New Rochelle Mayor Explains Why She Voted on Sustainable Westchester Contract
Yadira Ramos-Herbert’s vote on February 20 is now the subject of an ethics investigation.
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (February 27, 2024) — As readers will know by now, I filed an ethics complaint against New Rochelle Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert on Friday for her failure to disclose her interest in Sustainable Westchester three days earlier then voting to approve a contract between New Rochelle and Sustainable Westchester.
I was stunned last Tuesday when she failed to disclose her prohibited interest in Sustainable Westchester and recuse herself. Instead, she remained in her seat, presiding over a discussion on why the new contract was needed to replace one made null, void and wholly enforceable by the same violations of General Municipal Law 18 committed by her predecessor, Noam Bramson, and Sara Kaye.
Council Member Kaye, who remains on the Sustainable Westchester Board of Directors, was, for all intents and purposes, kicked out of the February 20 RLM Meeting by the Corporation Counsel for the same GML 18 violations in the past (see first minute of video above).
New Rochelle Mayor Facing Ethics Charges for Illegal Vote on Sustainable Westchester Contract
Before I filed the complaint last Friday, I contacted the Mayor on Thursday to make her aware that I had prepared an ethics complaint and to afford her an opportunity to explain her decision not to follow GML 18.
I publicly disclosed that I knew she had planned to participate as a voting member of the Sustainable Westchester Annual Members Meeting on February 14, 2024, in an article I ran on February 17. I published a series of emails from Sustainable Westchester including an invitation to the meeting, a meeting agenda and a proxy voting form. Sara offered to be Yadira’s proxy, but Yadira decided to attend the meeting.
Given she knew I knew (or should have known I knew), I never imagined she would vote anyway to approve a replacement contract on February 20.
New Rochelle Cuts Ties with Sustainable Westchester Over Ethics Violations by Former Mayor (2/17/24)
Not participating in that council discussion nor voting will be Council Member Sara Kaye, who also committed ethics violation after she replaced Bramson on the Sustainable Westchester board. She remains on the Sustainable Westchester board, so she will be required to leave the council chambers before the council discussion and vote.
Also leaving the room will be Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert because, even after the sustained ethics charges against Bramson and Kaye, she attended the Sustainable Westchester Annual Member's Meeting on Zoom as a voting member on February 14.
I wanted my readers to hear her side of the story, so I asked. Here is how that conversation went (spoiler alert, not well).
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