Governance Hijacked by Partisanship

The Peekskill News has learned that Mayor-elect Mary Foster’s intent to appoint a Republican to fill her vacated seat has been nixed by the Democratic Party Machine. Foster is reportedly frustrated that even after being elected Mayor, she lacks the power to make a single decision on her own. Her predecessor, John Testa, made his political name by bucking the Party authority and acting on principle. Foster has no such moral backbone. Instead, she has allowed the process of selecting her replacement on the Common Council, as well as replacements for City boards, to be subcontracted to Marina Ciotti, a declared Democratic partisan, who was the treasurer of Patricia Salvate-Riley’s campaign. Councilwoman-elect Riley has shown poor judgment by agreeing with Foster that politics should influence governmental issues.