Politics on the Hudson

Yonkers City Council President Chuck Lesnick responded today to Mayor Phil Amicone’s letter to the city’s Ethics Board and Inspector General that they investigate Lesnick’s ties to a vehicle towing company currently suing the city.

March 17, 2011: Yonkers, NY –
I am pleased that the Ethics Board and Inspector General will be looking into all of the possible conflicts of interest between those who awarded the towing contracts and those who received them. Specifically, the relationship between the Wuestenhoefer family that owns A.P.O.W. Towing and who’s relatives also catered personal events for the mayor (through Best In Gourmet), his own inaugural celebration, and despite the fact that the business is Connecticut-based and not in Yonkers, was contracted by the City to cater Yonkers Business Week.
Yesterday the mayor made scurrilous accusations about Transit Towing, a 30 year Yonkers-based company. They are a good corporate citizen who have donated vehicles to the Yonkers Fire Department for “Jaws of Life” training and have used their flatbed truck for public awareness campaigns such as Domestic Violence Awareness and Child Abuse Prevention. While I do not expect any of my supporters to receive preferential treatment from the city, they should not be denied standard business opportunities because of their affiliations. To do so would be unethical and illegal.
Regarding my ties to Smith, Buss & Jacobs, LLP, the Ethics Board has already looked at my relationship with that law firm based upon guidance I sought from the board after I was first elected in the same year that the City’s Ethics Code was changed. Based upon their opinion, I resigned from the firm but continued to rent space and management services from them.
Ever since I commented on the IG’s Towing Report, the mayor has been using his office to attack me and impede my ability to deliver services to my constituents. I suspect it will get worse before it gets better but I will not be deterred from speaking out for those who have been wronged by the system.

Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow, D-Mount Vernon, does not face a significant financial threat from Samuel Rivers, an Independence Party candidate who is Pretlow’s only challenger in next month’s election in the 87th Assembly District.

Pretlow’s 2010 32 Day Pre-Primary Report Summary, which was due on Oct. 1, indicates that he raised $4,800 for the reporting period and spent $2,402.27 in the same period. That left him with a closing balance of $187,667.83.

By contrast Rivers reported raising just $82 in receipts in that period, with a closing balance of $82.

The 87th Assembly District includes Mount Vernon and the southwestern quadrant of Yonkers.

The staff of Yonkers Councilman Wilson Terrero, D-2nd District, is still adjusting to the rules that govern financing for elected officials since he took office in January.

On Friday his staffer sent out an e-mail on using the City of Yonkers system inviting recipients to a fundraiser/victory party. That’s using a public resource for electioneering, a no-no.

Earlier today his staffer sent out the fundraiser invites again, this time using a private AOL return e-mail address.

Last month we asked Terrero why he hadn’t filed his 27-Day Post-General Election campaign disclosure forms, which were due on Nov. 30. At the time he said it was an oversight his staff would address.

As of today, a check on the state’s campaign finance Web site shows that he still has not filed the post-election report, even though he has filed the required January 2010 report.

We noticed that all the Yonkers City Council laggards in filing state campaign financial disclosure reports are Democrats.

The January 2010 report should have been filed on Jan. 11, and as of today there are no such filings on the state Board of Elections’ Web site by Patricia McDow, D-1st District, and Wilson Terrero, D-2rd District.

Terrero, who was elected to the council in November, also has not filed his 27-Day Post-General report, which was due on Nov. 30.

City Council President Chuck Lesnick, also a Democrat,  was reelected in November and he is current on all his filings, as are the three Republicans on the council, two of whom were elected in November.

In an earlier version of the posting I incorrectly reported that Joan Gronowski, D-3rd District, had not filed her 2010 declaration, but her committee filed a termination with the state Board of Elections on June 30, 2009. She has no current registered committees and she is not required to make any filings as of June 30.