Michael Joseph Spano (born April 22, 1964) is an American politician who is the 42nd

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

. He is a member of the Democratic Party. A former Republican, he served as a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

Biography

Born and raised in

, Spano is the ninth of sixteen children born to Josephine and Leonard Spano (1930–2019). Spano was first elected to the

in 1992 as the assembly's youngest member. Due to the state's reapportionment plan, his seat was eliminated later that same year. However, he ran again in 1994 and continued to serve in the

for nearly a decade until he chose not to run for re-election. Within the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The private sector employs most of the workfo ...

, Spano worked for a New York governmental relations firm and served on the Board of Directors for Leake and Watts Services. After his children became school-aged, he decided to return to public service and ran successfully once again for the State Assembly where he represented the people of Yonkers in the 93rd Assembly District. On November 8, 2011, Spano was elected as mayor of the City of

. During his tenure, Spano has passed two consecutive bipartisan budgets that included historic investment in education and kept taxes within the New York State property tax cap. He was reelected to a second term as mayor in 2015. In 2019, Spano was reelected to a third term as mayor following a revision in the city charter which overturned term limits by the Yonkers City Council. Spano had previously said he would not seek a third term, stating, "even if they did overturn term limits, as much as I love being mayor, I wouldn’t seek a third term." In 2022, the Yonkers City Council voted to extend term limits for the second time for Mayor Spano. Citizens of Yonkers challenged the extension in New York State court, but the change in local law was upheld. In May 2023, the Westchester County District Attorney's Office received a letter calling for an ethics investigation into alleged "nepotism, abuse of taxpayer dollars, corruption and abuse of power" under Spano's administration. The letter was prompted by media reports regarding Spano family members employed by the City of Yonkers. As of April 27, 2023, it was reported that at least 15 members of the Spano family were employed by the City of Yonkers, with the family collectively earning "at least $2 million annually" from the City. Spano has denied the allegations. Spano is also a member of numerous community organizations such as the Yonkers Chamber of Commerce, Access Westchester, Exchange Club of Yonkers, Sons of Italy, and an Honorary Member (non-veteran) of the Armando Rauso AMVETS Post. He is also a former member of the board of directors of Westchester School for Special Children and donor to the Luis Pani foundation. Spano appeared on the TV show '' Impractical Jokers'' during James "Murr" Murray's punishment that took place at Yonkers City Hall in the episode "Speech Impediment". A lifelong Yonkers resident, Spano has been married to CBS newscaster Mary Calvi since 1996 and has three children.

References

External links

* * http://www.yonkersny.gov/ *https://www.facebook.com/MayorMikeSpano/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Spano, Mike Living people Members of the New York State Assembly Mayors of Yonkers, New York New York (state) Republicans New York (state) Democrats Politicians from Westchester County, New York 1964 births 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature