Politics on the Hudson

The Westchester County Board of Elections gave The Journal News a list of eligible candidates today.

The following names will appear on the Democratic primary ballot in September, barring legal challenges.

Mayor

Ernest Davis

Yuhanna Edwards

Maureen Walker

Clinton Young

City Council

John Boykin

John Fava

Diane Munro-Morris

Deborah Reynolds

Richard Thomas

Mount Vernon Mayor Clinton Young issued a statement this morning about a stabbing that occurred last night outside a city church.

It’s a sad commentary on society when an innocent woman is assaulted outside her house of worship. We are doing everything possible to bring the perpetrator to justice. The City and the church family will continue to pray for her speedy recovery.

Mount Vernon Comptroller Maureen Walker announced the endorsements she’s received for her mayoral bid against incumbent Mayor Clinton Young.

Her supporters include Councilwoman Diane Munro-Morris, who is also seeking reelection, former city water commissioner Democratic Party operative David Ford and Democratic district leader Dolores Mack, among others.

Walker held a rally at City Hall Thursday night to make announcements about her campaign to win the Democratic primary in September, which counts more than the general election in this heavily Democratic city.

Here is the entire press release she issued today: (more…)

Mount Vernon Mayor Clinton Young and county Legislator Lyndon Williams will hold an 11 a.m. rally Wednesday morning to protest what they consider County Executive Robert Astorino’s delays in advancing a $4.4 million loan to Atlantic Development.

The rally is at 203 Gramatan Ave., the site of the proposed $60 million, 158-unit tower across the street from Hartley Park.

Last week Young claimed that county officials finance plenty of low-income housing in Mount Vernon, but cite limited finances when it comes to building middle-class housing.

Astorino’s chief of staff George Oros told The Journal News’ Editorial Board last week that the project was worthy, but that it lacked key documents, including a resolution from the Planning Board and an up-to-date appraisal.

Williams, who also attended the Editorial Board meeting with Young, said all the proper documentation was filed and that the Westchester County Planning Board’s resolution on the project was not issued because the Astorino administration instructed the board not to issue one, a claim Oros disputed.

The Board of Legislators overrode Astorino’s vetoes of the bond acts for Atlantic Development on May 23 in a 15-2 vote.

Click here for a video of Young’s, Williams’ and Oros’ visit to the Editorial Board.

Mount Vernon City Comptroller Maureen Walker will hold a 6 p.m. press conference on July 21 at the steps of City Hall to reveal details about her mayoral campaign.

In a press statement released today, Walker said she will discuss her field campaign, her headquarters, her political consultant and “a major endorsement.”

In her July 2011 periodic report with the state Board of Elections, Walker listed $71,837.50 in contributions and $47,565.76 in expenses since her last declaration in January.

By contrast, Mayor Clinton Young’s political committee declared that it received $133,890 in contributions and spent $121,016.41 in its July 2011 periodic report.

Other mayoral candidates also filed their reports.

Councilman Yuhanna Edwards declared $9,170.77 in contributions and $32,439.95 in expenses, while former Mayor Ernest Davis declared $3,825 in contributions and $779.24 in expenses.

Mayoral candidate Peter Sherrill had $1,620 in contributions and $2,496.13 in expenses.

The deadline for filing petitions for the September primary election was Thursday and there are 11 people who filed petitions for Mount Vernon’s mayoral and two City Council races.

There may be other petition filers because the petitions can also be mailed in with a July 14 postmark.

The mayoral petition filers were:

Mayor Clinton Young

former Mayor Ernest Davis

Comptroller Maureen Walker

Councilman Yuhanna Edwards

Peter Sherrill

The City Council petition filers were:

Councilwoman Diane Munro-Morris

John L. Boykin

Richard W. Thomas

John L. Fava

Damon Jones

Deborah Reynolds

Mount Vernon City Councilman Yuhanna Edwards announced today that he had almost double the 1,000 signatures he’ll need to get on the September Democratic primary ballot as a mayoral candidate.

Edwards will challenge incumbent Mayor Clinton Young, who has the Democratic Party’s endorsement.

“I am overwhelmed by the amount of support I have received from the Mount Vernon community. Since I announced my candidacy, residents of Mount Vernon have rallied around  my campaign and have expressed loud and clear that we need to get Mount Vernon moving again. This is just the start to reforming the way Mount Vernon City Hall does business,” Edwards said in a press release.

The campaign also announced that Edwards will make a brief statement on Thursday morning at 9:15 at the Westchester County Board of Elections.

Former Mount Vernon Mayor Ernest Davis will hold a three-hour rally at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 9, at Memorial Field to protest conditions there.

Davis, who is running for mayor against incumbent Mayor Clinton Young, is protesting in support of renovations at the park, which will be razed and replaced.

In a July 5 letter sent by recreation Commissioner Peter Neglia to the Mount Vernon City Council, Neglia asked the body to approve the issuance of construction documents for bidding.

The due date for the bids to renovate the park are due August 16, according to Neglia’s letter.

In order to expedite the beginning of construction, the documents only include phase one of the projects. Phase one does not include the grandstand and other essential elements needed before the park can open, according to Neglia’s letter.

Mount Vernon Councilman Yuhanna Edwards will open his campaign headquarters today in his quest to unseat incumbent Mayor Clinton Young.

The 4 p.m. opening is at 10 Gramatan Ave. and the public is welcome until 9 p.m.

Edwards, 64, who is also celebrating his June 18 birthday, will be on hand to greet the public.

“We want to extend an open invitation to everyone who is eager to learn more about me and out campaign to come a visit with us,” Edwards said in a statement.

The city’s Democratic Party committee denied an incumbent council member its endorsement as it selected its nominees for the September primary last week.

The party’s nominees are Mayor Clinton Young for mayor, Legislator Lyndon Williams for the Westchester County Legislature’s District 13, and Richard Thomas and Deborah Reynolds for City Council.

Incumbent councilwoman Diane Munro-Morris was denied the party’s nomination at the Thursday meeting. Incumbent councilman Steven Horton is not seeking reelection.

Party chair Devereaux Cannick said that the party’s district leaders chose Reynolds and Thomas over Munro-Morris because of the incumbent’s support of efforts to remove Mount Vernon Inspector General Harry Stokes from his office last year and for a 2011 municipal budget different than the one Young proposed.

Munro-Morris, who has served one term on the council, could not be reached for comment last week or this morning.

Young, who faces primary challenges from Councilman Yuhanna Edwards and city Comptroller Maureen Walker, issued a statement Friday praising the committee’s 17-1 endorsement of his reelection.

“Even greater things are in store for our city and I look forward to working with the endorsed Democratic team of candidates,” Young said.

Mount Vernon is overwhelmingly Democratic, so a win in the primary generally ensures a win in the November election.