I'm the mayor of Yonkers. This is why I'm looking forward | Mike Spano

Regarding “Nepotism has taken a hold on Yonkers,” lohud.com, June 2:

The recent opinion piece from my opponents in the Yonkers Mayoral race — Councilmembers Anthony Merante and Corazon Pineda-Isaac — is more notable for what they didn’t say than what they did. Let’s start with term limits, which they claim to favor. Their record speaks otherwise.

In 2019, Merante voted in favor of extending term limits without a public referendum. Now that he wants to be mayor he’s reversed himself. Of course, he doesn’t mention that inconvenient fact.

Corazon Pineda-Isaac voted against extending term limits in 2018, but after a council majority extended them anyway, she went ahead and ran for a third term. So after saying on the floor of the Council Chamber that no one should serve more than two terms, she’s now in the middle of her third.

The upshot? When it comes to term limits, we have one candidate who’s a flip flopper and another who wants it both ways.

They attack members of my family for serving on the city payroll, never mentioning that several of them worked for the city long before I became mayor — some of them for more than 20 years. Others serve as police officers and fire fighters, having taken written exams and being hired when their scores came up in order, just like anyone else.

I’m proud of every member of my extended family who chooses to put their life on the line to protect this city and the people in it.

Councilwoman Pineda-Isaac doesn’t mention her own sister went to work for the city of Yonkers well after she was elected, or that her mother also has a government position. Pineda-Isaac herself holds a patronage position in the Westchester County Department of Economic Development in addition to her council member job in Yonkers. That’s four government jobs in her own immediate family. Is this really a basis to criticize others?

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Tax Watch: 14 relatives of Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano work for the city. Is that too many?

Finally, Merante and Pineda-Isaac criticize the tax incentives provided by the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency. Let’s talk about those, because my opponents leave out some important facts.

Every tax incentive is analyzed by an outside specialist that also serves other area IDAs, and the incentives adopted by the IDA Board rarely, if ever, depart from the specialist’s formula-driven analysis.

These analyses, along with all other information about tax incentives, are publicly posted on the IDA website for all to see. Curiously, Merante and Pineda-Isaac have never raised an objection with the IDA about any tax incentives.

Some of these companies hire lobbyists, including sometimes my brother’s firm, to obtain state and county assistance. But no lobbyist plays any role in determining Yonkers tax incentives.

Fully 27% of all tax incentives provided by the IDA during my time as mayor have been specifically to construct affordable housing. We are leading in the county in providing new housing of all types, and affordable housing especially. Without the incentives none of these affordable units would be built.

Which of those housing developments do my opponents object to?

Every dollar of the remaining incentives go to providing new businesses and jobs in Yonkers, which is one reason our city’s economy is booming and our unemployment rate is so low.

I am a veteran of many campaigns, and well know that criticism is part of a healthy political process. I also believe that criticism shouldn’t be based on cherry picking certain facts and ignoring others. When that happens it’s not the candidates who suffer, it’s the voters. For that reason, I will continue a positive campaign, focusing on the very real choices facing the people of Yonkers.

Mike Spano is mayor of Yonkers.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Mike Spano Yonkers NY mayor term limits 2023