Lou Young is a newcomer – both to politics and the Village of Mamaroneck. His lack of experience is evident in social media posts and recent interviews with local news outlets. A former newscaster himself, Lou should know how to report a story accurately. Sadly, he plays fast and loose with the facts.
Here are the facts:
Lou Young was appointed to the Board of Trustees in January 2022. He previously lived in Larchmont and only moved to the Village 3 years ago.
He repeats allegations from a baseless, unproven and uninvestigated EEOC complaint against the Village. As everyone knows – allegations are just that until there are facts to back them up. It’s recklessly inappropriate for Trustee Young to try to use this issue for political gain. In his quest for votes he puts the Village at financial risk.
The Democratic party’s process for endorsing candidates is fair and consistent based on the law. Lou Young, like many other hopefuls, sought an endorsement from the Democratic Committee (30 elected Democrats from all over the Village regularly engaged in local issues). Contrary to Mr. Young’s assertion, it is not a “secret” committee. Lou Young, Manny Rawlings and Mayor Tom Murphy are all members. Two-thirds of the Committee rejected Mr. Young’s bid. Is that the reason for his ire?
The Committee never offered Mr. Young a spot on the ticket. Ms. Yizar-Reid sought and received the Democratic Committee endorsement. But she turned it down and chose to run with Mr. Young and Mr. Rawlings – even though neither of them was endorsed. Given Mr. Young’s propensity for misrepresenting basic facts, the voters can see why Committee members had concerns with his candidacy.
Because of the extensive legal deficiencies in their petitions (32% of their signatures were found by the Board of Elections to be deficient) the petitions were rejected by the Board of Elections. Ultimately this was not upheld by the Court due only to a technicality in the procedure but not the validity of the challenge. Note that the Board of Elections also threw them off the Working Families Party line for failure to comply with the law. It doesn’t bode well for their service on a municipal board if they don’t think the rules apply to them!
After the recent Army Corps of Engineers presentation, it is abundantly clear that the problems we face with flooding will only be solved if everyone is working together. We need laser focus and meaningful experience to tackle the many tasks ahead of us. We also need people who are respectful of one another and committed to working together.
Grandstanding, chest-beating, accusations and negativity will not address the serious issues we face. The majority of the Village Democratic Committee chose a slate that will hit the ground running, bringing years of personal & professional experience to the table.
None of the non-endorsed candidates have served on a Land Use Board (or appeared before them) and only one has served on a Village Committee. Without a better understanding of how local government works they are not fully prepared for the task of serving as a Village Trustee.
The endorsed candidates are running a positive campaign to discuss the issues and their vast experience. When opponents spread misinformation and hateful messages the campaign will vigorously respond with facts and truth.
On June 28 vote for Andrew Spatz, Dan Natchez and Richard Litman. They have the experience and temperament to serve the Village without emotion or ego. Because Experience Matters!
