The Republican Party in Westchester and Yonkers has collapsed into a 30 percent embarrassment.

Back in the 1980s, we had real parties and real leaders. Republicans and Democrats were competitive, civil, serious, and engaged. State and Westchester County Republican Chairmen Anthony Colavita was the model of leadership: respected, strategic, and always thinking years ahead. He built candidates. He built coalitions. He built victories.

Then everything fell apart.

How did we go from a powerhouse to a 30 percent afterthought?

The answer is simple: as New York City residents moved into Westchester and brought their Democratic voting habits with them, Republican leadership did nothing. No plan. No strategy. No urgency. They sat and watched the shift happen and offered zero resistance.

At this time, the Democratic Party in Westchester had been taken over by its extreme left wing, dragging policy far outside the mainstream. Republicans, meanwhile, lost the homeowner voting coalition that once anchored their strength. Under Democratic control, Westchester and Yonkers are being flooded with rental developments, while young families who dream of owning a home are priced out entirely. Property taxes are sky-high, the housing supply is limited, and rentals are unaffordable.

What we’re left with is a county where only two groups can realistically afford to live: the wealthy and the government-subsidized poor. The middle class and seniors are being squeezed out, fighting just to stay afloat. With Mamdani poised to become Mayor of New York City, pushing an openly radical agenda, New York City's trajectory looks grim. Westchester isn’t far behind, with Democratic Socialists gaining more influence over the county’s direction.

The collapse wasn’t just demographic. It was engineered from within.

The downfall accelerated when Governor Pataki forced out Anthony Colavita simply because Colavita couldn’t be controlled. Pataki replaced him with Nick Spano. Under Spano, the Westchester GOP stopped being a political party.

Then came Doug Colety in 2007. His chairmanship locked the county GOP into a permanent 30 percent basement. That’s his legacy.

Yonkers followed the same tragic script.

We once had competitive and respectful rivals like Republican Chairman Frank Coppola and Democratic Chairman Ralph Arred. When Coppola stepped down the Yonkers GOP began its freefall. Every leader after Coppola allowed the erosion to continue until the party was barely recognizable.

While all this was happening, Mike Spano read the writing on the wall, switched his registration, pulled his loyalists with him, and carved out his road to power. A weak GOP made him untouchable. With his brother Nick behind him, he became the dominant force in Yonkers politics. Even stretching himself into an illegal 16-year reign, despite an 8-year term limit, which is clearly written into the city charter.  All this and the Republican Party barely managed a whisper of protest. And where was our Republican leadership during all this?

Compromised. Bought off with jobs, appointments, and favors. Controlled opposition. They didn’t rebuild the party. They didn’t challenge Democrats. They didn’t recruit or develop serious candidates. They surrendered.

What we have today isn’t a political organization. It’s a failed structure led by people who have no business calling themselves leaders.

Westchester and Yonkers Republicans have no future unless the dead leadership is removed and the party is rebuilt from the ground up.

Nothing will change until the leadership changes.

There’s much more that could be said. The last 50 years of Yonkers and Westchester politics could fill a book: the rise, the decline, the backroom deals, the missed opportunities, and the outright sabotage. 

But the bottom line is simple: the Republican Party didn’t collapse overnight. Year after year was chipped away by bad leadership, complacency, and people more interested in protecting their own influence than protecting the party.

By Joseph Berger, John P. O’Leary Northwest Yonkers Republican Club co-founder, member and guest writer.