Yorktown to Hold Special Election to Fill Supervisor’s Seat
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A special election will be held April 16 in the Town of Yorktown to fill the supervisor’s seat left vacant by the unexpected death of Tom Diana in early January.
During a special meeting Wednesday at Town Hall, the Town Board opted to let residents decide who should serve what will be the final 20 months of Diana’s unexpired two-year term, rather than appointing someone to the post.
Since Diana’s death on Jan. 5, Councilman Ed Lachterman, who also serves as deputy supervisor, has been running the town and will continue to do so until the results of the special election are certified.
“The people of Yorktown want to choose their leadership,” Lachterman said at Wednesday’s meeting. “I believe in the right of the people. There’s nothing more democratic than an election.”
Diana, who served eight years as a councilman and one year as an appointed supervisor after Matt Slater was elected to the state Assembly, was sworn in Jan. 1 following his November victory over Democrat Jann Mirchandani.
Lachterman has been trying to cope with the loss of his former colleague and close friend, who would have turned 67 on Jan. 21, while evaluating if he was able to fully commit to being Yorktown’s chief executive.
Barring a setback from disc replacement surgery that he will be undergoing Thursday, Lachterman said he plans to seek the Republican nomination to run in the special election.
“Honestly, a lot of my thought process has been about keeping the town running along the same path that Tommy had set up,” he said.
Lachterman noted that he and his wife have made adjustments to allow his two businesses to continue without his full attention and he has resigned from his posts with the Yorktown Chamber of Commerce, the Yorktown Lions Club and the Sons of the American Legion.
Meanwhile, Town Board members Sergio Esposito, Luciana Haughwout and Patrick Murphy approved a stipend for Lachterman to serve as acting supervisor on top of his $25,080 councilman’s salary.
“I firmly believe Ed has graciously picked up where Tom Diana left off and should be compensated,” Esposito said. “I have seen him embrace the job and do it well. The man has been Johnny-on-the-spot.”
“He is 100 percent committed,” Murphy said.
When asked if the Democratic Committee would be nominating a candidate for the special election, co-chairman Mark Lieberman responded, “The Yorktown Democratic Committee must convene a meeting to nominate a candidate. Once we do that we’ll announce. There is no guarantee. We hold the meeting to determine if anyone wishes to run for the office of supervisor. There may be one, or more, people that wish to run, or no one may wish to run.”
Mirchandani did not respond to a text asking if she was considering throwing her hat back in the ring.
If Lachterman, who was just elected to a third four-year term as councilman in November, is elected supervisor, the board will then have to decide if it wants to appoint a fifth member to his empty seat.
Early voting for the April 16 special election will begin nine days earlier. There will also be absentee ballots available.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/