Andre Wallace named mayor of Mount Vernon once again after month of political turmoil
MOUNT VERNON, New York (WABC) -- After a month of political turmoil over who should be mayor of Mount Vernon, the city has a new mayor yet again.
Andre Wallace posted on social media Thursday that he has once again been appointed mayor of the Westchester County town.
Early in July, then-Mayor Richard Thomas pleaded guilty to misusing campaign funds and Wallace was sworn in as acting mayor.
However, on Aug. 2, the City Council unexpectedly made Council President Lisa Copeland the new acting mayor.
The Council said they wanted to move forward and regain the trust of people after the bruising fight between Thomas and Wallace.
Since taking over, Wallace had made a number of personnel changes in several city departments and the Council accused of him of not following proper procedure.
He said at that time that it didn't matter and he was still in control.
A judge apparently agreed with him on Thursday and he released the following statement on Facebook:
"The courts have once again ruled in my favor, Mount Vernon has 1 Mayor and now that this is behind us, it's time that we refocus our efforts on doing the business of the people. I look forward to working with all bodies of city government to continue moving the city towards a brighter future. We are one city, we have already witnessed the results of dysfunction and infighting. Let's unify and produce progress with teamwork."
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