Clash Between Mayor, VOM Dems Continues Over Village Justice Position

Village of Mamaroneck Attorney Christie Derrico's decision to run for village justice—a position that would require her to forfeit her current post—has created an ongoing partisan conflict between village Democrats and Mayor Norman Rosenblum.

When the Village Democratic Committee issued a press release earlier this month arguing Derrico had "put herself in a position that could create conflicts of interest" and ultimately asked her to resign, Rosenblum shot back with a statement of his own.

"This is nothing more than desperation by political hacks that have no real interest in what is the best interest for the Village of Mamaroneck," he wrote.

"[The Democrats] turn a blind eye to the real fact that Christie Derrico is one of the most capable Village Attorneys the Village has benefited from," he continued.

Today, the Democrats responded to Rosenblum with a statement titled "Mamaroneck Dems Call on Mayor to Rise Above Name Calling and Personal Attacks."

"The Village of Mamaroneck Democratic Committee is disappointed that Mayor Rosenblum resorts to name-calling and baseless personal attacks rather than engaging in constructive dialogue regarding the village attorney," wrote Elsa Puerto-Rubin, chair of the VOM Democratic Committee.

Puerto-Rubin continued on to reiterate the committee's belief that Derrico is a "party activist."

"The larger issue, which the mayor also chooses to ignore, is whether the village attorney should be a political appointee or an independent, impartial employee appointed on the basis of his or her legal qualifications," she wrote.

Puerto-Rubin also disputed Rosenblum's praise of Derrico, writing that the Democrats "have seen nothing of consequence" and Derrico is "frequently AWOL."

In response, Rosenblum highlighted the financial and administrative success of the Village of Mamaroneck since last year's elections. "We brought in one of the lowest budgets in the history of the Village of Mamaroneck," he said, adding that Derrico has also helped lower insurance premiums and mitigate and bring to a conclusion some of the lawsuits the village has been involved in. "She deserves to be judge," he added.

Look to our photos section to view the press releases in full.

Editor's Note: In his statement from last week, Rosenblum says the Democratic trustees on the board "would be better off trying to explain why they did not support the cutting of the Mayor's and Trustee's salaries during the budget process." Last week, the Journal News stated that this was inaccurate, as both trustees had supported the motion. According to the minutes from that meeting (attached), Trustee Hofstetter voted in support of that motion, and Trustee Ryan voted against it.