McKenzie, Becker, Scorrano Elected New Leaders in Northern Westchester
Voters elected new leaders in Peekskill, Cortlandt and Somers last night.
In Peekskill, Councilwoman Vivian McKenzie made history as the first Black female mayor in the city, besting Republican challenger Emiliano Perez, 2,374 (60%) to 1,211 (40%). Conor Greene picked up 144 votes on the Working Families line.
“We’re a city moving forward. The voters made this happen,” McKenzie said at The Bean Runner Café.
Democrats swept the three Common Council seats as well. Incumbents Ramon Fernandez (2,101) and Dwight Douglas (2,078) were reelected, while Rob Scott (2,013) earned his first term.
Leesther Brown was fourth with 1,253 votes, followed by Bill Moran (1,214), Ken Gilleo (1,191), Councilwoman Vanessa Agudelo (420), Amy Perlow (266) and Amy Vele (224).
In neighboring Cortlandt, Councilman Dr. Richard Becker won handily over GOP challenger Laurie Abbate Ryan, 5,846 to 3,856, for supervisor and will succeed retiring Supervisor Linda Puglisi in January.
In the Town Board race, Councilman James Creighton was reelected (5,428), while Zoning Board of Appeals member Cristin Jacoby (5,308) was second. Falling short were GOP candidates Tom Walsh (4,110) and Warren Smith (3,967).
Another Town Board seat will have to be filled as Councilwoman Debbie Carter was elected Receiver of Taxes. Town Clerk Laroue Shatzkin and Town Justice Kimberly Ragazzo were reelected to their positions.
In Somers, Robert Scorrano was elected supervisor, defeating Democrat Stephanie Keegan, 3,668 to 2,412.
GOP councilmen Anthony Cirieco (3,579) and William Faulkner (3,246) were reelected, beating Tom Newman (2,538) and Margaret DiLorenzo (2,436).
In Yorktown, Chamber of Commerce President Sergio Esposito (5,255) and his GOP running mate Luciana Haughwout (4,451) prevailed in the Town Board race, beating three-term Councilman Vishnu Patel (4,087) and former Supervisor Ilan Gilbert (3,941).
Meanwhile, in the District 1 race on the Westchester County Board of Legislator, incumbent Democrat Colin Smith was reelected to a second term, edging former Peekskill Councilman Joe Torres, 5,965 to 5,651.
All results are unofficial from the Westchester County Board of Elections.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
