Yorktown Officials Draw Dubious Campaign Donations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 16, 2023

Yorktown Officials Draw Dubious Campaign Donations

Following outcry from residents, the ‘A New Day for Yorktown’ slate is drawing attention to the financial backing of Yorktown’s Town Supervisor and Town Board.

Over the last week, members of the public highlighted a series of disconcerting campaign donations to the incumbent Town Board and their allies through letters to the editor.

Supervisor Thomas Diana has received nearly $7,000 - nearly a third of the $22,000 he has raised in the last year - from individuals or corporations which currently have or previously have had business before the Town Board.

Town Board Member Ed Lachterman has received $5,000 of the roughly $19,000 he raised in the last year from individuals or corporations which currently have or previously have had business before the Town Board.

Town Board Candidate Patrick Murphy has received over $5,000 of the roughly $13,000 he raised in the last year from individuals or corporations which currently have or previously have had business before the Town Board.

Each of the three candidates have also received hundreds of dollars in donations from Eric DiBartolo, Yorktown’s disgraced former highway superintendent who plead guilty to stealing over $15,000 in merchandise from Home Depot.

Jann Mirchandani said: “Supervisor Tom Diana and the Town Board have approved new developments, large scale construction, and made generous contracts with a variety of corporations. Meanwhile, the corporations building and contracting with our Town account for just over a third of all the political donations Tom Diana and the Town Board have received this cycle. This is deeply unethical. Yorktown deserves a government that works for the people who live here, not big dollar private interests. Tom Diana and the Town Board candidates must return these donations at once if they hope to regain the public’s trust.”

Tom Marron said: “At our recent debate, I spoke about a conversation I’ve had over and over again with residents of our Town. They say that every year, it gets harder and harder to afford to live here. With so much money from big developers going into our local elected officials, it’s no surprise that the projects getting approved are big dollar developments that raise costs on everyone. If they expect the public to trust them, Tom Diana and the Town Board must return these political donations - anything else sure seems like a backroom deal.”

Steve Shaw said: “It is disappointing that over 30% of all the money raised by Tom Diana and the Town Board Candidates this year has come from businesses and corporations that have to work with the Town. We’ve seen the same business interests come back to the Board time and time again and - against public outcry - get approved on big new developments. The public needs answers: Tom Diana and the Town Board must return these political contributions. Otherwise, the message they send to anyone looking to do business in Yorktown is clear.”

This year’s election in Yorktown has been hard fought. Residents have been invigorated by the Town Board’s history of approving faulty contracts that run over on costs, years of stagnation and financial mismanagement, and a striking lack of transparency from the incumbents. Residents’ demands for change have put grassroots momentum behind A New Day for Yorktown’s campaign.

Early Voting begins on Saturday, October 28th and runs through Sunday, November 5th. Election day is Tuesday, November 7th.

Watch the recent debate between A New Day for Yorktown and the Town Board incumbents here: https://anewdayforyorktown.com/yorktown/

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