The council candidates are James Arndt, Richard Cirulli, Michael Donnelly and Terence Guerriere. Arndt is running for Mayor Thomas Roach’s unexpired term against Democratic Councilman John Martin, who was recently appointed to the job. The other three are running for full four-year terms against Council President Benjamin Boykin, incumbent Milagros Lecuona and newcomer Dennis Krolian, all Democrats.

The Conservatives also backed Iris Pagan, the Republicans’ candidate for the 5th Legislative District race. She will be running against long-time Democratic Legislator William Ryan.

The Independence and Working Families parties are endorsing the Democratic slate.

Here are the 2011 active enrollment figures for White Plains voters, from the county Board of Elections:

Democrat: 15,446

Republican: 6,891

Conservative: 241

Working Families: 48

Independence: 1,176

Green: 36

No party: 6,541

Perry, a Yorktown resident, was a White Plains officer for seven years. Last year, he suffered a fatal heart attack after chasing down a larceny suspect with 300 prior arrests. He was posthumously given the rank of detective.

Around the first anniversary of his death, White Plains dedicated a portion of Court Street where part of the chase occurred as Michael Perry Way. Building on that work, the state may name the section of 119 from Route 100 to Main Street as the Detective Michael Perry Memorial Highway.

The Assembly bill was sponsored by Robert Castelli (R-Goldens Bridge), who represents part of White Plains, and cosponsored by Amy Paulin and Steve Katz. The Senate version was sponsored by Greg Ball and is in committee.

“Designating state Route 119 helps us to honor the memory of Detective Michael Perry,” Castelli, a  state police veteran, said. “Detective Perry died in the line of duty while serving the community he loved. For his actions and service to our community we are eternally grateful.”

Dennis Krolian, a 59-year-old trial attorney, was chosen to run as the newest Democrat on the Common Council. Krolian is a former Bronx County assistant district attorney and was heavily involved in the effort to pressure former Mayor Adam Bradley from office. He has worked in the city party since 2007 and has never run for elected office.

He joined incumbents Milagros Lecuona and Council President Benjamin Boykin, who will all run for four-year terms. John Martin, who was appointed to the council last month, was nominated to run for the two-year unexpired term of Mayor Thomas Roach.

County Legislators William Ryan and Alfreda Williams were also chosen to run again for their seats.

No Republican candidates are yet known, but GOP Chairman Brian Maloney has said there are many potential candidates looking to run under the Republican banner.

Republican candidate Bob Hyland, Democrat and acting Mayor Thomas Roach and independent Glen Hockley are vying to finish out the term of resigned Mayor Adam Bradley, a Democrat.

Questions asked by moderator Pat Casey, publisher of the White Plains Times, will be based on topics submitted by the public. To suggest a topic or question, email debate@wpcna.org by 5 p.m. this Thursday. The special election will be held on March 31.

The first meeting is scheduled from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the South Salem Fire Department, 1190 Route 35 in South Salem. The second will be from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at Fox Lane Middle School, 632 South Bedford Road in Bedford.

The same day, Republican Assemblyman Steve Katz will be holding a similar event with Hayworth at 11 a.m. at Patterson Town Hall.

For more information, contact Castelli’s office at 914-686-7335.

I wrote a Sunday story on Mayor Adam Bradley’s campaign fund spending over the past year. The basic takeaway was that nearly all the mayor’s campaign spending in 2010 went to a crisis management team and legal representation for a city ethics probe.

I noticed several commenters were confused, wondering how Bradley could have spent campaign donations on his criminal defense, which would likely be an illegal personal use. To clarify, he didn’t, according to his disclosure filings.

While he does have different lawyers representing him on his divorce and criminal trial for spousal abuse, he spent campaign money only on lawyers for his ethics probe—a separate matter entirely. (Yes, I know what you’re thinking: He’s got a lot of lawyers.)

The ethics probe involves a potential conflict of interest the mayor may have been involved in when he moved out of his marital home following his two arrests and into an apartment on Hall Avenue. He set up and attended a meeting for his new landlord with top city officials soon after he moved in. Also, his rent at the apartment has never been made public. The city ethics board has been reviewing the matter for the past seven months.

Hope that clears things up.

I was thinking over the weekend that some folks may want to see a breakdown of the $36,910 Bradley spent in 2010 on crisis communications and legal fees. Here it is:

$24,500—Strategic Political Group, a White Plains crisis management and political consultancy (roughly $12,000 spent per six month period).

$7,500—Jeffrey Binder PC, the law firm of White Plains attorney Jeffrey Binder, who is representing Bradley in the ethics probe. (Binder, by the way, is also co-owner of Strategic Political Group.)

$4,000—Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, a Chicago-based national law firm. Binder said this payment was a retainer for advice he required on ethics matters.

$910 – Richard Meltz, a White Plains lawyer. Binder said this payment was also for ethics advice.

$360,000—- abouse how much money Bradley still has in his two campaign funds.

Reginald LaFayette, the Democratic Board of Elections commissioner, said today that Castelli was ahead by 111 votes, following weeks and weeks of counting ballots. A recanvassing will happen Thursday to certify the election, but LaFayette said it is unlikely the numbers would change significantly.

“I don’t expect any major shift of 100 votes,” he said.

Castelli and Roach said they would respect the process and everyone involved and wait for the recanvass before making any statements on the race.

Today, the ballots cast into handicapped accessible machines in the 89th Assembly Distrt were read electronically. According to preliminary results from the Westchester County Board of Elections, out of 951 Plan B ballots cast, Robert Castelli received 495 votes to 456 for Thomas Roach, which brings Castelli’s overall lead to +111 votes out of some 38,774 votes cast.

The next step will be to count emergency ballots, on Friday, November 19th. There are 1,342 emergency ballots in the 89th Assembly District. Absentee and affidavit ballots are set to be counted on Tuesday, November 23rd. ... There are 502 affidavit ballots in the 89th Assembly District.

On Wednesday, November 24th, the Westchester County Board of Elections will begin a process known as the 3% audit, a hand count which will randomly recanvass 3% of the 1,033 voting machines in Westchester County.

As it stands, Republican Assemblyman Robert Castelli has 18,924 votes to Democratic challenger Thomas Roach’s 18,782—a margin of 142 votes.

Emergency, absentee and affidavit ballots still have not been counted. All paper ballots were impounded throughout the state, so those ballot will be counted under court supervision, potentially starting a week from now.

Castelli, who was heavily endorsed by labor and law enforcement groups, has brought in $92,713 in contributions, not including $57,000 in personal loans he’s given the campaign.

Roach has raised $51,140, including a $12,000 transfer from his Common Council campaign fund.

Thanks in part to an Oct. 18 campaign loan of $35,000, Castelli is coming into the general election home stretch with $60,358 cash in hand. Roach has only $7,792.

Meanwhile, almost immediately after Castelli announced his backing by the New York Taxpayers ballot line, Roach started using it as a weapon against him.

Roach sent off a stinging (and rare) press release, calling the Lewisboro assemblyman to drop the ballot line, because it was founded by none other than gubernatorial lightning rod Carl Paladino.

“Carl Paladino’s racist, sexist, discriminatory views have no place in politics,” Roach said in the release, issued quickly after Paladino sparked outrage this month for making anti-gay statements before Hasidic Jewish leaders in Brooklyn. Paladino has since apologized. “As a former police officer, Assemblyman Castelli should know that such behavior creates an atmosphere of intolerance, which can lead to hate crimes. I urge the assemblyman to take a stand against such behavior and renounce this line,” Roach continued.

Roach also announced his first round of endorsements, receiving nods from several pro-choice groups: Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion-Choice Matters, Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice New York.

The 89th includes Bedford, Harrison, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, New Castle, North Castle, Pound Ridge and White Plains. The general election will be on Nov. 2.

In his press release, Castelli “noted that meaningful reform for Taxpayers must include term limits, independent redistricting, budget reform and Constitutional reform to the way the Legislature does business, including an end to the ‘three-men-in-a-room’ approach to government.”

He is running against Democratic White Plains Council President Thomas Roach, who garnered the Democratic, Working Families and Independence party lines.

Castelli, a retired state trooper, also announced this month the endorsements of over 60 law enforcement organizations, including the Affiliated Police Associations of Westchester County—which include every Police Benevolent Association in the 89th district—Fraternal Order of Police of New York and even the Police Retirees of White Plains, who are in Roach’s home turf.

Roach has not publicly declared any organizations’ endorsements, while Castelli has announced dozens. Castelli gained his seat in a February special election and is running for his first full term in the Assembly. If Roach is not victorious, he would have his council presidency to fall back on, an option Castelli doesn’t have.

The 89th consists of Bedford, Harrison, New Castle, North Castle, Lewisboro, Pound Ridge, Mount Kisco and White Plains.

“I think we have a strong local party because we have good, strong district leaders that go out to elect Democrats at all levels of government,” Shollenberger said today about her win, “and we’re going to succeed in November.”

John Kirkpatrick, the committee’s first vice chairman, spoke at Monday’s meeting about his interest in the chairmanship and a possible floor vote, but after finding little support for the change said he had opted to step back from his candidacy.

“I would hope that many people would be interested in being strong, active Democrats,” Shollenberger said of Kirkpatrick. “I don’t think it’s a negative that someone is interested in moving up in the hierarchy, I’m just glad the committee chose me. He’s been a good vice chair … and I think we’ll continue to work together well.”

Perhaps most notably, Castelli garnered a thumbs-up from two environmental groups—the Sierra Club and the New York League of Conservation Voters—taking those seals of approval from his opponent, Democrat Thomas Roach, an ardent environmentalist. Castelli’s other endorsements included backing from the Public Employees Federal AFL-CIO—the state’s second-largest union—the National Federation of Independent Business and the New York City Detective Investigators’ Association.

Roach, the White Plains Common Council president who last week won the Democratic primary in the race, has not yet announced any endorsements in press releases or on his website.

The legislation, which Castelli fought for since he was a Lewisboro councilman in 2001, authorizes the town of Lewisboro to use some land as a cell tower, enabling improved communication for residents and emergency responders. The bill was signed by Gov. David Paterson on July 30.

“Since coming to Albany four months ago, I have established a strong record of fighting for reform, being a fiscal watchdog for taxpayers, protecting the environment and strengthening homeland security by giving our emergency responders the resources they need,” Castelli said in a press release. “It is only fitting that my first bill to be signed into law will ensure the viability of emergency communications in Northern Westchester for police, fire and emergency services personnel via a cell tower that adheres to smart growth principles, while providing much needed revenue to the town of Lewisboro to ease the burden on local property taxpayers.”

Castelli, of the 89th Assembly District, represents Bedford, Harrison, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, New Castle, North Castle, Pound Ridge and White Plains.

After winning in a February special election, he is now running for his first full term in the Assembly this November. Democrat Thomas Roach, the White Plains Common Council president, will be on the ballot on the Independence and Working Families lines. He is running against Harrison Democrat Mark Jaffe for the Democratic line in a Sept. 14 primary.

Castelli, who is running for reelection in November, is supporting plans for a 2010 voter referendum to create a “People’s Convention,” which would compromise of regular citizens deciding on ways to transform state government. With the legislation, such changes could take place well before the next Constitutional Convention could be held at around 2017.

The event will be held at the Mount Kisco American Legion, 85 E. Main St., from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight.

“I’ve only been in this race a short time, so to receive their wholehearted support so quickly is a real validation of the work I’ve done in White Plains, and the work I plan to accomplish in Albany,” Roach said in a Wednesday release.

Roach, a Democrat who’s served on the council for eight years, was also endorsed by six of the eight Democratic committees in the 89th Assembly District. The other two Democratic endorsements went to Harrison Democrat Mark Jaffe, who is also seeking the seat.

Assemblyman Robert Castelli, a Republican who took the 89th in a February special election, was endorsed by the Republican and Conservative parties. He has not formally announced his candidacy yet, though he has said he will run in November.

The only endorsement still up in the air is from the Democrats, which may be won through a primary between Jaffe and Roach.

State Court of Appeals Associate Judge Victoria A. Graffeo presided over the ceremony and Castelli’s son, Robert Christian Castelli, held the Bible for the swearing in. The junior Castelli is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army’s Special Forces and recently returned from his fifth tour in Afghanistan. The oath of office ceremony was hosted by Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb.

Two candidates are running for the 89th seat, which was vacated in January by Adam Bradley when he became the mayor of White Plains. Whoever wins the seat would have to run again in the statewide general election this November.

Peter Harckham, 50, of Katonah, is running on the Democratic and Working Families party lines. Harckham was just voted into his second term as a Westchester County legislator and is president and founder of Harckham Media Group, an advertising firm.

Robert Castelli, 60, of Lewisboro, is running on the Republican, Conservative and Independence party lines. He was a Lewisboro councilman for four years, until 2003. After working 21 years for the state police, he is currently a criminal justice professor at John Jay College and a security and media consultant.

Unofficial results for the race will be posted on the Board of Elections Web site after polls close, at westchestergov.com/boe.

For more info, click here for a piece I wrote on the race in today’s paper.

On Monday, Harckham held a press conference at the Westchester Dems’ headquarters in White Plains, where U.S. Reps. Nita Lowey and John Hall publicly backed Harckham, 50, a county legislator from Katonah.

The endorsements come on the heels of Harckham clinching the Democrats’ nomination for the special election, which was called after Adam Bradley left the 89th to become White Plains’ mayor. Bradley, as well as U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, also endorsed Harckham in recent days.

The Republican candidate, Robert Castelli, 60, a John Jay College professor from Lewisboro, has been quieter in announcing endorsements and has little time to get started—the special election is set for Tuesday, Feb. 9, in about two weeks. Whoever wins would have the run again in November during the regular election, but the victor would gain the power of incumbency.

The Democrats, filling a large conference room with well over 100 people, chose county Legislator Peter Harckham of Katonah out of five nominees. Harckham was first elected to county government in 2007 and is the president of an advertising and production company.

The Republicans — in a smaller, nearby room — picked Robert Castelli of Lewisboro out of two nominees. Castelli is a John Jay College professor, retired New York state police station commander and former Lewisboro town councilman.

He previously ran for the seat in 2004 against Adam Bradley, who vacated the 89th seat after becoming White Plains’ mayor.

The special election is set for Tuesday, Feb. 9.

Greene, 59, a White Plains Democrat and the general counsel to state Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson, joined two other Democrats — Peter Harckam, a Bedford county legislator, and Dr. Clifford Gevirtz, an anesthesiologist from Harrison — who made their candidacy known before Bradley vacated the seat. Harckam is the only one of the three to have held elected office.

Greene is also counsel to he state Senate Task Force on Domestic Violence and a past executive director of the Westchester County Human Rights Commission.

No Republicans have announced their plans to run for the 89th Assembly district, which encompasses most of White Plains, as well as Bedford, Harrison, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, New Castle, North Castle and Pound Ridge.

The candidates for a special election, which would need to be called by Gov. David Paterson, will be selected by the 89th’s town and city district leaders in separate Republican and Democratic mini-conventions.

UPDATE (1/6/10): Gov. Paterson called the special election for Tuesday, Feb. 9.

“I am coming back home to a city I’ve represented in the past with more energy and enthusiasm than ever before,” said Callahan, who was White Plains’ corporation counsel from 1994 to 1998.

Bradley expects the consolidation of both positions will save White Plains $175,000 in salary and benefit costs. The decision is one of several cost-cutting measures Bradley said he will make in an effort to trim a $13.9 million projected deficit (that Bradley expects will end up being closer to $20 million). The mayor-elect said he aims to save $1 million to $2 million through appointments, looking to consolidate some commissioner positions and not fill some deputy commissioner slots.

Callahan, who has been involved in Bradley’s transition team and was expected to land a job with the new administration, will replace Edward Dunphy as corporation counsel and Paul Wood, who recently died, as executive officer. (Bradley said he decided to change the title for the mayor’s top aide from executive officer to chief of staff.)

“I wouldn’t give the job to just anyone,” Bradley stated in the release. “I know that John will be able to handle the additional responsibility.”

Callahan has spent most of his career in the public sector, representing New Rochelle, Yonkers, Eastchester, and New York state. He became a lawyer in 1976 and ran his own private practice, as well.

He will join David Chong, the city’s next public safety commissioner, in Bradley’s administration. Businesswoman Judy Chriss, a close colleague of Bradley’s, is also expected to join the team.

Hockley did not attend the hearing with the Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee and stood by his statement despite the ruling. He called the ruling “nothing more than a frivolous complaint and the act of a desperate campaign.”

Bradley said: “There’s no challenge there, it’s just absolutely false on it’s face. And that’s all I can ask for.”

Click read more to see the full ruling:

Findings in the Complaint of
Adam Bradley against Glen Hockley,
Candidates for Mayor of White Plains

The Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee met on November 2, 2009 to hear the complaint of Adam Bradley against Glen Hockley, both candidates for Mayor of White Plains. Neither Mr. Hockley nor his representative attended the hearing.

COMPLAINT: Mr. Bradley complains that, in a robo-call being sent widely to voters in White Plains, Mr. Hockley stated that Mr. Bradley “spent a considerable amount of your tax dollars to keep [Hockley] off the ballot” and that this statement misrepresents and distorts the facts.

FINDING: Unfair Campaign Practice
Documentation presented to the Committee substantiated Mr. Bradley’s claim that the allegations were false and that neither Adam Bradley nor anyone acting on his behalf played a role in Mr. Hockley’s dealings with the Board of Elections or the courts.
If a candidate or campaign wishes to quote from a Finding, the Committee requires that it be quoted in its entirety. The Committee regards selective quotation of its Findings as a violation of fair campaign practices.
Committee Members: Evelyn M.  Stock (Chair), Miriam Cohen (Coordinator), Victor Goldberg,  LaRuth Gray, Susan Pace Guma, Ruth Hinerfeld, Milton Hoffman, Lee Kinnally, Polly M. Kuhn,  Burton M. Leiser, Ernest Prince, Susan Schwarz, Lorelei A. Vargas.
Ex officio: Representatives of the Republican Party, Democratic Party, Independence Party, Conservative Party, Working Families Party.

The purpose of the Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee is to promote a climate in which candidates conduct honest and fair campaigns. The Committee encourages candidates to conduct campaigns openly and fairly, to discuss issues, to refrain from dishonest and defamatory attacks, and not to use campaign materials that distort the facts.