I have been reporting a lot about the crowded City Council Race for three seats in Mount Vernon, but the Yonkers City Council President race may be the county’s most crowded race. Black Westchester is told there could be up to 5 candidates running in the Democratic Primary and up to four candidates running in the Republican Primary for the one seat.
According to our sources, the five Democratic candidates are the following: Current City Council President Lakisha Collins-Bellamy who is Yonkers Democratic nominee, Former City Council President Mike Khader, Former City Council President Chuck Lesnick, City Councilwoman Tasha Diaz (District 3), and Peter Spano (we are told he has no relation to Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano) are all running in the June 24, 2025 Democratic Primary.
The four potential Republican candidates we are told are running are Ron Schutte, Dean Politopolous (Communications person at the Yonkers Police Department and the endorsed candidate), Brandon Neider (Technical Support Specialist at the City of Yonkers), and Ron Matten.
While those are the names you may see vying for your signatures, we will get an official list of candidates when we find out who makes the ballot. Candidates will be collecting signatures between February 25th and April 3rd to make that ballot for the Tuesday, June 24th Primary Election.
Each candidate needs to gather a specific number of valid signatures from Yonkers voters registered in their party to secure a spot on the primary ballot. Even if all the candidates meet the requirements, petition challenges could pop up, which might reduce the number of candidates. The big question is whether anyone will get knocked off for not having enough support. Petition challenges aren’t uncommon in local races, but as long as no candidate faces serious issues, it’s expected to be a very crowded race.
Why are so many people running for this position? Why is this position so important? The City Council President is the presiding officer of the council and leads all meetings and chairs the Rules Committee. Additionally, the council president acts as a city-wide ombudsman (an impartial person who investigates and resolves complaints), responding to individual constituent requests and community concerns. The council president also is a voting member of all standing committees of the council, the Board of Contract and Supply, and the Community Development Agency (CDA). As a member of the CDA, the City Council president actively promotes economic development in the city.
For new residents or New Yorkers turning 18, the deadline to register to vote is June 14th. New Yorkers can register in person at local election offices or online. Early voting for the primary runs from June 14th to 22nd, with Primary Day itself on June 24th.
Winners of both primaries will face off in the General Election. Unlike in the party primaries, party enrollment doesn’t matter as much in the general election. But the rest of the general election timeline does follow similar timing. Mail-in registration applications need to be processed by June 14th for the primary and October 25th for the general election. Voter registration for the November 4th General Election closes on October 25th. Early voting for the general election runs from October 25th to November 2nd.
