WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE EXAMINER. December 5, 2005:  At the close of Monday’s Common Council meeting Tom Roach, Council President, saluted outgoing Councilman Larry Delgado (who was defeated by Glen Hockley in the recent November election for another term) thanking him for his work on behalf of the people of White Plains as Mr. Delgado was serving in his last regular  Common Council meeting.

Mayor Presents Larry Delgado, First Hispanic Councilman of the City of White Plains, with an award for his years of service. Mr. Delgado quipped "Where's my free movie ticket and dinner for two?" which brought down the house. (Video Capture from WPGA-TV, Government Access, live cablecast by WPCNR News)

Roach borrowed the legendary  signoff of the great disc jockey Allan Freed, saying he (Roach) was saying not goodbye to Larry Delgado but “goodnight” because he expected Mr. Delgado would be participating ongoing as the city developed. He did not elaborate on what role Mr. Delgado would assume, and neither did the Mayor who alluded to plans for including Mr. Delgado in future city public service.

Roach gave Delgado “our thanks for your hard work and commitment to our city, your wisdom and patience…(that) have earned the respect and friendship of your colleagues.” Roach praised Mr. Delgado for his contributions to the city’s development in the best interest of all of the city.

The Quiet Legacy -- A Loyal Sidekick That Made the Right Calls.

In his six and a half years on the council, Mr. Delgado voted to approve the first White Plains “Renaissance” project, the Bank Street Commons. He voted to approve the Stop N Shop Supermarket project on Westchester Avenue.  

He voted to approve the Louis Cappelli City Center project in 2001 and attempted to reason against the  attempts by Democratic council members for the Ernst & Young study of the “halo effect” of that project which threatened the proposal.  Later as  attacks on the single building design of the project by  Councilperson Malmud surfaced, Delgado was a voice of reason. (The design quibbles eventually lead to Louis Cappelli’s hiring Fred Bland to split the residential project into two buildings.) Throughout the painful City Center approval process of City Center, Mr. Delgado was Mayor Delfino’s only ally on the project.

Mr. Delgado voted with the Mayor to refer out  New York Presbyterian Hospital offer of 60 acres of land for a park in exchange for  commercial retail adjacent Bloomingdale's  That was rejected by the Common Council in the year 2000 not to refer out that proposal for comment. This rejection paved the way for the present proton accelerator project. Delgado  was not on the council when the Council voted to approve the proton accelerator project in 2002, which is now in limbo. Mr. Delgado was right on that one and the Common Council was wrong as events turn out. Now we see development of far greater density possible for that property the Common Council. That 5-2 vote by the council cost the city a park.

In his remarks tonight, Mr. Delgado said of his service on the Council that “it has been an honor and a privilege – the greatest honor of my life. (Serving on the Council) was a responsibility I took very seriously.” He said he considered proposals for the city with what he called “White Plainsmanship, not partisanship.” (Video Capture from WPGA-TV, Government Access, Live Cablecast, by WPCNR News)

Speaking extemporaneously, Mr. Delgado reminisced he mentioned former Council Colleagues Jo Falcone and Bill King. He praised the staff of the city as very dedicated and good to work with.

He said he planned to remain active in the affairs of the city. He urged the city to keep taxes as low as possible in the future and urge both parties to work to nominate and run an Hispanic American to the council.

He said to the television audience, “Thank you for the privilege of letting me represent you over the years, good night.”

Hockley-Delgado Memories

Mr. Delgado, the first Hispanic-American to hold office on the Common Council service on the Council totaled six years and five months interrupted by 19 months, 15 months of which were served by the new 2006-2009 Councilman-elect Glen Hockley who illegally occupied the office as a “usurper,” having been appointed councilman in March 2002 after the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals threw out the call for a citywide election decision handed down by the Appellate Court in Brooklyn.

Mr. Delgado will be forever remembered in White Plains hundreds of years from now in the law books and in law schools nationally for his dogged pursuit of his Council seat through all the legal machinations and roadblocks  the Democratic Party threw  at him over nineteen months of litigation to retain Mr. Hockley, a Democrat,  in the Council seat.

People of White Plains learned more than they ever wanted to know about election law.

Hockley claimed the seat after the Court of Appeals threw out the lower court call for a special citywide election. Hockley kept the seat until the Attorney General quo warranto action produced a summary judgment that unceremoniously ousted Mr. Hockley from the Council in July, 2004.

The Hockley occupation was produced when a voting machine  jammed in District 18 in November of 2001, which cost Mr. Delgado 103 votes and appeared to hand Mr. Hockley the seat.

Even after the machine had proven to be jammed, a special election called for in District 18  by Judge Francis Nicolai, Mr. Hockley and his lawyer, Adam Bradley fought the special election as a violation of election law right up to the New York State Court of Appeals.  The Court of Appeals threw out the call for a special election saying the only remedy was a quo warranto procedure brought by the Attorney General of the State of New York.

Eliot Spitzer as Attorney General brought the quo warranto on behalf of Mr. Delgado. It took 15 months (March 2002 to July 2003)  for the quo warranto action to bear fruit, resulting in the unceremonious ouster of Mr. Hockley July 17, 2004. Mr. Delgado returned to the council in July of 2004, and has served since then, approving The 221 Main Cappelli-Hotel Project, and the senior citizen assisted living residence adjacent White Plains Hospital Center.

WPCNR remembers Mr. Delgado for his candor, his gentlemanly manner, and his genuine manner. I always felt he answered questions as honestly as he could and he looked to what was best for all. Like Bill King before him, he tried to do what was right.