The Peekskill Democratic City Committee (PDCC) announced a slate of endorsements for the November election on Thursday, Jan. 23. The endorsed candidates include incumbent Vivian McKenzie for mayor, Darren Rigger, Micah Benson and Beverly Chang for the Common Council, and incumbent Colin Smith for the Westchester County Board of Legislators.
The Common Council seats that will be open currently are held by Dwight Douglas, Robert Scott, and Ramon Fernandez, who sought endorsement from the PDCC for mayor but was ultimately passed on for McKenzie.
The sitting mayor told the Herald on Friday that if re-elected to a third term, she plans to continue focusing on key areas like economic development, quality of life, climate resiliency, community policing, and affordable housing.
“I want to continue to work in the city to see some of the things that we’ve started — I’ve been on the council since 2012 — to actually see them come to fruition,” she said. “There’s so much going on in the city and I would really like to continue my leadership and vision for this crucial time in our growth and development.”
According to TJ Douglas, the chair of the PDCC’s nominating committee, two people sought recommendation for mayor, while six did the same for the three open spots for council. The nominating committee, composed of six, had three sets of interviews in January and on Jan. 22 made their recommendations.
Those candidate recommendations were then nominated by district leaders on Thursday, then voted on by about 35 members. McKenzie was nominated by Deputy Mayor Patricia Riley who described her as hardworking and humble.
“One day we’re together, and she said to me, ‘I have to go,’” Riley said. “And I asked her why. She hesitated and told me, ‘I have to go help this person in the hospital.’ Well long story short, it was a resident that had no family and no one here to help her. (McKenzie) went to advocate for her at the hospital.”
McKenzie’s endorsement had overwhelmingly yes votes, five abstentions, and two no’s, which committee Chair Steve Kollias said did not register due to those voters not mentioning another candidate.
Darren Rigger served in the Common Council from 2011 to 2015 and is a former chair of the PDCC. He was nominated by former colleague and present Councilwoman Kathleen Talbot, and received unanimous votes in approval, with four abstentions.
Rigger was not present due to a work event in Manhattan and had a statement read by his wife Katria Sediq in his place. Rigger said he found himself in Peekskill after Covid-19 shuttered his small business office in Harlem.
“As a proud Latino Spanish speaker, I’m especially passionate about bringing Latino neighbors into the fold and making sure everyone feels seen, heard, and represented,” he said. “I also understand the responsibility of being a candidate. I’m prepared to collect signatures, knock on doors, raise the funds necessary to win this race.”
Micah Benson is a minister at Mount Olivet Baptist Church and the 1st Vice President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Peekskill chapter. He received majority votes with one abstention and one no vote. Benson wasn’t present due to needing to leave Peekskill for his deceased father’s memorial service.
“I think (Benson) is an amazingly enthusiastic person,” said NAACP Secretary Linda Wildman. “He’s organized, he presents well, he’s caring and he’s intelligent. He’s a 2006 graduate of Peekskill High School and I like the fact that he’s young coming to the council.”
For the third position, McKenzie nominated Chang who received unanimous approval with two abstentions. Chang is a Board of Health representative in Peekskill and chair of the NAACP’s Health Committee.
Getting into politics was not something Chang initially thought she was cut out to do. Her involvement with the NAACP became a pathway for her participation in politics.
“Somehow you get an email that has a little message,” Chang said. “A little message says, ‘why not you? Who are you waiting for?’ And I decided, well, maybe I should. And this is why I’m here, to give power to (Peekskill residents).”
The PDCC also unanimously voted to endorse County Legislator Colin Smith for re-election to the Board of Legislators.
They also reminded members of an upcoming Westchester County Executive special election on Feb. 11 and encouraged the vote for their endorsed candidate Acting County Executive Ken Jenkins. The Democrat faces off against Republican Christine Sculti for the remainder of George Latimer’s 2025 term.
A mayoral race and musical chairs at the Common Council
While Councilman Fernandez did not receive an endorsement for mayor from the Peekskill Democratic City Committee, he is still seeking to run for mayor and line up other endorsements, such as the Hispanic Democrats of Westchester.
Asked if he will still be running as a Democrat, Fernandez told the Herald on Monday, “We have to figure out the strategy and see what’s going on.”
If elected, some issues he would like to focus on are littering, pedestrian traffic safety, and drafting an emergency management action plan he said he has been asking for several years and would include getting radios for communication.
“We are building a great coalition to try to move the city forward in another direction, more open for the community, listen to the community more, open the door for the city,” Fernandez said.
As three mostly new faces are endorsed by the city Democratic party to run for the Common Council, it means at the very least two current sitting council members will not be on the council by the end of the year. Fernandez is giving up his seat on the council to run for mayor.
Councilman Dwight Douglas explained his decision to not seek re-election. “I have just turned 80 and I don’t think I could serve a full term so I’m not going to run,” Douglas told the Herald on Monday. “My term is up this year so this will be my last.”
Douglas was appointed to the council in 2020 to occupy the seat formerly held by Colin Smith. He also served the city as Deputy Director, then Director of the Department of Planning and Development where he was responsible for conducting the city’s industrial, economic and housing development initiatives and providing technical assistance to its Planning and Zoning functions.
Lastly, when asked if he would run for re-election, Councilman Robert Scott told the Herald Monday, “I haven’t made that decision yet.”
The Peekskill Democratic City Committee was not able to provide the other three people who interviewed for the council, due to the nominating committee process being confidential.
