Chris Johnson resigns as Westchester legislator, ending need for residency investigation
Westchester County Legislator Chris Johnson, whose purchase of a home outside of his district sparked investigations by the Yonkers inspector general and the Board of Legislators, has resigned his seat, midway through the last year of his third term.
His resignation came nine weeks after a Tax Watch investigation detailed how the Yonkers political leader no longer lived in his North Broadway affordable condominium in the 16th legislative district after he and his wife purchased a new home for $770,000 in the 15th district.
In his resignation letter, Johnson said he did so "both with a sense of accomplishment and sadness."
Wrote Johnson: "While no elected official serves forever, it continues to be my hope that the work I have been blessed to be part of continues to flourish and transform the lives of people throughout Westchester County. It is that focus, the people of this County, that leads me to this point. At this time, my service has become an interference on centering the improvement of this County."
Board Chair Vedat Gashi, in a statement, thanked Johnson for his service to Westchester
"We have a responsibility as elected representatives to serve in the best interest of our constituents," said Gashi, D-Yorktown. "While we understand that Legislator Johnson’s decision to resign was not an easy one for him to make, we believe it was the correct one and serves the best interests of the constituents of the 16th District."
Board was set to investigate
News of his resignation letter bubbled up Monday morning, as the board's Rules Committee prepared for a meeting at 1 p.m. The panel was expected to announce the hiring of an investigator to determine whether Johnson had vacated his legislative seat by moving to the 15th District.
At the meeting, the committee voted to terminate the probe before any money was spent.
The resignation was a decided blow to Johnson, 38, and, his wife, Tai, a senior advisor to state Attorney General Letitia James. Together they were ranked 60th in City & State’s Westchester Power 100 in 2022, which noted "this pair may be Westchester’s most powerful political power couple."
The resignation came two weeks after the board's Democratic caucus stripped Johnson of his title as majority leader, and its $12,000-a-year stipend.
Johnson's move outside his legislative district fueled Yonkers City Councilwoman Shanae Williams’ campaign to wrest the Democratic nomination from Johnson, a former aide to state Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins.
Williams beat Johnson decisively in the June 27 primary, winning 61% to 39%.
Williams, who had called for Johnson's resignation during the primary campaign, said she was glad Johnson decided to step down.
"It's a good decision to save taxpayers dollars by resigning and not forcing the county do another investigation," she said. "He disappointed the community. He lied to the community. I'm happy to see he is finally taking responsibility for his actions."
Legislator James Nolan, R-Yonkers, said it was time for the board to move beyond its latest scandal. In late April, then-Board Chair Catherine Borgia, D-Ossining, resigned as chair after she was criticized for failing to act quicker to discipline a board employee caught up in a vigilalante sting operation in which he communicated with someone who he thought was a 14-year old girl.
"I would like to thank my colleague Chris Johnson in making the difficult yet righteous decision to resign," he said. "His decision will allow me and my colleagues to diligently work towards regaining the public's trust after a turbulent period of scandals."
But Somers Republican Dan Branda, who is challenging Gashi in November, said the board was too quick to shut down its inquiry. He called on the county to dig deeper, noting that Johnson vacated his seat a year ago when he moved from his apartment on North Broadway, rented it to his brother-in-law, moved to his new home on Rose Hill Terrace, and later backed the redistricting plan that added his new home to the 16th District.
He wants the county to claw back Johnson's legislative pay of $87,000 over the past 12 months. He called at District Attorney Mimi Rocah to investigate.
"He should have vacated the seat a year ago," Branda said. "He maintained the seat under false pretenses. He knew better."
Couple had bright political future
Johnson served three terms on the Yonkers City Council before his election to the county Board of Legislators in 2017. He took the board seat vacated by Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins, who remained a political mentor.
The Johnsons' move up the hill to Rose Hill Terrace in July 2022 backfired for the Westchester power couple.
It emboldened Williams' fledgling campaign. She was troubled by the Board of Legislators' vote in the fall of 2022 to change the district lines for the 16th county legislative district, as of Jan. 1, 2024, to include Johnson’s new residence, months after he and his wife had moved to Rose Hill Terrace.
Several of Johnson’s colleagues said they were unaware his new home was located outside of the 16th District. Johnson, who then chaired the Democratic majority's caucus meetings, denied influencing the redistricting process to include his new home in the redrawn 16th.
The board was preparing to spend as much as $30,000 to investigate whether Johnson vacated his seat when he moved to his new home. It was an unprecedented action by the Board of Legislators since its establishment in 1970.
IG looked at misuse of affordable condo
Johnson had come under investigation by Yonkers Inspector General Liam McLaughlin on May 23, just five days after the Tax Watch investigation was published. Johnson charged that the probe was a “political hit job” by McLaughlin, the former Yonkers City Council president, who Mayor Mike Spano had appointed to the post.
Spano supported Williams in her bid to unseat Johnson.
Johnson insisted that McLaughlin was wielding this investigation as a political weapon “to target political opponents, reducing office to a puppet show for Spano’s interests.”
More: Yonkers legislator violated city regulations by renting his affordable condo, says city IG
McLaughlin, who interviewed Johnson under oath, found that the legislator had rented his affordable condominium to his brother-in-law, Elon Molina, his partner and their two children. Under city regulations, however, owners of affordable condominiums are prohibited from renting their units.
City Corporation Counsel Matthew Gallagher informed Johnson on July 13 that he was in default of a mortgage of $19,834 that represented the subsidy given to the first purchaser of the unit back in 1996. Gallagher ordered Johnson to "immediately" sell the unit, with the top price pegged at $251,558 for the first-floor apartment with Hudson River views.
Chris Johnson said it was a family matter
When Johnson was asked about the new home purchase in May, he stated that he maintained two homes — both which were located in the newly drawn 16th district. He argued that his commitment to helping his brother-in-law was paramount.
“My choice of residence is rooted in familial commitment, not political expediency,” he said at the time.
On their mortgage application for their 5%-down mortgage of $731,500, the Johnsons listed the affordable condominium as an investment property that they estimated would bring in $2,500 a month in rent. The IG's report found that the Johnsons rented the apartment for $1,500 to his brother-in-law and his family.
Back in May, the Johnsons defended their decision to turn over their affordable condominium to Tai Johnson’s brother and his family because he’d been released from prison during the pandemic and needed a place to stay.
At the time, Chris Johnson maintained he still stayed there “from time to time.”
More: Chris Johnson's brother-in-law says legislator pretended to live in illegally rented condo
But in an interview, Molina said he did not need the apartment. He said he decided to rent it from Johnson because it had a guaranteed parking space and matched the rent of his Bronx flat.
Molina’s partner told Tax Watch that Johnson no longer lived there.
Johnson bought the affordable unit for $197,000 in 2010 while he was working for Stewart-Cousins. It was part of the city’s Affordable Housing program, established in the 1990s to comply with the federal consent order signed by the city to end the federal lawsuit that found segregation in city housing and its public education system.
After the inspector general launched his probe, Johnson trumpeted his longstanding support for affordable housing, mentioning how it had improved his life. He said he had steered millions of dollars to affordable housing, created programs to build affordable units and funded a program to provide legal representation to tenants facing eviction.
“My commitment to affordable housing is inspired by personal experience and a deep understanding of its transformative power,” Johnson said in May.
Filling Chris Johnson's seat
Following Johnson's resignation, the Board of Legislators has to power to appoint a replacement to serve until results are certified from the November election. The winner would take office for the remainder of 2023, and serve the following two-year term.
Williams won the June primary, but Johnson remains on the Working Families Party ballot line in November. Williams said she plans to campaign to win the general election. She declined to comment on the board's appointment to fill Johnson's unexpired term.
"The board will do what it chooses to do," she said. "I'm fine with kicking butt in November and starting fresh in January."
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David McKay Wilson writes about tax issues and government accountability. Follow him on Twitter @davidmckay415 or email him at dwilson3@lohud.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Westchester legislator Chris Johnson resigns amid residency controversy
