The Yonkers Ledger Candidates Series
The Democratic and Republican Primaries will be held on June 24, 2025, with races for City Council President and certain City Council Districts on the ballot. The Yonkers Ledger sent a five point questionnaire to all seven candidates for City Council President 2025-Lakisha Collins-Bellamy, Tasha Diaz, Mike Khader, Chuck Lesnick, Dean Politopolous, Ron Schutte and Pete Spano. Once the candidates answered the questionnaire (read their responses here), our reporters followed up with an interview. One candidate, Tasha Diaz, did not respond.
Disclaimer Our reporter, Phil Zisman, conducted four of the six candidate interviews. Phil is a former Inspector General of the City of Yonkers and served in office during Chuck Lesnick’s first term in office. Zisman in his capacity as IG regularly gave formal and informal ethics advice to all city officials — including Mr. Lesnick – and employees who requested it, and when appropriate rendered opinions on specific questions of government ethics. Copies of Zisman’s published opinions are still available on the Yonkers Inspector General webpage on Yonkersny.gov
Introduction
Former Yonkers City Council President Mike Khader has unfinished city business and wants his old job back. In 2021, in a three-way primary, he lost his re-election bid to current City Council President Lakisha Collins-Bellamy. He attributes his defeat to a political attack that falsely accused him of ethical misconduct. Four years later, rather than simply walking away, he is now doubling down: he denies all allegations of wrongdoing, and asserts that Collins-Bellamy is the one who is ethically compromised.
But putting negative campaigning aside for the moment, Khader claims that this is not a grudge match. Instead, he’s driven by his passion to serve the people of Yonkers. He sees public service as a privilege, and he thrives on finding solutions to problems through effective political leadership. He believes he can unite the City Council and work with Mayor Spano to move the city forward.
Khader is proud of his record when he previously served as City Council President from 2018 through 2021. His past accomplishments include: the creation of a special needs task force in the public schools to advocate for special needs children; the creation of a Council committee on government oversight and operations; the increase in city parks reconstruction; and the introduction of Facebook Live to cover Council meetings. Khader believes that he was just getting started when COVID shut down the city, and now he’s ready to pick up where he left off.
Khader was born and raised in Southwest Yonkers, and is now raising his family in the city. He is a lawyer who mostly practices in family court. His dedication to special needs children can be explained, in part, because his son has special needs.
He is endorsed by the Hispanic Democrats of Westchester
On the Issues-Development, Affordable Housing, and Accessory Apartments
Khader generally supports development in the city, but believes that each project must be evaluated on its own merits. He sees the MGM casino expansion as a “generational opportunity”, but he thinks that there needs to be a more detailed traffic study, and that the community benefits agreement must be supported by the neighbors most directly affected. He wants the community projects that MGM will finance to be spelled out in the agreement.
Expanding affordable housing opportunities is one of Khader’s top priorities. He supports an increase in the percent of required affordable housing in the city’s Affordable Housing Ordinance from 10% to 20%. He also takes exception to Collins-Bellamy’s assertion that 1,674 affordable units have been created during her tenure. He believes this number is misleading because it includes many residents who received Section 8 housing vouchers when they already lived in municipal housing projects. According to Khader this did not create any new affordable housing units.
Khader wants to work with the Spano administration on development that “serves Yonkers residents first,” but isn’t afraid to withhold support if the project doesn’t benefit the surrounding community. He cited his “no” vote on the Ludlow Street project when he was City Council President as evidence of his independence.
With respect to term limits, Khader believes that elected officials should be limited to two terms for a total of eight years in office and thinks that the City Council should not vote to overturn the city’s term limit laws. Any changes to the limitation should only be made by voter referendum.
With respect to the legalization of accessory apartments, he believes there may be a place for them in certain neighborhoods provided that they meet all code requirements and provide quality and affordable housing.
Budget Priorities
In addition to expanding affordable housing opportunities and ensuring quality education for special needs children, Khader’s other budget priorities include investing in infrastructure upgrades; increasing access to mental health services; and creating a public finance campaign system.
Government Integrity and Ethics
Khader dismisses as “old news” Collins-Bellamy’s claims that he acted unethically when he was Council President. He believes Inspector General Liam McLaughlin’s report substantiating the allegations was a biased political hit. Khader noted that he defeated McLaughlin in the 2017 election for City Council President. Khader stated that the fact that he remains an attorney in good standing, and has an active law practice, is proof that the IG’s report had no merit.
Khader also stands by his claim that Collins-Bellamy improperly used her influence to secure her husband’s appointment to the Yonkers Police Department, because her husband had a prior drug conviction, and a poor attendance record on his job as a Westchester County corrections officer.
As part of his emphasis on ethics, Khader will work proactively with the Yonkers Board of Ethics and the Inspector General. He wants to reactivate the Council’s oversight and operations committee that he claims Collins-Bellamy discontinued. He claims that politics will not interfere with his effort to rebuild trust and transparency in the Council and city government.
Leadership
To Khader, the issue that the voters must consider is one of leadership. He claims that Collins-Bellamy has failed to unify the Council for the benefit of Yonkers residents. He points to her adversarial relationship to some of her colleagues on the Council and her inattentiveness to detail. For example, he questions how Collins-Bellamy allowed the Council to vote on and approve a clearly defective ordinance that raised the permissible noise levels in Yonkers neighborhoods. According to Khader, his management style will be transparent, inclusive, and based on building consensus.
Conclusion
Mike Khader wants another chance to lead the legislative branch of Yonkers city government. He believes that the people in Yonkers know and trust him, and that his deep roots in the city will translate into the votes he needs to win the primary.
Voter Information
To learn more about the candidates, watch the League of Women Voters 2025 City Council President Democratic Debate here and the League of Women Voters 2025 City Council President Republican Debate here
Early Voting Begins June 14, 2025 and Primary Day is June 24, 2025. Click here for more information on where and how to vote: https://citizenparticipation.westchestergov.com/voting/early-voting-2025
