WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2007  News & Comment By John F. Bailey. August 13, 2007: The Democratic Primary is 5 weeks away and features Benjamin Boykin, the two-term councilman fighting for his political life based on a pro-administration voting record, Dennis Power trying to retain his nomination with his earnest concerned warm image and no current record, and newcomer nominee Milagros Lecuona attempting to keep her nomination against a challenge by the Democratic Party ousted incumbent , Arnold Bernstein also with a pro-administration voting record, and long denied Democratic Party personality, Candyce Corcoran.

Bernstein, in a mailing last week was portrayed as not a real Democrat. Council President Rita Malmud in a Democratic Party flier endorsed Boykin, Lecuona and Power as follows:

“Ben Boykin, Dennis Power and Milagros Lecuona are the real Democrats in this race, leaders committed to making White Plains a better place to live, while moving forward with a people-oriented agenda”

This raised the issue of what is a real democrat.

Mr. Bernstein, the Democrat incumbent, denied nomination for reelection by the Democratic Party this spring countered with a piece charging the Democrats with “an unprecedented act of political retribution, I was denied renomination by our party. Instead, the nomination was given to someone with no legislative experience, but who is beholden to party bosses.”  Bernstein declares himself a person that "puts you first and his party second."

This innuendo could mean presumably Ms. Lecuona, who came out of nowhere to get the nomination over such notable contenders  and “issue-raisers” as Ms. Corcoran, Claire Eisenstadt,  Don Hughes and Robert Stackpole .  

Lecuona appeared to fit two needs for the Democratic Party:  her ethnicity would appeal to the rising Hispanic population in the city, and her gender would put another woman on the council. Her only political experience  has been with the Weschester County Planning Board, the White Plains Cable TV Commission and as a Board Member of the Westchester Hispanic Coalition, Inc.

Mr. Bernstein was, according to inner party circles, denied the nomination on the basis that he supported the Mayor on issues, such as sale of the controversial Railside Property. However, so did the other incumbent Benjamin Boykin, who now finds himself in a struggle with Mr. Bernstein. Mr. Boykin has voted consistently with the Administration on all major issues  (often the swing vote), while a laissez faire attitude towards the city budget as Chair of the Budget and Management Committee has rubber stamped every Delfino Budget for the last three years.  Boykin’s lone exception to his pro-Mayoral stance was the Station Square Exclusivity Agreement proposed by Cappelli Enterprises this past spring. That proposal was told the council in advance and they were prepared to grant it, (otherwise why put it on the agenda), but when their prior knowledge was exposed by this reporter, public pressure forced them to vote it down.

Ms. Corcoran is organizing a door-to-door campaign attempting to go to voters directly. Ms. Corcoran has grown tired of waiting for the Democratic Party to nominate her for Council. They refused to do so in 2001  when they nominated Glen Hockley instead of her, and she ran for County Legislator against Bill Ryan at that time.

 The Democrats punished Corcoran for the Republican transgression in 2003 and 2005, and again refused her this year, despite her dedicated work with the party as an organizer for a decade.  Corcoran was frustrated with the Democrats and ran as a Democrat on the Republican line against County Legislator Bill Ryan in 2001, when Ryan was nominated for Mayor, and was denied that nomination when the late Robert Greer mounted a challenge. Corcoran then switched over to run as a Democrat on the Republican ticket against Ryan when Ryan moved back to run for County Legislator..

 Lecuona, though nominated for three months (since May) has stayed in the background, being noncommittal on most issues with two exceptions: she spoke out against the Verizon cable agreement, and criticized the 189 Main Street approval last week because citizens committees were not asked for their input on what should be done at the 189 Main Street site or the design.

Mr. Power has benefitted from a series of press exposes in recent weeks of alleged Republican Party illegally funded mailing sallies against him in his runoff election against Cass Cibelli in November 2006. The exposes (that rehash campaign events of a year ago) for some reason were not run in the press until now. Their effect is to portray Power as an unfairly targeted candidate by illegally funded mailings. Mr. Power has been cleared of any conflict of interest resulting from his county job which those mailings had targeted. The effect of the strangely belated exposes sets up Mr. Power as a sympathy candidate in this primary – paints him as a victim – (when he was criticized for comflict of interest at the time of the mailings) – and enhances his teddy bear image.

 Mr. Power despite the findings of no conflict of interest, continues to be reluctant to criticize county policies towards the homeless that affect White Plains and continues to ignore seeking solutions to sewage backups in White Plains due to incompatible county sewer pipes.

Mr. Power is employed by the Westchester County Department of Environmental Facilities. Presumably he might be a helpful ally, catalyst, or in the popular vernacular these days a “facilitator” in helping the Department of Public Works in White Plains and the County Department of Public Works work out a solution to the storm flooding problems which plague the Beverly Road area.  To date, he has not taken that initiative. With his experience at Westhab as director there, he would be uniquely positioned to develop  “facilitate” a White Plains homeless initiative perhaps in cooperation with the compassionate Mayor’s Office  to handle the Drop-In Shelter problem “dropped” by the county last week. But he has not.

The nominated candidates will attempt to campaign by not campaigning, because the more they say the more their opponents can react to them. While the challengers have to reach out and get some voters to vote for them.

The Primary will depend upon the challengers getting out to voters who will support them against the slate, and finding voters who will analyze the records of the incumbents vs. the promise, the criticisms, and the record of the challengers, and balance that against what they want their Common Councilpersons to do.

In the long analysis, the candidate who stands the most to lose if he does not oust a Dem in the primary is Mr. Bernstein. If he does not obtain an Independent line in the November election ballot, which is attempting to do, he is out if he loses the primary. Corcoran will have the Conservative Line in November.

Boykin, Power and Lecuona will have the Working Families line in November, even should Boykin, Power or Lecuona be squeezed out in the September 18 Primary.

The Democratic Party did not challenge Bernstein’s petitions, but did attempt to throw out Corcoran’s petitions, only to find out they were forbidden to do so by previous court decisions.

Rounding out the November Challengers presumably will be Robert Stackpole, another Democrat denied and Robert Levine, currently collecting signatures to appear on the Independent line in November.

The Republicans have nominated  Cass Cibelli, Anthony Pilla, Jr., and Augie Zicca to run in November for the three Council seats, but the Republican candidates appear not to have started their campaigns.