Mt. Kisco Democrats to Appoint New Chair After Serratore Resignation
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
The Mount Kisco Democratic Committee is expected to name its next leader this week after longtime chairman William Serratore resigned from the post a few weeks ago.
Serratore, who was indicted in September for allegedly forging signatures on nominating petitions last spring during the tumultuous run-up to the Democratic mayoral primary, handed in his resignation at the committee’s December meeting. The committee also named one of its district leaders, John Rhodes, as vice chairman. Rhodes has also been serving as acting chair until a permanent leader is in place.
Rhodes said the committee’s first meeting of the year will be held this Wednesday, when interviews for other offices will be conducted in addition to hopefully reaching a decision on who will lead the committee until at least the summer. A nominating committee was formed, and is expected to make a recommendation to members of the full committee, he said.
“What we had to do was just have somebody in charge just so we could get through some transitional stuff,” Rhodes said. “We added a couple more district leaders, and I think at the next meeting, the primary business at the next meeting is to interview the candidates for district attorney, and we’re going to do some other stuff.”
Each local Democratic committee is expected to decide who they favor for district attorney and the county judge candidates before the county Democratic Committee’s convention in February.
In addition to potentially voting on a new committee chair, a new treasurer may also be voted into place since Serratore had doubled in that role as well, Rhodes said. However, Serratore will remain a district leader, according to Rhodes.
Westchester County Democratic Chair Suzanne Berger said Serratore officially resigned at the Mount Kisco Democratic Committee’s mid-December meeting, which took place on Dec. 12.
“He resigned, his resignation was accepted, he was thanked for all his hard work,” said the committee’s secretary Judy Sage. “It went as well as something like that could go.”
The person who will take over will be installed for the remainder of Serratore’s two-year term, which would end sometime this summer, Berger said.
Local committees typically decide on their chair for the next two years at their reorganization meeting, which is usually scheduled sometime from July to September in even-numbered years, Berger added. District leaders vote on the new committee chair, she said.
While it will not be known with certainty all of the candidates competing for the top spot until the meeting, Rhodes said last week that the only name he is aware of is Tom Luzio, who received the committee’s endorsement for mayor earlier this year, but lost the primary to Trustee Lisa Abzun. Abzun lost in the general election to Michael Cindrich, who launched a candidacy on an independent line in the spring.
It was during Luzio’s quest to get on the ballot to be the party’s nominee when Abzun cast doubt on the authenticity of some of the signatures on his petition. That led to an investigation, which resulted in the indictment of Serratore and his son. Luzio was not implicated in any wrongdoing.
The Rockland County District Attorney’s office, which is prosecuting the matter following a change of venue, did not respond to inquiries last week regarding the status of the case.
Rhodes said he supports Luzio to be the new chair.
“There’s a very good chance, because that’s my plan anyway, what I’m proposing is that Tom Luzio be the new chairman,” he said.
Sage said that the committee has been in transition, especially since it was clear that Serratore would step down. That extends to the search for a treasurer as well, she said.
“We’re coming into this at a real disadvantage,” Sage said. “One of Bill’s biggest strengths was fundraising. So we’re going to have to rebuild.”
Rhodes said filling several vacant district leader spots will also be a priority, including finding members of the large Latino community in Mount Kisco to serve in that role. There can be up to 12 district leaders at any time, he said.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/