Some Yonkers Dems Point to Lesnick Concerns

Chuck Lesnick

 

On paper, it appears that the race for Yonkers City Council President is a done deal — with Democrat incumbent Chuck Lesnick riding re-election with the wave of a large Democratic enrollment edge, and to put him over the top, the Independence line.

Combine that with a very quiet (so far) campaign from Republican challenger Jim Castro-Blanco, and this race is over, yes? Not so fast.

Some Dems have concerns about Lesnick’s leadership, or lack thereof, they claim on the council, and the animosities between some Dems and Chuck over the years.

“Let’s remember Chuck didn’t win in 2005, Richard Martinelli lost and mailed it in. Also in ‘05, Chuck had the support of the Ridge Hill crowd, who now feel that he betrayed them,” said one prominent Yonkers Dem.

“ On SFC he’s been all over the map, trying to appease all, but annoying his base of landmarks and the anti-development crowd, who think he has done too much for developers, and the pro-development crowd, who believe he’s waited far too long to approve SFC.”

“He also voted for Mayor Phil Amicone’s budget before he voted against it, passing a council based budget.”

“Castro-Blanco is quiet, but that’s on purpose, with the hope that Chuck shoots himself in the foot. 

Pat McDow and Ken Jenkins both don’t like Chuck. We also hear the county executive isn’t on board either. Chuck needs a big turnout in the Dem-rich southwest Yonkers to combat the high turnout in the northeast

There are two competitive races in the fourth and sixth districts, which will fuel a high turnout. The Dem races in southwest Yonkers will be decided in a primary – Jenkins will breeze in and so will the Dem nominee in the second.

“Will they throw Chuck under the bus and not work hard for him? Could the Spanos — Mike and Nick — also want Chuck out of the way for Mayor Mike?

The Independence Party Lost in Space in Yonkers Council Races

 

  Dr. Giulio Cavallo-strange bizzare behavior in yonkers council races 

Who will be the nominee’s of the Yonkers Independence Party for Council President, and City Council in the second, fourth and sixthDistricts? The answer remains a mystery, thanks to the shady operations of the Ind Party in Yonkers, led by Chair Dhyalma Vazquez.

First, let us clarify that as of now, nobody mentioned below has the line, and that’s the way Dhyalma and her #1, Dr. Giulio Cavallo, want it.  

For council president, all signs lead to Chuck Lesnick getting the endorsement over Jim Castro-Blanco, with Lesnick the safer choice, and Castro-Blanco, a former US Attorney, not willing to beg or offer anything to try to take it away from Chuck.

In the Sixth District, look for Democrat Ted Winnicki to get the line over Republican  John Larkin.

In the Second District, we are hearing that Virginia Perez will get the Independence line. This is another coup for Perez, who could have the Ind and Cons lines in her battle against fellow Democrat Wilson Tererro in this overwhelmingly Democratic, and Latino district.

In the Fourth District, things have gotten out of control. Dhyalma and the Ind party offered the nomination to Mario Degorgio and he accepted. We were informed of Degiorgio’s nomination and put it up on the blog.

After reading our blog, Dhyalma blew a gasket, saying that she didn’t want any information out until she issued the release, so she took the line away from Degiorgio. We actually think that Vaquez used our blog as an excuse to take the line away from Mario.

Vazquez and Cavallo are currently at odds with Nick Spano and Mayor Phil Amicone, for reasons unknown, but likely to do with the rejection of a job plea. So any candidates supported by either Nick or the Mayor are persona non grata with the Ind party.

Degiorgio, although a Democrat, is being perceived as having the support of Nick Spano, and Dennis Shepard having the support of Amicone. This is the real reason why Degiorgio got the line yanked from him and why Shepard isn’t getting the Ind line.

So who do the dynamic duo of Cavallo and Vazquez turn to? — John Rubbo. See the next Rising Times post for more.

The Insanity of Minor Parties Reaches Into Yonkers Council Races

 

  Mario Degiorgio Gets Conservative Line

I’ve been railing against the two major, minor parties’ involvement in this year’s elections for the past two months. On the county side, the Westchester Conservative Party’s endorsement of Andy Spano for County Executive has lit a firestorm over this issue, and while its glad to see people are taking a good look at the Conservative party, it’s shameful how County Conservative Chairwoman Gail Burns handed the line to Andy Spano, against the wishes of her rank and file Conservative — 95 percent of whom wanted Rob Astorino to get their line.

The minor parties have now reached Yonkers and the chaos has just begun. First the Conservatives in Yonkers nominated Jim Castro-Blanco to be their nominee for City Council President — no surprise there.

Democrat Mario Degiorgio, running in the Fourth Council District race, received the Conservative party endorsement, along with Republican John Larkin in the Sixth District, and Virginia Perez in the Second District.

The two surprises here were Degiorgio and Perez getting the Conservative line. Degiorgio is running against Republicans Dennis Shepard and John Rubbo, with Shepard and Degiorgio the two front runners. Shepard has the support of Mayor Phil Amicone, and the nomination of Degiorgio is a minor slight to him.

Similar for Virginia Perez, who continues to build momentum in her campaign to replace Sandy Annabi. Annabi has all but endorsed Perez to replace her on the council, and the two are running as a dangerous duo — with Perez running for the Second Council District and Annabi running for County Legislator against Jose Alvarado. Both races are to represent Southwest Yonkers so look for a knock on the door from Perez and Annabi soon.

The Independence Party is even more of a mess — see the next Rising Times post.

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.