Harrison Race for Mayor Heats Up

The race for Mayor of Harrison is starting to pick up attention, with several candidates interested in challenging incumbent Dem Mayor Joan Walsh. Walsh is completing her first two-year term, after serving for many years as town clerk.

Walsh’s first term has received mixed reviews, with some pleased with her performance so far, and others critical of the budgets and property tax increases under her watch.

Walsh’s first term in office will be remembered for something completely out of her control — the Facebook Four scandal. Four Harrison police officers were caught making sexist and racist comments on Facebook about Walsh and President Barack Obama.

 

The stupid and indefensible act had, in my opinion, made the race for mayor this November, with Walsh cruising to re-election.

I was wrong —  there is interest to run against Walsh. Two candidates are most prominently named, and I give credit to Dennis Nardone for illuminating them on his radio show on WVOX 1460 about Harrison politics.

The first is Harrison Police Chief David Hall: Hall is the longtime chief of the Harrison Police Department (HPD) and  is well known in Harrison and popular. The Facebook scandal will certainly not help Hall if he runs, and he will have to do his best to explain that he wasn’t involved and move on. Several years ago, Hall ran – and won – a County Legislative race, but gave it up because he would have to step down as chief.

Hall is a viable candidate for mayor — he would have the support of the Harrison GOP, he is popular in town and he could likely raise enough money to give Walsh a serious contest.

The second candidate is Richard Berman — this one came out of nowhere. Berman, who recently stepped down as the president of Manhattanville College, has had his name tossed out as a possible candidate for Harrison Mayor.

Berman brings a new dynamic to the race. He comes from academia, and his years at Manhattanville give him a large list of Westchester friends and possible supporters and campaign contributors. Berman could also run as an outsider candidate, not responsible for the property tax increases and Facebook scandal.

Both will have to make a decision shortly, with the Republican conventions happening soon.

Steve Malfitano, the former mayor who was defeated by Walsh two years ago by a slim margin, is another name we have heard over the past few weeks. Malfitano’s name was originally tossed out as a possible Republican candidate for County Legislator, against incumbent Democratic County Legislator Marty Rogowsky.

But recently, Malfitano’s name has been tossed out as a possible candidate for Harrison Town Council. Another important fact to consider about Harrison, is the fact that in the Obama-McCain presidential race, McCain won in Harrison.

Cavallo Leaning on Dems to Support Tony Castro for DA at Dem Convention on Wednesday

 

The upcoming Westchester Democratic convention tomorrow has one race that everyone is talking about. Who gets the nomination for district attorney?

Incumbent DA and former Republican Janet DiFiore, as well as Tony Castro, are the two vying for the party nod. DiFiore has received the endorsement of the County Democrat Executive Committee and many of the local party endorsements throughout the county.

But there are pockets of Castro support that we have heard about. This support comes from Dems who worked on Castro’s two prior races for DA in 2001 and 2005.  Other Castro support comes from diehard Democrats who believe that Castro is the real Democrat in the race, and DiFiore a Republican in disguise.

It gets interesting here — we have heard from several Democrats in different Westchester locales that Westchester Independence Party Chairman Dr. Giulio Cavallo has been “lobbying” Democratic district leaders to support Castro.

How can Cavallo, chair of the Independence party, attempt to intervene in the Democratic Convention, to be held on Wednesday at the county center? By using his party’s line to Dems running for office this fall.

We know who these few Dems are but don’t want to name them because they have not accpeted Cavallo scurrilous invitations.

Dr. Cavallo is pushing hard for Castro, which is an indication of his ever-closer political friendship with Sam Zherka, Westchester Guardian publisher, and admitted target of the Manhattan DA.

We have it once again folks, and we should be ashamed. Cavallo is working his black magic on another important county election.

When will it end and when are the Feds coming?

Anthony Merante Announces Council Bid in Sixth District

 

On May 2, Anthony Merante announced his candidacy for City Council in the Sixth District to replace Dee Barbato. Merante will run as a Republican and joins Republican John Larkin and Democrat Ted Winnicki as candidates.

Below is Merante’s statement:

On May 2, in front of 46 Davenport Road Anthony Merante, community leader and activist,  announced his candidacy for Yonkers City Council in the Sixth District.

 Merante has been an advocate for Yonkers Public School children.  With the school system making positive strides, he wants to assure that the progress continues. “I have a vested interest since my two children attend the Public schools.” None of the current councilpersons have children in Yonkers Public Schools. Our children deserve representation on the City Council.

Merante has also been an activist for proper development in the city. He was one of the leading community activists who fought to assure that the building of Ridge Hill Village would not disrupt the quality of life in the Sixth District.  He also wanted to make sure that the residents of Yonkers were not shortchanged on the sale/lease of the property. “Our hard work went down the drain when Chuck Lesnick, whom the community supported, for City Council president, said he would fight with us, but then passed it after being elected with no change to the quality of life issues. I am for development but all issues must be resolved before signing a contract.”

 With regards to our economy and the proposed city budget, “a productive councilperson,” Merante believes, “is someone who can do more with less.” “With proper budgeting and planning, this can be accomplished. Raising taxes must be a  LAST resort. In this economy, when tomorrow’s paycheck is not guaranteed, and real estate values are falling we cannot add insult to injury and raise property taxes.”  

 This can be done when there is trust between employer (government) and employees (the unions). When these two groups trust and respect each other they can work together and save the taxpayers unnecessary financial hardship.  This trust is noticeably missing at this time. “When I have the opportunity to talk with Yonkers union workers, it is obvious that the lack of trust is also paying a toll on employee moral.

 Merante is seeking the open council seat being vacated by Dee Barbato. Barbato is precluded from seeking another term due to term limits. Yonkers City government will have many new members over the next two years. “I have the leadership skills to keep the city moving forward,” Merante said.

Merante is a certified public accountant.  He has resided in Yonkers since 1987. He has been married to his wife for 24 years and has two children who attend Yonkers Public Schools.

Republican CCP Race Still Up in Air; Nick Spano Said to Control Majority of District Leaders

Here’s an update on the Republican race for City Council president (CCP), for the right to face off against Democrat City Council President Chuck Lesnick in November.

The two Republican candidates are Councilman Liam McLaughlin and Jim Castro-Blanco. Castro-Blanco, a first-time candidate, announced early and is running as the political outsider to fix a failed City Council.

McLaughlin, who entered into the race only recently, is running as the candidate with the experience to move the city forward.

Here’s the latest: Three weeks after McLaughlin’s announcement, the candidate who will gain a majority of ward and district leaders at the GOP Convention on May 27 is still a mystery. We recently spoke to Yonkers GOP Chairman John Jacono, who is staying neutral for the moment.

We also spoke to former State Senator Nick Spano, who still holds wide sway over the hearts and minds of Yonkers Republicans. Spano first disputed a prior post we wrote that had him calling district leaders on behalf of McLaughlin — this was an inaccurate statement and we stand corrected.

Spano is also staying neutral for the time being, to make time to get a better feel for how the rank and file Yonkers GOPers feel about the CCP race.

While the Senator was modest about his role and input in this race, it appears that a majority of the Yonkers GOP district leaders are former Spano allies, many of whom are undecided and waiting for marching orders.

We also hear that another key supporter in this race will be Councilwoman Dee Barbato. Rumors have been swirling for weeks that Barbato either has supported or will support McLaughlin, but there has been no public announcement made. A public endorsement of McLaughlin by Barbato could help push McLaughlin over the top in the Republican rich northeast Wards of Yonkers.

Castro-Blanco has the support of Mayor Phil Amicone and Councilman John Murtagh, and has a sizeable chuck of district and ward leaders in his camp.

We have also heard that some Republican council candidates are holding back their support to see which way it all turns out.

We finally hear that back room discussions have begun to try and work this out before the convention.

Bottom line is this race is still up in the air, with most waiting to see where the support of Chairman Jacono and leaders close to Nick Spano end up.  

Spano vs. Spano — Father vs. Son for County Executive?

 

The recent turn of events in the race for county executive should make all of us disgusted to live, and vote, in Westchester County, one of the most affluent and well-educated counties in the country.

For the better part of nine years, candidates for MAJOR county office have been influenced far to greatly by minor parties in Westchester, most notably the Westchester Independence Party and Chairman Dr. Giulio Cavallo, and we are headed towards the same thing happening again this year.

As County Executive Andy Spano begins his campaign for a fourth term, he now faces the embarassing likelihood of running against his own son, David Spano, who has appeared in TV commercials against county government and recently announced his candidacy for county executive recently at a Rethinking County Government rally.

While David Spano’s involvement was originally designed to upset Andy (which it clearly has), it has now progessed to a possible and legitimate father/son matchup. What has to occur for this to happen?

Dave Spano and his supporters must collect thousands of signatures county-wide to crate a new political party, and ensure he is on the ballot in November.

Or Dave can use an existing party line to run on, with the only possibility being the Independence line, which requires the approval of Cavallo.

If it happens, and its Spano vs. Spano, this race could confuse the voters as to who is the current county executive (CE) and who isn’t, possibly resulting in the election of anyone, including Rob Astorino, the Republican candidate for CE.

If this is the result, all of us in Westchester should be ashamed of allowing another scarred Westchester election to pass by.

Cavallo Up To His Old Tricks Westchester Independence ‘Club’ Holds Fund Raiser

There has been confusion about the Independence Party in New York state ever since the party was vaulted into prominence by Tom Golisano, who built up the party and ran as their candidate for governor three times in the 1990s and beyond.

If a N.Y. resident registers to vote and doesn’t want to be a Dem, or Rep, or Cons, or a Working Families party member, they have two choices: They can either register with the Independence Party or they can choose not to register to any party – thus the confusion.

Here in Westchester, Independence Party Chairman Dr. Giulio Cavallo has confused matters even further by creating a Westchester Independence Club. Cavallo has used the club over the years as a political operating slush fund for the Westchester Independence Party. Fundraisers for the club have been held over the years, with no financial records of the money raised from the event with the Westchester Board of Elections.

Cavallo held such a fundraiser last week, which was well attended by many elected officials seeking to get Cavallo’s endorsement. Two candidates for district attorney, Tony Castro and Dan Schorr, attended Cavallo’s event, which one person who attended characterized as a “kiss the ring of Cavallo” event.

While Schorr attended with the hopes of getting Cavallo’s nomination, all signs lead toward Cavallo endorsing Castro, as proof by Cavallo’s nasty personal attacks on DiFiore at the event.

Also at the event was Sam Zherka, who, together with Cavallo, is on a pro-Castro/anti-DiFiore crusade.

Cavallo’s biggest problem is who to endorse for county executive. Incumbent Andy Spano wants the line, and as another commenter told us, has indicated to Cavallo that he will have to find another job for his right hand, Yonkers Independence Party Chair Dhyalma Vazquez, who currently holds a six-figure job with the County Department of Social Services.

Cavallo wants to endorse someone else for county executive, namely David Spano, Andy’s son who appeared in a TV commercial in support of eliminating county government and who appeared at a recent Rethinking County Government tea party rally in White Plains, announcing his candidacy against his father.

Zherka wants Cavallo to endorse Dave Spano and give him the Independence line, but the Dr. is caught in a pickle. What to do?

Westchester DA Janet DiFiore Kicks Off Re-Election Bid; Attempts to Disturb Event Backfire

     

 

  Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore kicked off her re-election campaign last week outside the county courthouse in White Plains. Surrounded by hundreds of supporters, DiFiore said she was looking forward to the upcoming campaign, and will run on her record of protecting Westchester families over the past four years.

     “The employees of the Westchester County District Attorney’s office have served with honor, integrity and a deep and abiding respect for the rule of law. I ask each and every one of you to stay focused on the truth and on the facts,” said DiFiore.

     DiFiore’s announcement was marred by an attempt by her opponents to disturb the event. After attempting to shout DiFiore down, a few protestors escalated into physical confrontations with the crowd. These supporters included supporters of Tony Castro, one of DiFiore’s opponents this fall.

     “Tony Castro’s supporters tried unsuccessfully to disrupt my re-election announcement. Shame on Tony for being associated with people like that. My work keeping the people of Westchester County safe and secure is much too important to be disrupted. I will not be distracted or intimidated by their bully tactics,” said DiFiore.

     While most of the other Westchester media focused on the disruption, they missed two key elements in DiFiore’s announcement.

- DiFiore had with her the leadership of the Westchester Democratic Party and County Chairman Reginald LaFayette, County Executive Andy Spano and County Clerk Tim Idoni. DiFiore, who won as a Republican four years ago, switched parties last year and is now a Democrat, with the support of the Democratic Party, over Tony Castro.

- DiFiore can run on a record of achievement in Westchester of keeping the residents safe and secure. This election will come down to who the voters of Westchester believe will protect them, and are they satisfied with the current DA? DiFiore will likely face off against Castro in a Democratic Primary this September, with the winner facing Republican DA candidate Dan Schorr.

Wild Turn of Events With SFC’s LDA — Five on Council Now Support Modified LDA

SFC project and stadium-alive and kicking

It has been a wild, and wildly unreported, last 72 hours in Yonkers politics, specfically concerning downtown development. As of Monday, six members of the City Council had serious concerns about the Land Disposition Agreement, LDA, negotiated between Mayor Phil Amicone and developers SFC.  It appeared that the LDA would not be passed, and that the entire project was in jeopardy.

On Monday, SFC attorney Al DelBello wrote a memo to the city council in response to their letter by 6 opposing the LDA. Were are in the process of obtaining the letter, but the gist of it was that while SFC viewed all of the council’s concerns and LDA suggestions, over excessive, that SFC wished to negotiate directly with the council, new LDA terms. Mayor Amicone was not CC’d on the letter, nor notified by SFC of its origin.

On Tuesday, this sent the Mayor through the roof, and he called SFC representatives to tell them, in no uncertain terms, how PO’d he was about their efforts to divert his involvement.

later on Tuesday, the Mayor gets a call from Louis Cappelli. Cappelli claims that he knew nothing of the council letter, and offers to come to Yonkers immediately. Note: Cappelli has only been to Yonkers/City Hall on two other occassions over the past 3 years of SFC negotiations.

Cappelli rushes to Yonkers to save the project and win back the Mayor’s support. He lays his cards on the table, saying that he need this project in Yonkers, above and beyond his Catskills plan.

Negotiations ensue, with a plan that they hoped would win a majority of the council’s support. The two major details of the plan, are to add the following to the minimum development requirements in the LDA.

I-build the entire stadium, or at least a roof to the shell proposed.

II-to build a residential component, and construct one of the proposed towers, presumably at River Park Center/Chicken Island/Getty Square

Note: The specific details of this revised LDA have not been released to the public, but these two pieces above have been confirmed to Rising Times.

The Council is briefed on the revised LDA before their meeting on Tuesday. The council meeting on Tuesday night ran long, and was heated, with councilmembers exchanges shouts and accusations, most notably between CCP Lesnick and Councilman Murtagh.

The debate covered a proposal to provide SFC with a sec 108 housing loan of several million to help float their project while they obtain their multi-hundred million bank loan. After the debate the vote for the loan to SFC was 5-2 with Councilwoman Sandy Annabi and Joan Gronowksi voting no.

Several sources have confirmed their belief that the revised LDA now has 5 votes for approval. The Council will hold a public hearing on the LDA on May 5th.

Annabi and McLaughlin Considering Next Move

The political futures of city councilmembers Liam McLaughlin and Sandy Annabi are the hot topic of discussion at City Hall. Both McLaughlin and Annabi are term-limited this November, and with the oveturn of term limits dead, both must now consider their next moves.

While both have no public comment, privately neither has ruled out a run this fall for another office. What’s most interesting is that both have the same two options this November — run for county legislator or for council president.

Let’s break down these options:

I – Annabi, a Democrat and majority leader on the council, could run for county legislator in the 17th District, and challenge incumbent Democrat Jose Alvarado.  Alvarado is running again and has the support of County Executive Andy Spano and likely the support of Yonkers Democratic Chairman and fellow County Legislator Ken Jenkins. Alvarado doesn’t rock the boat on the County Board, and tows the line for Spano. This option would require Annabi to challenge Alvarado, and most of the Democratic party in a primary.

A race for council president for Annabi doesn’t get much easier. She would have to challenge incumbent Democrat Chuck Lesnick in a Democratic primary. Lesnick is likely to win the support of the Yonkers Dems, although not without a few challenges and disasstified Democratic ward leaders. Annabi would also have to ‘stab Chuck in the back’ and challenge him for CCP – It was Lesnick who orchestrated the council majority that elected Annabi as majority leader, to the disappointment of Pat McDow.

Annabi clearly loves politics and isn’t ready to retire. She is also a very good campaigner, and has been well-financed in past elections. Because of her exposure on the council over the past eight years, Annabi has citywide name recognition, and is an attractive and good campaigner, who would have to be taken seriously in either race.

II – McLaughlin, the minority leader on the council, will also decide whether to run for county legislator, council president or bow out of politics. A Republican, McLaughlin would have to challenge popular incumbent County Legislator Bernice Spreckman in the 14th Distirct, representing east Yonkers.

The word is that there is bad blood between Spreckman and McLaughlin, and both would love to knock the other out in a Republican primary in September. This race would be a “Battle Royale” if it ever happens.

McLaughlin’s other choice is to run for City Council president. After Councilwoman Dee Barbato declined to run, Yonkers Republicans appear to be unifying behind Republican James Castro-Blanco who already announced last month. McLaughlin’s experience and the friendships she has built over the years with Yonkers Republicans have temporarily halted the Castro-Blanco corronation.

Word is that meetings have already been held with McLaughlin and Castro-Blanco supporters to try to work things out. Once a rising star in the Republican party, two issues could hurt Liam’s chances at getting the party’s support for Council president.

I-  His lengthy battle with Mayor Phil Amicone over the John Spencer situation. After escalating into an all-out war a few years ago, the mayor and Liam have mended fences enough to work together civily at City Hall. But many Yonkers Republicans are now in Amicone’s camp, and it is unlikely that the mayor or this faction of Rep’s would support McLaughlin for CCP.

II – Over the past two years, McLaughlin has joined forces with Council President Lesnick, Annabi, and either councilwoman Joan Gronowski or Pat McDow, depending on the issue, as a majority coaltion on the Council. Some Yonkers Republicans would argue that this coalition has stalled the economic progress by painstakingly reviewing the SFC project before the economic bubble burst. 

McLaughlin could also decide not to run this fall, concentrate on his legal/CPA career and his young family and choose to run another day.

My Guess:  McLaughlin doesn’t run, and Annabi runs for Council president.

Fallout From Castro-Blanco CCP Run; Barbato, McLaughlin & Term Limits

Pat McDow

Liam McLaughlin

Sandy Annabi

Dee Barbato

Jim Castro-Blanco

Chuck Lesnick

Castro-Blanco is a Republican, and while he is the first announced Republican CCP candidate, Republican Councilwoman Dee Barbato is seriously considering a run. Sources tell us that over the past week, efforts were made to get Castro-Blanco out of the race for CCP to make room for Barbato, to no avail.

Now, based on the positive buzz in Yonkers for Castro-Blanco, and taking a look at his campaign team and fundraising goal of $800,000, pressure might fall on Barbato not to run. Democrat incumbent Council President Chuck Lesnick will likely face off against either Castro-Blanco or Barbato in November, and Republicans are trying to make sure that Castro-Blanco and Barbato don’t bloody each other up in a GOP Primary.

What scares some about this turn of events is if Barbato decides not to run for CCP, but wants to return to the City Council, where she is term limited. Barbato could be one of four or five councilmembers who would vote to overturn term limits, allowing Barbato, Liam McLaughlin and Sandy Annabi to run again for their seats in November.

Another wild rumor today was that McLaughlin is considering a run for CCP. McLaughin, a Republican and minority leader on the council is term limited, and has also been mentioned as a candidate for county legislator this year.

Other possible candidates could be councilwomen Patricia McDow and Sandy Annabi.

Democrat Dennis Robertson is also considering a run.