Representative Jamaal Bowman attacked by Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano
Statement by Concerned Families of Westchester
February 10, 2022
We join with other Westchester organizations – including the Yonkers NAACP and the Westchester Black Women's Political Caucus – to express our outrage at the remarks made recently by Yonkers mayor Mike Spano. Framed as criticism of congressional Representative Jamaal Bowman, his remarks were racist and an attack on the working people of Yonkers and Westchester.
Speaking on a radio program on February 3rd, Mayor Spano used inflammatory rhetoric to rally his base for his next political campaign.
· First, Mayor Spano said that Representative Bowman should have been arrested for his "no" vote in Congress on the Infrastructure Bill. This vote was an attempt by Representative Bowman to save President Biden's "Build Back Better" legislation. (BBB is a Biden campaign promise and currently one of Biden's "agenda" items. By demanding the passage of the BBB bill, Jamaal is supporting the President who won the 2020 election by 7 million votes.) For a white politician to suggest the arrest of a Black politician, who is also a resident of Yonkers, sounds like something from the Jim-Crow era. Spano's remarks should disqualify him from remaining mayor of Yonkers or seeking another office.
· Second, Mayor Spano attacked New York's bail reform legislation, inaccurately blaming it for whatever crimes are committed in New York. Actually, bail reform addresses a great injustice against people arrested for misdemeanors or non-violent offenses. Pre-trial incarceration devastates the lives of people of color and low-income people. Bail reform was long overdue.
· Finally, Mayor Spano claimed that Representative Bowman was out of step with his district because of his "radical" political views. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Congressman Bowman has supported legislation that would benefit all working people in CD16, not simply the wealthy few. His accomplishments are many: he secured federal aid for infrastructure, convenient vaccine sites, public school improvements, and expanded elder services. He has taken a principled stand to get funding for climate solutions, childcare, and lower prescription drug prices. He has fought for voting rights and joined with people protesting the failure of the Senate to pass legislation protecting our democracy. He is a uniter, not a divider. But as for Spano, his actions and words are a deliberate attack on democracy. It is Mayor Spano who is out of step with the needs of the people of his city and this district, not Representative Bowman.
The United States today is being torn apart by ill-tempered and prejudiced rhetoric. We face many enormous problems – democracy, wars, and the climate crisis – that demand reasoned discussion and mutual understanding. Mayor Spano's remarks put up walls between people, rather than building bridges.
