. It is quite unusual to find challenges to party leadership petitions, but this is indicative of the ungoing battle for control of the Republican Party. The challenges are predominantly in wards, two, three, six and nine, which make up the majority of Legislative District 14 and Council District 4. Represent by former republicans turned democrats David Tubiolo and John Rubbo, respectively.
There is a challenge in election district 9-1, where Justin Tubiolo has challenged the petitions of Tony Solieri and Carolyn Solieri, brother and sister. Mr. Tubiolo is the current 9th Ward Leader and has also submitted petitions to be the 9-1 district leader. There has been an effort to replace the leadership in this district. Mr. Tubiolo was contacted for comment, but did not respond.
Brandon Neider filed an objection to petitions submitted by Henry Djonbalaj. Mr. Neider alleges that Mr. Djonbalaj made a false witness statement and was not actually present to witness all signatures. It has been reported that Henry Djonbalaj has dropped out as a candidate for election district 2-1. It is unknown if this is related to the fraud allegation. An Opportunity to Ballot petition has since been submitted. Mr. Djonbalaj has not returned a request for comment.
There are a number of petitions that were submitted in wards three and six, that have been invalidated by the Westchester Board of Elections. The board states the petitions have a technical error. They list the office of “Committeemen” instead of “Committee member.” Debbie Kozak et al has filed a lawsuit against the Westchester Board of Elections alleging that the Board’s determination is arbitrary and capricious. A judge and court date has not been determined.
Mr. Henry Djonbalaj who is currently the GOP 2nd Ward Leader has filed a general objection against his party’s nominated candidate for the 4th Council District, Tony Solieri. Mr. Djonbalaj been given the opportunity to comment but did not provide one. He also did not follow up with a specific objection, so Tony Solieri will be added to the general election ballot as the endorsed Republican nominee.
Virgil Borrelli who is attempting to represent the 6th Council District as the democratic candidate, must first survive a petition challenge by Pamela Hodges. Should he be successful, he will face Tim Hodges in a primary election.
Carolyn Solieri has filed specific objections to Councilman John Rubbo’s nominating petitions. Ms. Solieri has alleged that over 413 signatures are invalid. Mr. Rubbo has only acquired 776 signatures. If Ms. Solieri’s objections are successful, Mr. Rubbo will not have the minimum number of signatures to appear on the ballot as the democratic candidate. However, Councilman Rubbo has been successful in obtaining enough signatures to appear as the conservative candidate and is guaranteed to appear in the general election.
Jeni Wallace filed specific objections to the endorsed Republican candidate for Legislative District 14, Michael Pineda. Additionally, Ms. Wallace also filed a preemptive court case against Michael Pineda and the Westchester Board of Elections. The court case alleges that many of candidate Pineda’s signatures are not valid, and therefore he should not appear on the ballot. Coincidentally, Ms. Wallace runs a nonprofit which receives funding from Westchester County. Her nonprofit has been allocated $72,100 in the last County budget. A review of her nonprofit’s 2023 tax filings, show additional sources of revenue and the nonprofit is not solely reliant on the County’s grant. The Matthew Wallace Foundation was founded in 2014 and provides food assistance and scholarships within the Yonkers community. Wallace contends that the incumbent legislator David Tubiolo does not influence the County’s funding of her nonprofit.
Ms Wallace provided the following statement:
“I’ve been involved in local politics for decades because I deeply care
about the well-being of my neighborhood. My support for David Tubiolo’s
candidacy is not just a matter of personal friendship-our families have been
close for years, and I’ve seen David grow up alongside my children. I trust
David, and I know he is genuinely invested in our community.
I feel compelled to raise an objection because I believe there are valid concerns. I am
a firm believer in the integrity of our democratic process, and I believe
it’s healthy for voters to have a choice between two candidates. However, I
don’t think anyone should be allowed to run if there are concerns that the
rules or procedures have been bypassed.
This procedure for invalidating signatures is a standard part of our
political process, and it’s not uncommon. I understand that Mr. Pineda is
new to politics and may not have been aware of this aspect of the process,
or may not have been fully prepared for it. The Board of Elections accepts
signatures, but they do not make rulings on their validity. The next step in
the process is to seek a remedy through the court system, and I’m simply
following the proper channels.
I want to be clear: I’m not accusing Mr. Pineda of any intentional
wrongdoing. I believe some of his passionate supporters may have acted
without fully understanding the consequences. As a taxpaying citizen, I’m
well within my rights to bring forward an objection, especially when I’ve
heard from friends who’ve told me they did not sign for Mr. Pineda. It’s
important that every part of this process is transparent and fair.
I haven’t had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Pineda personally, but by all
accounts, he’s a nice young man. I’ve seen him speak at public meetings over
the past year, and his passion is clear. However, at times, he misses the
mark, and it often seems like he is tag-teaming with his girlfriend rather
than standing on his own. Only one person can hold office, and it feels as
though he’s not fully standing independently in his candidacy.
Mr. Pineda’s supporters have tried to intimidate me into backing down. They
have attacked the non-profit I started in memory of my 17-year-old son, the
gentleman running his campaign was my union rep at work and released
employee information on social media, and they have relentlessly attacked my
character-all in an effort to intimidate me into withdrawing. They claim my
objection is not fair, and therefore they have a right to bully me and upset
my family. This is childish behavior, and I do not need a child representing
me as County Legislator
Warmest Regards,
Jeni Wallace”
This is the scorecard at the time of printing. The Yonkers political landscape is ever changing, and it may take a few more weeks before we know our complete options at the ballot box.
