Patch Candidate Profile 2023: Gashi For District 4 County Legislator

YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NY — Registered voters in northern Westchester County will have some decisions to make on election day Nov. 7, one of which will be deciding who will represent District 4 in the County Legislature.

Incumbent Democrat Vedat Gashi, 45, of Yorktown Heights, is running to be the District 4 legislator, which covers New Castle, Somers and Yorktown. He is being challenged by Dan Branda.

Gashi is currently chairman of the Westchester County Board of Legislator and has served as legislator for District 4 since 2019. He was previously the chief legal advisor to Kosovo’s Ministry of Local Government and later for the prime minister of Kosovo. Gashi interned for Rep. Lee Hamilton in the House Committee on Foreign Relations and Sonia Sotomayor in the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

He returned to New York after years of working internationally to open a small law practice which he maintains in Yorktown.

Gashi is married with two children.

Campaign website: vedatgashi.com

To help the public get to know the candidates for Westchester County Legislature District 4, Patch sent them the same set of questions. Here are Gashi's responses.

Why are you seeking this office?

I got into office in the first place because national and local politics seemed dominated by the extremes — me, my friends and family were closer to the middle. I think we’re stronger by working together and better off if we can listen to each other, respectfully, civilly. That is something I have professed, and my record reflects that — when I was elected to serve as the chairman of the Board of Legislators, I was proud to be elected unanimously, including by my Republican and Conservative colleagues. We’ve worked well with our federal, state and local partners in government, regardless of political affiliation — always fairly, always respectfully. The results show that this is the right approach — crime is down (with U.S. News ranking Westchester 4th safest in the country), taxes have been reduced every year I've been in office, while we’ve improved our credit rating, our reserves, invested in improving our aging infrastructure and protected the environment, addressing flood mitigation, invested in childcare, food insecurity and affordable housing — and worked every day to help struggling families through a tough economy. Our work is not done — housing, childcare and food insecurity remain problems for too many families; we need to continue investing in green infrastructure, keeping down the cost of living to make it easier for young families to put down roots for themselves; keeping the air, water and ground clean for the health, safety, for our children and future generations; and investing in our aging and failing infrastructure now, so we’re not stuck with a bigger bill later. This district is my home. I grew up here, I own a small business here, I'm raising my family here — I love this community and I want to be a part of solving the problems we face together.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidate seeking this post?

I try to keep my campaign focused on the issues this community cares about and how we plan to improve and move Westchester forward. My motto has always been, no one is getting out of bed to go vote against the other guy, we need to inspire confidence so that people vote for us, not against the other guy. That nasty mudslinging that we see nationally and have seen locally is part of what I think is wrong with politics in the first place.

It's sometimes hard not to get pulled into that nasty back and forth — but I’m keeping focused on our platform, our record and our community. My goal isn’t to win by tearing down my opponent, I would rather focus on my record, the thousands of neighbors I’ve met and serving the needs of this community. I take my role as a public servant seriously — this is a time when we need public service, actual public service. We deserve a representative who is going to listen and put in the hard work to address the issues we face every day, not just sit behind a computer and throw mud on social media.

What is the single most pressing issue facing your constituents and what do you intend to do about it?

When I talk to our neighbors, the issue that I hear the most is how we are going to address the rising costs of living in our communities. We have worked to address this by keeping the County property tax down, but also gave specific relief when we could — we passed a gas tax holiday when those prices increased, eliminated sales tax on residential energy sales, suspended fees for Bee-Line buses, invested over $100 million to support affordable housing programs throughout the county and increased eligibility for Home Owner’s Tax Exemption for Senior Citizens and persons with disabilities. We’ve done a lot, but there is obviously a lot more left to do.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

Our working families and small businesses deserve our time and attention, nourishing an active, healthy economy. Investments in infrastructure are needed to keep us all safe and maintain our standards of living. And finally, we need to pay attention to the changing climate and plan for our future as a county by working to safeguard our environment, decreasing pollutants in our air, ground and water, protecting our natural spaces, and investing in green energy.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

From the day I was elected, I’ve had significant responsibilities thrust upon me, first as chair of the Public Works & Transportation, addressing our aging roads, bridges, sewers, but also green initiatives like flood mitigation, and converting to a hybrid and electric fleet, and installing charging stations. In my second term, I was selected to serve as chair of Budget & Appropriations — the largest, and arguably most complex committee to lead. Then, when circumstances necessitated the selection of a new chairperson of the Board, my colleagues unanimously selected me to serve through a difficult phase. I have earned the trust and respect of the people who understand my job best, my colleagues — and I believe that speaks to my ability to do this job.
I am an attorney and a hard worker; my first legal job was with future Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, after a bloody war I went to Kosovo to help write their laws and set up the new institutions of government through the United Nations. I have worked at the highest levels of government, and excelled — but it is my upbringing that prepared me best to handle this job. My family came to this country as refugees when I was 4. My parents worked hard to provide for our family, but never forgot their duty to public service, to fight injustice as political activists and to help your community.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

This one is easy — my grandfather always told me to conduct myself with humility and respect. I think we can trace many of the biggest problems we face in government to arrogance. As Mother Theresa said, "Humility is the mother of all virtues." That has always guided me.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

Only that together can we make progress, solve our problems and get results.

I think we're all tired of the hyper-partisanship we see in federal government. I'm less interested in your party affiliation and more interested in your ideas to improve our lives, and your willingness to work to achieve that change. It's not about left vs right, it’s about right vs wrong — and the best way to arrive at that is by working together.

Most importantly, VOTE! Early voting starts October 28th and running up to Election Day on November 7th. Let's put our families first in this important local election. Please get involved, volunteer, talk with your friends and neighbors — and most importantly VOTE!

Editor's note: The candidate's responses have been lightly edited for style and clarity.