Democrat Lakisha Collins-Bellamy and Republican Dean Politopoulos won their respective party primaries in the race for Yonkers City Council President. They will now face each other in the November general election.
During the run up to the primary, I had a chance to ask a campaign volunteer how it was going? She cynically remarked that “in the world we live in, no one pays attention.” With the exceedingly low turnout, it’s clear that very few eligible Yonkers voters paid attention let alone bothered to vote in the primary.
In defense of the voters who did not cast their votes, it was dangerously hot on Election Day (although there was no heat wave during the nine days of early voting), and except for the limited coverage in the Ledger, there was no non-partisan information available about the candidates’ policy positions and how they intended to lead the City Council. Sadly, there was no coverage of the Yonkers primaries in what’s left of the mainstream media, and the bloggers and social media influencers didn’t come close to filling the void. The only real opportunities to evaluate the candidates were during the few candidates’ forums that, in general, had limited attendance. Moreover, in the excitement and intrigue surrounding the New York City mayoral race, the Yonkers elections seemed to get lost, if not simply forgotten.
There are approximately 63,000 registered Yonkers Democrats, but according to unofficial election returns posted on the Westchester County Board of Elections website, only 7681 voted in the primary, and of the 20,000 registered Republicans, only 2459 voted. In this atmosphere of apathy, where less than 12% of eligible voters exercised the right to participate in our democracy, it’s not surprising that incumbent Lakisha Collins-Bellamy easily beat back her four Democratic challengers, and now, most likely, will go on to win the general election in November in our heavily Democratic city. Incumbents have a distinct advantage in low turnout elections because not only do they have the advantage in fundraising, but they also have the support of most of the party’s campaign workers whose job it is to get out the vote. (The final number of how many people voted is sure to rise when all the votes are finally tallied, but even if there is a 25% increase in the final numbers, a turnout of 15% of eligible voters will still be very low.)
I reached out to Ms. Collins-Bellamy, who won with 38% of the votes cast, for her reaction to her victory and to comment on the low voter turnout. She did not, however, get back to me in time for our publishing deadline.
To the extent that this low turnout election is indicative of the will of the people of Yonkers, for Mike Khader (25% of the vote) and Chuck Lesnick (18%), both former City Council Presidents who were seeking their old job back, it seems their time has come and gone. Lesnick’s support for the environment and his extensive government experience failed to capture the voters’ imagination, and similarly Khader’s pointed attacks on Collins-Bellamy for alleged conflicts of interest and misuse use of her office failed to resonate. The voters also failed to embrace Peter Spano and Tasha Diaz, who each won approximately 9% of the vote. Spano received fewer votes than he did when he ran in the City Council President primary in 2021, and Tasha Diaz, the current Council Member in the 3rd District, seemed not to take the election seriously, as she did not participate in all of the candidates’ forums and was the only candidate who did not agree to be interviewed by the Ledger.
In the Republican primary, Ron Schutté’s promise to restore term limits for elected Yonkers officials, did not gain traction, as he was easily defeat by Dean Politopoulos, whose upbeat, web-based campaign centered on his support for the policies of Democratic Mayor Mike Spano. In the unofficial results, a total of 2,459 Republicans cast their vote in the primary. Politopoulos received 1,595 votes (65%), and Schutté 860 (35%).
From The Yonkers Ledger’s coverage of the primaries, it appears that there are no great policy differences separating the two primary winners. Both are solid supporters of Mayor Spano, and enthusiastically support his agenda on issues of development, term limits, education and affordable housing. It’s clear that whoever wins the general election in November, the Mayor will continue to set the agenda for City Hall.
The sleepy Yonkers election stands in stark contrast to the thunderbolt of an election in New York City, where little-known state representative Zorhan Mamdani electrified young voters who carried him to a stunning victory over the former Governor Andrew Cuomo. The charismatic Mamdani ran on an economic platform that stressed affordability and the need for new, younger leadership.
Although the Yonkers electorate has long been more conservative than its New York City counterpart, it will be interesting to see if the energy and progressive ideas that Mamdani represents will eventually spill over to Yonkers. If it does, it will only happen if a new generation of political leaders emerges to grab the reins of power in our city. In the meantime, Yonkers voters can look forward to the continued stability that the Spano administration has brought to the city, with a compliant City Council firmly supportive of his policies.
(On the day after the primary, Chuck Lesnick announced that four days before the election, he suffered a heart attack. We wish him well and a quick recovery.)
