County Legislator Damon Maher released a statement, Monday, February 7th in response to what he called Mayor Mike Spano’s “outlandish and obnoxious comments on WVOX, Thursday, February 3rd.

As I write this, crypto-Republican Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano still hasn’t apologized for his outlandish and obnoxious comments on local radio about the Democratic Party in general and US Representative Jamaal Bowman in particular for his principled, strategic vote on the physical infrastructure bill, which stance by the Congressman btw is looking more prescient and to the point in view of the pusillanimity of “moderate” Dems in trying to negotiate with — not politically punish — so-called Dems and “moderate” Republicans (literally from Maine to Alaska) for blocking needed investment in our human infrastructure.

Here is an account, from a neutral local news outlet, of the radio comments: “They should have arrested him for his ‘no’ vote on infrastructure,” Spano told Phil Reisman and Matt Richter on Westchester County radio station WVOX-1460 AM on Friday, according to the Yonkers Times. “I’m a hardcore moderate in the middle, and that is where most of us are and end up. But the Democratic Party over the past two years has been pushed to the left, and the reforms — like bail reform — have gone too far.” Read the entire article and you’ll see that radio host and former Journal New humor columnist Phil Reisman tries to slough it off as just kidding, but Spano doesn’t reach for that lifeline and doubles down. How disrespectful to a member of the US Congress — who is also his own constituent as a resident of Yonkers!

And who is this “us” in terms of the “hardcore moderates” for whom he allegedly speaks? Do three not-so-young, white males throwing around the term “most of us” not see how that could quite plausibly be interpreted as problematic code to those not in that demographic? I happen to be in the demographic of those guys and I can clearly make out what’s implicated. Kudos for my local New Rochelle NAACP Branch and my Legislative colleague from New Rochelle, Terry Clements, for strongly calling out this outrage.

Several organizations and community leaders immediately began to release statements pushing back against the Yonkers Mayor demanding an apology including the Black Dems of Westchester, The Westchester Black Women’s Political Caucus (WBWPC), Yonkers and New Rochelle branches of the NAACP, NYCD16-Indivisible, Indivisible Westchester, The Progressive Women Of Pelham, Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFRJ) and the New York State Working Family Party, just to name a few.

Black Westchester has extended an invitation to appear on our weekly talk radio show People Before Politics, this Sunday but still haven’t heard back from his office. Stay tuned to Black Westchester for more on this developing story.