Yonkers Democrats Hold Convention as Both Parties Eye Competitive Fall Races
Last week in Yonkers, members of the Democratic Executive Committee, comprised of ward leaders, district leaders, and party activists from across Yonkers, convened for their annual executive convention to endorse candidates and align strategy ahead of the upcoming election cycle.
The executive convention was designed to consolidate support early and avoid last minute surprises. In advance of the meeting, the city’s 12 ward leaders spoke with district leaders and polled them to secure proxies, ensuring clarity around endorsements before formal nominations were made.
All Democratic incumbents were renominated without opposition. One notable development was the nomination of rising Democratic star Frank Jereis for Assembly District 90, a seat currently held by three-term Assemblymember Nader Sayegh, who recently announced his retirement.
In the race for County Legislator in District 15, Democratic sources say that Akeem Jamal initially appeared to have a viable path to the nomination, however, party insiders report that text messages were sent to multiple district leaders, urging them not to support Jamal after renewed attention to a prior DWI incident involving personal injury.
Party insiders also shared that Akeem Jamal himself received a phone call from Nolan’s and even Anthony Nicodemo’s camp to signal the type of campaign they intended to run against Jamal, who ultimately withdrew his name from consideration.
Jamal’s withdrawal cleared the way for Progressive Anthony Nicodemo to secure the Democratic nomination for County Legislator in District 15, setting up a general election contest against Nolan, the incumbent and a vocal Trump-aligned MAGA supporter.
In District 17, former Yonkers City Council Majority Leader Wilson Terrero officially received the endorsement of the Yonkers Democratic Party for County Legislator. Given the district’s Democratic enrollment, a Republican victory there is considered highly unlikely, making Terrero the clear favorite in November.
However, new political maneuvering may complicate that race. Sources say Councilwoman Corazón Isaac Pineda’s legislative aide, Lesly Oquendo, is exploring a potential Democratic primary challenge against Terrero.
On the Republican side, Anthony Merante is set to challenge New York State Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins for NYS Senate, though party observers widely agree that a Republican has little chance of winning that seat. The Yonkers Post reached out to former Councilmember Merante for comment but did not receive a response.
Brandon Neider is vying to become the Republican nominee challenging Assemblymember Gary Pretlow for NYS Assembly.
John Isaac is set to challenge Frank Jereis for the NYS Assembly Seat and Bebe Ahmed is challenging David Tubiolo for Westchester County Legislator.
With petition season set to begin at the end of February, the political landscape in Yonkers and Westchester is beginning to take shape. The Yonkers Post will continue to reach out to all declared and potential candidates to provide fair, balanced, and comprehensive coverage as races develop.
Full List of Yonkers Democratic Party Endorsements:
Andrea Stewart-Cousins – Majority Leader, 25th Senate District
Shelley Mayer – 37th Senate District
George Latimer – Congressman, 16th Congressional District
Frank Jereis – Assembly District 90
Gary Pretlow – Assembly District 89
David Tubiolo – County Legislator, 14th District
Alexandra Bisesi – Yonkers City Court Judge
Shanae Williams – County Legislator, 16th District
Anthony Nicodemo – County Legislator, 15th District
Wilson Terrero – County Legislator, 17th District
Full List of Proposed Yonkers Republican Party Nominees
Anthony Merante - Majority Leader, 25th Senate District
John Isaac - Assembly Distict 90
Brandon J. Neider - Assembly District 89
Bebe Ahmed - Westchester County Legislator, 14th District
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to better reflect that the Yonkers Republican Party has not yet held its convention and that the candidates listed are actively campaigning but have not been formally endorsed.
