YONKERS COUNCILMEMBER SHANAE WILLIAMS CHALLENGES CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON FOR COUNTY LEGISLATOR 16D SEAT

One of the races in the 2023 Democratic Primary that is being heavily covered is the race for the County Legislator 16 District seat, currently held by Chrustopher A. Johnson.

On January 9th Yonkers City Councilwoman Shanae Williams announced her candidacy for Westchester County Legislator, in the 16th District.

“Today marks the day the residents of Yonkers’ 16th Westchester County Legislative District can expect accountability, transparency, and above all else, action from your County Legislator. I am running for County Government to ensure that we finally address issues that affect our everyday quality of life such as homelessness, affordable housing, better youth supports and safety nets, and equitable access to county resources,” said Williams, who has served for 4 years on the Yonkers City Council, and whose term expires at the end of this year.

Williams will challenge the incumbent democrat, County Legislator Christopher Johnson, in a democratic primary in June. The winner of the Democratic primary on June 27th will almost certainly get elected in November in the democratic 16th district.

“My experience, history and record on the City Council, coupled with my dedication to the community has primed me to serve as the next County Legislator. I have been a resident of the 16th District for over 24 years. I have spent 12 years working in city government with the last 6 years on the City Council creating policies and initiatives that impact the people of Yonkers. These include fighting for more affordable housing, providing funds for education, youth programs and nonprofits, creating the homeless task force that led to solutions for this vulnerable population, allocating funding for our public servants including police, fire and public works employees, and having invested in the city’s infrastructure while focusing on climate solutions.”

These two have history beginning with Williams being appointed to the City Council seat in Yonkers First District vacated by Johnson when he was elected to the County Board of Legislators, January 1, 2018 . Williams was subsequently elected to the Council in 2019. Johnson was elected to fill the seat vacated by Ken Jenkins when he was picked by County Executive George Latimer to serve as his Deputy County Executive, the first African American to hold the position. Williams was not Johnson’s choice or included in a list he gave Mayor Spano for possible individuals who fill his seat.

There are many layers to the race, Williams challenge of Johnson is heavily watched and publicized; it also leaves the District 1 seat up for grabs. Contenders include Deana Norman-Robinson, who has 6 years of experience working as an aide to Councilwoman Shanae Williams and many think she is the favorite to succeed Williams. But she will have to face Effie Phillips and Shatika Parker in the June 27, 2023, Democratic Primary. Parker is the former Legislator Aide for Legislator Christopher Johnson, who many insiders say Johnson planned to back against Williams in the Council race. Williams instead decided to challenge Johnson for his seat in the Board of Legislators.

It got even more interesting when Councilmember Williams won the Yonkers City Democratic Committee endorsement over the incumbent, County Legislator Christopher Johnson, on Wednesday, February 22nd. Williams won 5,705.99 of the weighted votes compared to Johnson’s 3,146.99 weighted votes. After the vote, Williams said, “I thank everyone who participated in the democratic process last night and congratulate all endorsed candidates. I am grateful to our party chairman, all the district leaders, ward leaders and executive committee members for their support and confidence in me to be their candidate for County Legislator of District 16.”

Thomas Meier, Chairman of the Yonkers Democratic City Committee said, “Shanae has been a fighter for her community as a Councilwoman and will fight for Yonkers as a County Legislator. The Yonkers Democratic Party is happy and honored to support Shanae Williams for County Legislator.”

If there was nothing left to report at this point, this race would still be heavily watched, but this story was the gift that kept giving from a media perspective. There was the fallout when Westchester Board of Legislators (BOL) staffer Anand Singh was captured in a “to catch a predator” style Youtube video soliciting sex from a suspected underage girl in December 2022. He was caught when he drove 2 1/2 hours to NJ to get with who he thought was an underage teen in December and it was allegedly brought to the attention to the BOL leadership, and nothing was done. Now a YouTube video was made public by OBL, Wednesday, April 12th.

A quick google search shows that Singh works for the BOL’s Legislative Director who works for the BOL as a body and Chairwoman Catherine Borgia and Majority Leader Christopher Johnson. There were questions of when the legislators knew and if Legislator Christopher Johnson and others attempt to sweep Singh’s actions under the rug. Councilmember Williams was among those suggesting that members of the board knew of Anand Singh’s transgressions months prior. She has called for an investigation into who, if anyone, knew about Singh’s behavior. Councilwoman Williams accused Johnson of “concealment of staffer accused of sexual misconduct with a 14-yearold minor,” in a press release on April 14th.

“It’s disturbing to know that Majority Leader Johnson allowed this staffer who engaged in horrific conduct to continue working as a legislative staffer in his office. It’s even more disturbing that Majority Leader Johnson who is also someone who works with minors in our public schools, chose to sweep this under the rug. If we cannot trust that he will do the right thing as Majority Leader and hold his staff accountable, how can anyone in the community trust his leadership in our government? Sexual predators that target our children have no place in our community and that should be the message, no exceptions!”

Johnson told Black Westchester that he became aware of these allegations only 30 minutes before the staffer in question was terminated from employment. Johnson accused Williams of playing dirty tricks. Williams called for an investigation into who, if anyone, knew about Singh’s behavior.

The race remained in the headlines when it came out in May that Johnson purchased a home outside his legislative district is his principal residence. Lohud reported that in the mortgage document Johnson signed to buy it 11 prior, he declared that it would be his primary home.

“A Tax Watch review of mortgage documents that Johnson and his wife signed on June 10, 2022, found that the Johnsons declared they would make the three-story colonial on Rose Hill Terrace, in the 15th District, their principal residence by mid-September that year. Johnson, whose current legislative term expires on Dec. 31, 2023, serves the 16th District,” Lohud reported.

“I will occupy the property and use the property as my principal residence within 60 days after I sign this security instrument,” stated the notarized document signed by the legislator. “I will continue to occupy the property and use the property as my principal residence for at least one year.”

Williams said the Board of Legislators needs to act expeditiously to remove Johnson from his seat. “The county board should remove him for vacating his seat and be done with him,” she said.

Williams said Johnson, who is part of the top echelon of board leadership, was involved in developing the redistricting plan and forging consensus to win its approval. She said it was wrong that Johnson did not disclose that he had moved from North Broadway and that the new 16th District lines included his new home.

Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano on Thursday called for an audit of the city’s affordable housing program, just days after Tax Watch reported that a Westchester County legislator retained ownership of his affordable condominium after buying a $770,000 home outside of his legislative district.

“You can’t have two primary residences any more than you can have two primary marriages or two primary birthplaces,” said Spano. “Primary means one, pure and simple. Unfortunately, Legislator Johnson’s apparent abuse of the program requires that we make sure this is an isolated case and not widespread.”

Inspector General Liam McLaughlin, the former Yonkers City Council president, said Johnson’s circumstance has raised a broader issue that needs further investigation. McLaughlin on Tuesday, May 23rd announced an inquiry into Johnson’s declaration that the affordable condominium was his primary residence, which is a requirement for continued occupancy of the affordable unit.

Williams welcomed the expanded probe by the inspector general. “The city should know that people are being honest about affordable housing and aren’t taking advantage of it,” she said. “We need to make ensure that the program is working the way it was intended.”

Williams is also calling for Johnson to give back the salary he was paid since he moved out of the district.

That is a summary of some of the media attention this race has gotten. And while we are clear these are just allegations and Johnson hasnt been found gullty of anything as of press time. These incidents made it easy for us to announce our sole endorsement in the 2023 Democratic Primary. Blalck Westchester is proudly endorsing Councilwoman Shanae Williams for Board of Legislator 16 district. For more on Shanae Williams visit her website: www.shanaewilliams.com and follow her on Facebook @ShanaeVWilliams01 & Twitter @shanaevwilliams