Mount Vernon, New York — André Wallace, a member of the Mount Vernon City Council, pledges to knock on 10,000 doors beginning the process to place a referendum on the General Election ballot in November. The goal is to take power away from the politicians and give it to the residents who will have the opportunity to rule on term limits. Councilman Wallace is campaigning to limit Mount Vernon’s elected officials in the offices of Mayor, Comptroller, and City Council to serve for only three (3) four-year terms. Currently, there is no limit to the number of terms one can run for office in Mount Vernon.
Councilman Wallace stated, “Term limits will get rid of career politicians, limit the influence of special interests while passing on the torch to the next generation of leaders. Ultimately, it will give more options to the residents of Mount Vernon. We are elected by the people to do a job, not get a job! No one should be entitled to ‘own’ a seat for decades.”
While the two may not have agreed on many issues in the past, Mayor Thomas has stepped forward as the only other elected official to lend his support to the Councilman’s idea stating, “Public office is a privilege, not a right. It’s important to assess new ideas and welcome fresh thinking in government. Term limits motivate politicians to think like leaders and put it all on the line to get the job done”.
Councilman Wallace believes that term limits will also help move Mount Vernon forward instead of it continuing to be plagued by the stagnation he thinks occurs when politicians feel they have a whole career ahead of them to get things done. Issues, like completing Memorial Field, maintaining and upgrading the City’s infrastructure, and hiring a qualified and talented municipal workforce, can be done when the official knows that they only have a few years to produce positive results.
Everyone is encouraged to join Councilman Wallace and Mayor Thomas on the campaign trail for term limits.
For questions or comments contact Councilman Wallace at (914) 665-2332.
AJ Woodson
AJ Woodson is the Editor-In-Chief of Black Westchester and Co-Owner of Urban Soul Media Group, the parent company, Host & Producer of the People Before Politics Radio Show. AJ is a Father, Brother, An Author, Journalism Fellow (Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism), Hip-Hop Artist - one third of the legendary underground rap group JVC FORCE known for the single Strong Island, Radio Personality, Hip-Hop Historian, Documentarian, Activist, Criminal Justice Advocate and Freelance Journalist whose byline has appeared in several print publications and online sites including The Source, Vibe, the Village Voice, Upscale, Sonicnet.com, Launch.com, Rolling Out Newspaper, Daily Challenge Newspaper, Spiritual Minded Magazine, Word Up! Magazine, On The Go Magazine and several others.
