What does this loss mean for progressive candidates in Westchester?
Above, the original Tasha Young endorsement announcement (courtesy of Sunrise Westchester Instagram, @sunrisewestchester)
Article by Nora Lowe
On March 7th, 2021, Sunrise Westchester endorsed Tasha Young for Greenburgh Town Supervisor. A lifetime public servant and activist, Young ran on a campaign with a progressive angle, especially in the context of environmental and social action. Further, as a mother, grandmother, and woman of color, many citizens were eager to see a figure representing traditionally disadvantaged demographics in a position of power.
Sunrise Westchester supported Young’s campaign through an endorsement and through participation in virtual phonebanking events.
As the results of the local primary election rolled in this past Wednesday, June 23rd, Young lost to the 30-year incumbent, Paul Feiner.
Young lost by a relatively slim margin (just 1,084 votes). Though she will not be sitting in office this next term, her near victory illustrates that progressive candidates could be gaining a foothold in Westchester County.
On the other hand, the local political climate was rather unusual during this election. Sam Leviatin (17) is a Sunrise Westchester member who was heavily involved in her campaign. He explains, “Because it was an off-off-year election (it did not coincide with the presidential or gubernatorial election), as well as COVID-19 concerns, only 6,000 people voted in the town supervisor primary in all of Greenburgh. That type of low turnout isn’t representative of the general trend of Greenburgh democratic politics.”
Nevertheless, while not running on as progressive a platform as Young, Sunrise Westchester remains optimistic about collaborating with Feiner given his history of openness to environmentally-conscious programs, such as through a partnership with Sustainable Westchester (River Journal).