Politics on the Hudson

With former Council member Dennis Robertson challenging incumbent Council President Chuck Lesnick for Democratic Party backing, one might have expected some direction from party leaders at their executive committee meeting last week. The executive committee, however, did not recommend either of the candidates. Instead a choice will be made at the Democratic convention on April 30

Party chair Ken Jenkins downplayed the significance of the no-decision decision, saying the executive committee decided to leave the matter for the committee’s more numerous ward leaders. It was not the first time that the executive committee didn’t back an incumbent, Jenkins said. Back in the early 2000s, the party passed over endorsing Fernando Fuentes in his unsuccessful re-election bid in the Council’s second district, Jenkins said.

The Republicans already have one candidate, James Castro-Blanco, and considering a race is Councilman Liam McLaughlin, whose second and final term expires at the end of this year.

Yonkers Councilman Liam McLaughlin’s legal limit of two terms in office runs out at year’s end, but the Republican attorney is planning at least one more race. McLaughlin says he hopes either to challenge incumbent County Legislator Bernice Spreckman for GOP backing in that district race, or else make a run for the Yonkers City Council President’s post.

The latter race would pit him against Jim Castro-Blanco, an attorney and first-time candidate, for the Republican nomination. McLaughlin’s dabbling in the Council President’s race follows a decision by fellow Council member Dee Barbato, who is also term limited, not to enter the race.

All of this follows a brief but failed behind the scenes effort in City Hall to do away with term limits.

Not to be outdone, the Democrats have a race brewing for the same seat. Democratic Council President Chuck Lesnick is being challenged by former Councilman Dennis Robertson. More on that contest soon.

Former Yonkers Councilman Dennis Robertson says he plans to challenge fellow Democrat and City Council President Chuck Lesnick for the Council’s top leadership post at a party convention in April.

Robertson said he would not run a primary against Lesnick if he lost at the party convention, saying he would not have enough campaign money to wage a successful battle against an incumbent without party support.

Robertson said Lesnick is not a strong enough leader on the Council and could prove vulnerable against a challenge by the Republicans. Republican Jim Castro-Blanco announced his attention to seek Republican backing for a City Council President race.

The 48-year-old Robertson is the full-time director of housekeeping at Yonkers Raceway’s Empire City, the video gambling operation run by the state Lottery, and he said he continues to operate an office cleaning consulting business.

Robertson unsucessfully challenged Yonkers Republican Mayor Phil Amicone’s bid for a second term in 2007, a contest that taught him, Robertson said, the importance of healthy campaign coffer.

“If I learned anything in the mayor’s race it was: you need enough money to define yourself for the voters and not let other people define you,” Robertson said.

Kieran Michael Lalor of Peekskill, the Republican challenger to freshman U.S. Rep. John Hall, D-Dover Plains, expects to appear on two additional lines in the November election.

The Lalor campaign says it has submitted about 6,300 signatures in support of adding his Energy Security Now! line to the ballot. Lalor also has the Conservative line.

“By casting their vote on the Energy Security Now! line, Hudson Valley voters … will be saying yes to more drilling, yes to safe nuclear energy, and yes to the development of alternative energy,” said Lalor campaign spokesperson Chris Covucci.

A little more than a week after Yonkers voters soundly endorsed Mayor Phil Amicone for a second term, challenger Dennis Robertson this morning acknowledged what almost everyone knew – the Democrat had been solidly beaten.

Robertson said he called Amicone this morning, but he he didn’t get to directly congratulate the Republican mayor. After getting a recording on Amicone’s cell phone, Robertson left a message, said the City Councilman who represents the Yonkers’ 3rd District.

“I’ve conceded and life goes on,” said Robertson, adding that he hoped the mayor would call him back and that the two could perhaps get together for coffee.

Robertson said he made the call after watching the recount of voting machines that began yesterday and is expected to continue at least until the end of today. Throughout the recount yesterday, Robertson said, there was no sign of any weakening of Amicone’s lead. Amicone held a 59 percent to 41 percent Election Day win.

The Councilman, whose term ends with the new year, said he was pleased with the campaign that he ran and said he believed it was a positive one. And he insisted he wasn’t going to disappear from the city.

“We didn’t have a dislike for each other. It wasn’t personal,” Robertson said. “I didn’t think he was a good mayor and I still don’t think so, but the people believe it.”

Election workers are opening voting machines in Yonkers today in a recount that is expected to decide the outcome of the City Council’s 3rd District race and finally bring a concession of defeat from Democratic mayoral candidate Dennis Robertson.

In the 3rd District, Democrat Joan Gronowski led Republican Richard Halevy by 186 votes, 2,097 to 1,911, according to the earlier count. Sam Borrelli, the Conservative-Working Families candidate, received 826.
The mayoral race wasn’t close. Republican incumbent Phil Amicone received nearly 60 percent of the vote, defeating Robertson 16,381 to 11,153

The recanvass is expected to take until at least tomorrow and could stretch out into Thursday, said Westchester County Republican Deputy Elections Commissioner Steve Levy.

It’s always interesting to get former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer’s view on the day after a big election in Yonkers. And today was no exception.

Spencer, in a telephone interview a few moments ago, said Democratic Mayoral candidate Dennis Robertson’s defeat was caused by the “sick, twisted politics” of Yonkers and various forces conspiring against him — the Consevative Party, developers, Nick Spano, and the Independence Party.

“It’s wasn’t too hard to predict,” Spencer, a Republican, said of GOP incumbent Phil Amicone’s re-election victory. “There’s numerous factors, although the turnout wasn’t that high when you compare it to other mayoral elections…I attribute it to (Amicone’s) incumbancy, spending about a million and a half dollars against a Democrat who had a lot of Democrats working against him.”

Although Amicone once served as Spencer’s loyal deputy mayor, the two have since had a bitter falling out and remain at odds. Spencer backed Amicone’s primary opponent, former City Council President Vincenza Restiano, and supported Robertson in the general election.

However, Spencer insisted that he was not actively involved in Robertson’’s campaign and rejected speculation that his close ties to Robertson scared off many Democratic voters.

“He’s a lifetime friend, what do you want me to do?” Spencer said of Robertson. “I have nothinng to do with politics. I say that repeatedly. Nobody listens to me.”

As for Robertson’s campaign, Spencer credited him with making a good effort that was hurt by an inability to raise money.

“I think the politics and the governance of Yonkers has returned to the days of old, when the city got into so much trouble,” Spencer said. “I don’t feel good for our city.”

Results are just now starting to trickle in from the Board of Elections, but over at Phil Amicone’s election night HQ, his staffers touting numbers that give the incumbent mayor a big lead.

The Journal News’ Len Maniace reports that Amicone spokesman David Simpson is telling reporters that the campaign’s informal exit polls show Amicone leading 61 percent to 39 percent for Democrat Dennis Robertson. That figure was with about 33 percent of the vote tallied.

Stay tuned

In the closing days of the campaign, Yonkers candidates began their sprint to the finish line with a flurry of press releases.

Dennis Robertson, the Democratic, Working Families candidate who wants to oust Mayor Phil Amicone, announced plans to eliminate two unpopular taxes – and if he doesn’t, says he won’t seek re-election.

Robertson, Councilman from the city’s 3rd Disrtict, said he would eliminate the city’s personal income tax and the real estate transfer tax if elected. Robertson proposes a series of corresponding cost-cutting measures – but doesn’t cite any numbers to show if the proposed savings equal the lost revenue from the tax cuts.

Those measures include eliminating cronyism and patronage; eliminating duplication within city departments; better management though the use of quarterly financial reports; a more generous state aid formula for the city’s school system; and reserving the use of city resources for city business only.

Yonkers Mayor Phill Amicone is holding what his campaign is calling a “Pre-Victory Rally” tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. at the Polish Community Center in Yonkers. The Republican incumbent faces Democrat Dennis Robertson in Tuesday’s election.