WP Democratic Committee Campaign Debuts Common Council Slate
By Stacey Pfeffer
The White Plains Democratic Committee announced its officially endorsed candidates for Common Council Thursday at a news conference in front of White Plains City Hall. The candidates include current Mayor Tom Roach, incumbents John Martin and John Kirkpatrick and first-time candidate Justin Brasch. The Common Council is the city’s legislative body and its seven members are elected at large to serve four-year terms.
County Legislators Ben Boykin and Alfreda Williams were also endorsed for re-election in a unanimous decision. The entire Common Council slate was endorsed by the State Legislative delegation that represents White Plains in Albany. Assembly members Amy Paulin and David Buchwald and State Senator George Latimer, who is running for County Executive against Rob Astorino, were all present at the news conference voicing their support for the slate.
“This election is not about me. It’s about the progress the city is making,” said Mayor Tom Roach. Noting that the news conference was on a busy downtown White Plains street, Roach commented, “it’s noisy here because we are thriving.” Roach also mentioned how important it is for “everyone to feel welcome in White Plains, regardless of immigration status or sexual orientation.”
All of the candidates spoke about how business is booming in White Plains. In the past year, White Plains has added over a thousand corporate jobs downtown. Major corporations such as Danone, Godiva and Jagermeister have relocated their US headquarters to White Plains and this past week Sumitomo Matsui Bank received approval from the County’s Industrial Development Agency to relocate headquarters to White Plains. “They [the corporations] are voting with their feet,” noted Roach.
Echoing that sentiment, County Legislator Ben Boykin said that when he joined the City Council “there was an empty Macy’s behind City Hall and you can just look around now and see my resume.”
Justin Brasch was introduced as a new candidate for the Common Council. Currently a member of the White Plains Planning Board, and a founder and principal attorney for a Manhattan-based law firm specializing in landlord-tenant and leasing laws, Brasch has more than 30 years in public service. Brasch noted his role on the Planning Board was to “analyze the budget, save money and expose waste while expanding services and being fiscally responsible.” Brasch was nominated for the Council after Councilwoman Beth Smayda decided to retire and not seek a third four-year term.
State Senator George Latimer noted how White Plains is considered a model city by his colleagues in Albany. Cities like Binghamton want to be “just like White Plains. Whether it’s improving a downtown business district, embracing their historic past, investing in parks and recreation, or bringing in arts and cultural events. It’s not just the natural advantages of White Plains: it’s the leadership of White Plains,” Latimer said.
Milagros Lecuona, also a Democrat and current member of the Common Council, is running for Mayor against incumbent Roach but she has not received endorsement from the Common Council for the upcoming election. Running with Lecuona for seats on the Council and pushing a Democratic primary are Alan Goldman, Michael Kraver, and Saad Siddiqui.
The primary is September 12 and the Council members will run at large, which means that the three candidates with the largest number of votes will win the nomination. The regular election is November 7 and as of press time, the White Plains Republican City Committee had not yet announced a slate of candidates. Currently all of the Common Council members are Democrats.
Examiner Media – Keeping you informed with professionally-reported local news, features, and sports coverage.
