Colin 4 Westchester

🇲🇽🇲🇽HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!! 🇲🇽🇲🇽

Today I had a fantastic time celebrating Cinco de Mayo at Peekskill’s annual festival today. Grateful to join such a vibrant community event, made possible by longtime local business owner Ruben Alvarez of Ruben’s Mexican Café. Great food, great people, and a great day all around!

Hoy me lo pasé muy bien celebrando el Cinco de Mayo en el festival anual de Peekskill. Agradecido de unirme a un evento comunitario tan vibrante, hecho posible gracias al antiguo propietario de un negocio local desde hace mucho tiempo, Rubén Álvarez, del Café Mexicano de Rubén. ¡Buena comida, gente estupenda y un gran día en todos los sentidos!

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I’m honored to receive the endorsement of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), representing hardworking public employees across our region.

CSEA’s support means a great deal because it comes from the men and women who keep our communities running every day—often behind the scenes, but always essential.

As their letter notes, this endorsement reflects “my interest in the issues affecting workers and my commitment to addressing the needs of all hard-working men and women in our community.” That’s work I take seriously, and will continue to fight for every day.

From fair wages and safe working conditions to respect for public service, I’m proud to stand with working families across Westchester.

Thank you to CSEA for your trust and support. I look forward to continuing this work together.

“On International Women’s Day, recognize the importance of women’s contributions throughout history and their ongoing impact on society. I am grateful for, and inspired by, the many achievements of women in public life.”

I oppose reopening Indian Point because a decommissioning nuclear plant is not a serious answer to New York’s crushing utility bills. Closing the plant had real costs, and we should be honest about that. But the deeper drivers of this affordability crisis are delivery charges, rate-setting, infrastructure costs, and broader energy-planning challenges. New Yorkers deserve real relief grounded in reality — not nostalgia mistaken for policy.

Westchester just completed a Waste Reduction Study—and it’s about a lot more than trash cans.

Waste policy is climate policy: it affects how much organics (food scraps + yard waste) get diverted, how many truck miles we rack up moving waste, and whether communities have equal access to the programs that cut emissions and improve public health.

A few takeaways:
• The study points to organics diversion as one of the biggest levers for reducing emissions.
• It highlights participation gaps—especially in multi-family / dense housing—and why “access” matters as much as “awareness.”
• It explicitly recognizes Peekskill as a NYS Disadvantaged Community (DAC) in the area of the WIN Waste facility—meaning equity has to be part of the solution, not an afterthought.

I wrote an article breaking down what the study says, what it gets right (and where it falls short), what it means for Peekskill/Cortlandt/Yorktown, and a simple local call-to-action.

Read it here: https://colindavidsmith.substack.com/p/westchesters-waste-reduction-study?r=7mgcus&utm_medium=ios

5 hashtags:

En momentos como este, es importante recordarnos qué es el gobierno—y qué no es.

La Ley de Protección a Inmigrantes de Westchester (IPA) no es un “eslogan de santuario.” Es una política de seguridad pública y debido proceso: los servicios del condado permanecen disponibles para todos los residentes elegibles sin importar su estatus, y las agencias del condado no utilizan el contacto cívico ordinario como un filtro de inmigración.

La lógica de la IPA es práctica: cuando los inmigrantes temen que llamar a la policía o cooperar como testigos pueda desencadenar consecuencias migratorias, todos están menos seguros. El propio registro legislativo de Westchester cita estudios que muestran efectos paralizantes importantes en la denuncia y cooperación.

Pero el caso también es moral. Algunas afirmaciones—especialmente aquellas que conllevan penalidades como detención, separación y ruptura permanente—deben justificarse a la luz del día. Si no puedes justificarlo, no tienes derecho a exigirlo.

Presento los argumentos más sólidos a favor y en contra de la IPA en el artículo completo—y concluyo con dos peticiones: los municipios deberían considerar adoptar sus propias protecciones locales al estilo de la IPA, y deberíamos apoyar el esfuerzo del Condado de Rockland para hacer lo mismo.

https://colindavidsmith.blogspot.com/2026/02/a-countys-conscience-why-westchesters.html

In moments like this, it’s important we remind ourselves what government is—and what it is not.

Westchester’s Immigrant Protection Act (IPA) is not a “sanctuary slogan.” It’s a public-safety, due-process policy: County services stay available to all eligible residents regardless of status, and County agencies don’t use ordinary civic contact as an immigration screen.  

The IPA’s logic is practical: when immigrants fear that calling police or cooperating as witnesses could trigger immigration consequences, everyone is less safe. Westchester’s own legislative record cites studies showing major chilling effects on reporting and cooperation. 

But the case is also moral. Some claims—especially ones that carry penalties like detention, separation, and permanent rupture—must be justified in daylight. If you can’t justify it, you don’t get to demand it. 

I lay out the strongest arguments for and against the IPA in the full piece—and close with two asks: municipalities should consider adopting their own local IPA-style protections, and we should support Rockland County’s effort to do the same.

https://colindavidsmith.blogspot.com/2026/02/a-countys-conscience-why-westchesters.html

This is not a “meme.” It’s a dehumanization ritual.

During the first week of Black History Month, the President of the United States reposted a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama—two Black Americans who served this country at its highest levels—as gorillas/apes, set to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” 

Let’s name the signal plainly: this is one of the oldest racist tropes in Western history—likening Black people to monkeys, apes, and gorillas to mark them as less than human. That trope has never been “humor.” It has always been justification: for exclusion, for humiliation, for violence, for the maintenance of a racial hierarchy that depends on stripping dignity before it strips rights.

And that’s why this matters: the point isn’t the clip. The point is the permission it grants.

When a sitting president shares imagery like this, it’s not just revealing personal ugliness. It’s broadcasting a message from the highest office in the country: the old order is welcome again. It’s a dog whistle with a bullhorn—an invitation for millions to smirk at the same lie, to treat Black people as a punchline, to rehearse contempt as community. 

If you’re tempted to minimize it—ask yourself why this specific “joke” keeps resurfacing in the same direction, against the same people, with the same historical payload. Ask yourself why it’s always the imagery of animals, jungle, primates—because the message is not subtle: you don’t belong fully among us.

This is what racism looks like when it wears a suit: plausible deniability for the sender, unmistakable recognition for the target, and a wink to the audience that still wants the hierarchy.

No excuses. No “both sides.” No “just trolling.” This is racist propaganda—performed by a president—aimed at re-normalizing dehumanization as entertainment. 

Condemn it. Demand it be removed. And stop pretending this is merely “offensive”—it’s strategic. It’s social training. It’s how a country learns, again, who is allowed to be fully human.

🚨 Thank You, Yorktown Police Department!🚨

This afternoon my wife’s car broke down in the middle of one of the busiest roads in our area, creating a stressful and potentially dangerous situation. Thankfully, Officer Marji from the Yorktown Police Department arrived and helped us handle everything safely and calmly.

Moments like this are a reminder that so much of law enforcement work is about helping everyday people through unexpected, difficult situations — not just chasing “bad guys,” but showing up when someone needs help the most.

Officer Marji was patient, kind, and respectful, and his assistance made a real difference for us during a moment that could have easily turned into a mess. We’re very grateful for the help and for the professionalism he showed.

Thank you to Officer Marji and to the entire Yorktown Police Department for all you do to keep our community safe. We truly appreciate your service. 💙🙏

February 1 marks the beginning of Black History Month and the 100th anniversary of its origins, first observed in 1926 as Negro History Week.

What began as a call to recognize and teach Black history has grown into a national observance that honors the achievements, resilience, and contributions of Black Americans — past, present, and future.

Black history is American history. Its continued celebration matters because the full story matters.