By Dan Murphy
Four candidates are running in the Democratic Primary June 25 fopr Mt. Vernon Mayor. Incumbent Mayor Richard Thomas, City Council President Andre Wallace, former Police Commissioner Clyde Isley and Shawyn Patterson -Howard, CEO of the Yonkers YMCA.
We were excited about the election of Richard Thomas as Mayor four year ago. But his four year in office have been filled with accusation of corruption, indictments, and most of all, incompetence in leadership at City Hall.
Thomas’ supporters will say that his first term has been sabotaged by those powerful Mt. Vernon democrats who want to see him fail. While that may be true, if Thomas is re-elected, what will change? Are the people of Mt. Vernon to expect the same battles overpaying the bills with the Comptroller, or disputes with the City Council?
When the garbage doesn’t get collected, and the City loses its bond rating and bills go unpaid, then it’s time for change, in our view.
City Council President Andre Wallace. Wallace has the support of the powerful Black Westchester, who has its fingers and newspaper-website on the pulse of Mt. Vernon and has been at war with Mayor Thomas for more than 2 years.
We listened to Council President Wallace during a WVOX Radio debate last week and were unimpressed. Wallace insisted that Memorial Field would begin to be rebuilt next year, and that he has made sure that the City would order and pay for the DPW trucks to remove the garbage. Listening to Wallace, one could think that all is good in Mt. Vernon. Instead of admitting the troubles that Mt. Vernon faces, Wallace tried to spin the truth to benefit his campaign. There are a boatload of issues, concerns and troubles facing the City and Wallace has been council president during much of this time and has not distinguished himself, or his actions, to show that he has been trying to make a difference or stand opposed to some of Mayor Thomas’ proposals and initiatives.
Shawyn Patterson-Howard is the most interesting candidate in the race for Mt. Vernon Mayor. We have grown to appreciate Patterson-Howard in her role as the CEO of the Yonkers YMCA. That experience has made her ready to serve at Mt. Vernon Mayor. She also was prepared and offered intelligent questions regarding the City in the WVOX debate and has called for debates which are expected to happen this week.
Patterson-Howard is also the only woman on the ballot. But in our efforts to contact Patterson-Howard to delve more into her campaign and critical issues, we were unable to speak to her or her campaign.
Clyde Isley is the endorsed candidate of the Mt. Vernon Democratic Party. Isley is the former Police Commissioner in Mt. Vernon and also served on the county level as Commissioner of Public Safety.
We respected Isley’s public service and the fact that he has remained untarnished from the City’s ethical and fiscal troubles. Clyde Isley is a good public servant who wants to continue to serve.
A Mayor Clyde Isley would bring back the stability in Mt. Vernon City Hall. The bills will be paid, the garbage will be collected, and Isley is willing and able to work in partnership with the City Council and Comptroller Deborah Reynolds.
We endorse Clyde Isley for Mt. Vernon Mayor.
The political question is can the old guard of the Mt. Vernon Democratic Party win one more with Isley? Or, with four candidates running, will the opponents split the vote giving the win to Mayor Thomas? Or with three men running, will they split the vote giving the win to Patterson-Howard?
Nobody knows what the turnout will be in this first late June local primary. We hope that our stories have at least informed our readers that there is a primary on a different date.
Get out and Vote—JUNE 25!!
