Blue Wave Rolls Over Yonkers Again

By Dan Murphy

Election night in Yonkers on November 6, 2018 was very similar to election night 2017, with democrats rolling and the Blue Wave continuing to pour over the City, Westchester County and New York State. Higher than average democratic turnout, opposition to President Donald Trump, and a wave of enthusiasm from indivisible, progressive democrats resulted in victories for democrats in Yonkers.

The two big election night takeaways in Yonkers on election night was that Yonkers own Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, while winning her re-election race unopposed, will now become the Majority Leader of the State Senate after democrats won at least 35 of the 63 state senate races across the State.

Sen. Stewart-Cousins said on election night “I am confident our majority will grow even larger after all results are counted, and we will finally give New Yorkers the progressive leadership they have been demanding,” Sen. Stewart-Cousins will become the first woman, and the first African-American woman, to become one of the three most powerful officials in Albany, and the term, ‘three men in a room,’ no longer applies in Albany.

The one contested election in Yonkers on Tuesday was for the Assembly seat in the 90th District, which includes 80% of the city. This was an open seat after Shelley Mayer won the special election for State Senate.

Democrat Nader Sayegh easily defeated republican Joe Pinion by a 62%-33% margin. Sayegh, after four decades of experience and service to the people of Yonkers in the field of education, will now hold his first elected office and serve in Albany.

Other Yonkers races included, Senator Mayer winning her first full term in the 37th District, which includes East Yonkers, New Rochelle, and up the sound shore up to North Castle. Sen. Mayer ran unopposed after winning her special election to the senate earlier this year against republican Jullie Killian. Congressman Eliot Engel was re-elected unopposed, and because democrats won the majority of seats nationwide in the House of Representatives on election night, Rep. Engel will now serve as the Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee.

City Councilwoman Shanae Williams, who was appointed to the seat by Mayor Spano, won election in her first appearance on the ballot on election day November 6, running unopposed.

The Blue Wave of Democratic support traveled all across New York State on Election night 2018. Governor Andrew Cuomo was easily re-elected, defeating republican Marc Molinaro by a 58%-36% margin. Tish James was elected Attorney General, defeating republican Keith Wofford by a 60%-34% margin. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was re-elected by a 64%-33% margin over her republican opponent Chele Farley. State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli was re-elected by a 64%-30% margin over republican comptroller candidate Jonathan Trichter.

One interesting takeaway from election 2018 is that many voters, apparently democrats, cast their vote for Governor and didn’t cast votes for Congress, or State Senate or Assembly. Judge Hall Greenwald, from Yonkers, was one of seven justices elected to the State Supreme Court on election night.