County Seat: Myers vs. Chu Battle Is Likely

by Judy Silberstein

(December 16, 2004) The Westchester County Legislature finished up for the year on Monday, December 13, having approved a $1.48 billion budget with a 0% increase in property taxes and having said goodbye to George Latimer, who is stepping down as legislator for County District 7 after 13 years to become the assemblyman for New York State District 91. They did not, however, get around to setting a date for the election to replace Mr. Latimer. Meanwhile, the Republican and Democratic committees in the communities that make up District 7 appear to have settled on their candidates, although they are still reluctant to make formal announcements at this time. The race will probably be between Mamaroneck Town Councilwoman Judy Myers for the Democrats and Rye City Councilman Franklin Chu, a Republican.

Councilwoman Myers confirmed this week that she is interested in running, and she now appears to be the Democratic choice. “Judy would be an excellent candidate, “ said Roz Weinstein, head of the Town Democrats. “We’ve been strongly urging Judy Myers to declare her candidacy,” said Arnold Klugman, head of the New Rochelle Democrats whose area includes two election districts, Bayberry and Larchmont Woods, that fall into county district 7.

Earlier this month a number of names were floating through the media and at functions where Democrats clustered. The only other name that was still extant by this week was that of former Village of Mamaroneck mayor, Debbie Chapin. She declared categorically, “I am not a candidate,” when asked this week.

On the Republican side, until as late as Wednesday, December 15, two contenders were still publicly declaring their interest, Rye City Councilman Chu and Christie Derrico, who was narrowly defeated on November 2 in a re-election bid for trustee in the Village of Mamaroneck. Village of Larchmont Trustee Liz Feld confirmed that she had attended an interview with the county Republicans, but stated emphatically that she was not running. GOP County Chairwoman RoseMarie Panio was still saying the decision was up to the four local Republican committees in Town and City of Rye, Town of Mamaroneck, and City of New Rochelle.

By Thursday, however, it seemed clear, if not yet official, that Franklin Chu would be the candidate. “I’m very impressed with Franklin Chu’s financial background and the way he approaches problems,” said Dan Paniccia, head of the Rye Town GOP. “We need people like Franklin to help get the county budget back on track,” he added.

Timing is Complicated

Timing is very complicated with this election. There’s only a small window in which the vote can occur: by law it must be at least 30 and no more than 90 days after Mr. Latimer and his colleague Lou Mosiello, who represents District 15 (Yonkers, Bronxville and Eastchester), resign to take their new Assembly positions on January 2, 2005. The vote may have to take place without consideration of the third possible vacancy, the seat of Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who would not resign her county position unless she is the certified winner in the NY Senate race against Nick Spano. At this point, Mr. Spano is still ahead by at least 77 votes, but votes are still being counted, and the matter may drag on for a long time.

The timing of any election will ultimately be made at the county level, but there are local complications, including an upcoming election in the Village of Larchmont scheduled for March 15. “It would not be good to hold the county election on that same day because there are different election districts,” said Pat DiCioccio, the Town of Mamaroneck Clerk. Another time period to avoid is the fourth week in February when public schools are on winter recess and many voters may be out of town.

And of course, time is money. Potential candidates need time to raise a “war chest” of at least $30,000 to $40,000, according to estimates from both sides.

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