Eastchester REVIEW THE
January 26, 2018 | Vol. 6, Number 4 | www.eastchesterreview.com
Dems look to revive gun, immigration bills By JAMES PERO Staff Writer
RIVALRY RENEWED Sean Donnellan attempts a jumpshot during Eastchester’s 72-58 victory over rival Tuckahoe on Jan. 19. Donnellan had 13 points in the Eagles’ win. For story, see page 15. Photo/Mike Smith
Boykin announces BOL committee chairmanships By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer Newly elected Westchester County Board of Legislators Chairman Ben Boykin has assigned committee chairmanship positions to members on board. On Jan. 17, Boykin, a White Plains Democrat, announced the leadership positions for each committee for the 2018-2019 legislative term. “In order for a legislative body to be robust and effective, all legislators must be engaged and accountable,” Boykin said in a release. “In determining the membership of each of these committees, my aim was to match the experience and skill sets of individual legislators with the mission
and objective of their committee assignments.” According to the Westchester County Charter, the Board of Legislators, BOL, must maintain two specific committees, the Budget and Appropriations and the Legislation committees. The BOL’s chairperson determines other additional committees and their chairmanships. Boykin has assigned legislators Catherine Borgia to the Budget and Appropriations Committee, Virginia Perez to the Legislation Committee, Lyndon Williams to the Law and Major Contracts Committee, and newly elected Legislator Christopher Johnson to the Appointments Committee. Other newly elected legisla-
tors Damon Maher, Kitley Covill and Nancy Barr have been assigned to chair the Labor and Housing Committee, Social Services Committee and the Environment, Health and Energy Committee, respectively. Republicans David Tubiolo has been assigned to the Seniors and Constituents Committee, Margaret Cunzio to the Public Safety Committee, and Jim Maisano to Intergovernmental Services Committee. Lastly, Legislator Mike Kaplowitz has been designated to the Parks, Planning and Economic Development Committee, and Majority Whip MaryJane Shimsky will chair the Public Works Committee. For the 2018-2019 legislative
Under a new Democratic regime, legislators will reincarnate two vetoed bills, including a piece of controversial gun legislation, that were nixed under former County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican. The legislative agenda on Jan. 22 will feature the reintroduction of a bill to ban gun shows on county owned property that was vetoed by Astorino last year, after being passed by Democrats on the Board of Legislators. Specifically, the bill seeks to eliminate the possibility of hosting gun shows at the Westchester County Center, which Democrats say promotes a toxic gun culture in the county. While current County Executive George Latimer, a Democrat, has already signed an executive order banning the gun shows—a reinstatement of a previous ban that lapsed under Astorino—unlike the order, the passage of a more formal piece of legislation would permanently ban the shows in the future. In tandem with a bill to ban gun shows, Democrats will also reintroduce a county immigration bill that would limit the amount of information that the county shares with the federal government.
This bill was also introduced and passed last year, but was eventually vetoed by Astorino who said it would hamper the efforts of county law enforcement. Both bills are being revisited by a new Democratic majority with an extra advantage of three seats over last year’s Board of Legislators makeup. Currently, Democrats outnumber Republicans 12-5, giving them a supermajority, in addition to the support of Latimer, who unseated Astorino in November last year. In addition to both bills, Democrats will also push two bills that expand paid sick leave countywide—companies with five or more employees would be required to provide at least 40 hours of paid sick leave—as well as a bill that would ban employers in the county from asking how much prospective employees made at a previous job. These bills will mark the start of a reinvigorated progressive agenda from Latimer and the Board of Legislators, who recently elected a new majority leader, Ben Boykin, a White Plains Democrat, to replace the previous chair, Michael Kaplowitz, a Yorktown Democrat, in a divisive nomination process. CONTACT: james@hometwn.com
Westchester County Board of Legislators Chairman Ben Boykin has assigned legislators to a number of county committees for the 2018-2019 legislative term. File photo
term, committee meetings will he held at various times on Mondays and Tuesdays. CONTACT: franco@hometwn.com
With a new Democratic majority, legislators will look to resurrect bills that had been vetoed under a previous Republican administration. File photo