THE SPANO POLITICAL MACHINE: 40+ YEARS OF UNCHECKED POWER IN YONKERS

Photo: Nick Spano

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

There is an old saying in politics:

“Power is never surrendered. It is transferred.”

In Yonkers, I believe that saying explains over forty years of political history.

Many people think the story begins with Mayor Mike Spano. It doesn’t.

It begins decades earlier with the Spano family’s rise through the Republican Party under the leadership of their father, Leonard Spano, a respected Westchester County Legislator and County Clerk. Politics was not simply a career for the Spanos, it was the family business.

I know because I was there.

When Nick Spano first ran for the New York State Assembly at just twenty-five years old, I worked on his campaign. I took him door-to-door, particularly along Bronx River Road in the Ninth Ward. Through relationships I had built over many years, I opened apartment buildings that otherwise would have been difficult for him to reach. I believe that exposure helped introduce him to thousands of voters outside his West Side political base.

Even then, I noticed something different about Nick Spano.

He wasn’t simply running for the next office. He was planning the next twenty years.

After winning the Assembly seat, his goal became the New York State Senate. The obstacle was Senator John Flynn, one of the most respected and popular elected officials in Westchester County. Most politicians would have challenged Flynn or looked elsewhere.

Nick chose patience.

Instead of opposing Senator Flynn, he campaigned beside him election after election, carefully establishing himself as the logical successor whenever the Senate seat became available. It was a calculated strategy that ultimately paid off.

That ability to think years ahead—not months ahead—is, in my opinion, what made Nick Spano one of the most effective political strategists Yonkers has produced.

His influence did not end after leaving the NYS Senate.

Following his conviction, incarceration and subsequent return to public life, Nick rebuilt his influence in a different way. He convinced his brother, Mike Spano, then a Republican Assemblyman, to change parties and run for Mayor as a Democrat.

Mike won. That was fifteen years ago.

From that point forward, many of the people who had worked for Nick became senior members of Mike’s administration. Whether intentional or not, it created the perception that while brother Mike occupied the mayor’s office, brother Nick STILL remains one of the most influential political figures behind the scenes.

In my opinion, that influence has never disappeared. It simply changed addresses.

The extension of mayoral and City Council terms reinforced that political organization. What many Yonkers residents believed would be an eight-year limit evolved into an administration that has remained in power for nearly sixteen years. Whether one agrees or disagrees with that decision, the result has been the concentration of political power in the hands of one organization for longer than many voters ever anticipated.

Now Yonkers stands at another crossroads.

If former Republican John Rubbo (like Mike) becomes the Democratic nominee for mayor and is elected, I do not believe voters will be choosing a new direction.

I believe they will be extending the same political fraternity under a different name.

Mr. Rubbo’s record as Fourth District Councilman, in my opinion, demonstrates why.

For years, Rubbo has benefited from little or no meaningful Republican opposition in what has historically been one of Yonkers’ strongest Republican districts. I believe that outcome has been made possible by Republican leaders who have been more interested in protecting relationships than building a competitive Republican Party.

The people who pay the price are the voters.

Neighborhoods in the Fourth District continue to struggle with issues that residents have raised for years. Too often, constituents feel they receive explanations instead of solutions. Meanwhile, the existing political organization remains firmly in control.

That is why I believe the next Mayoral election is about much more than Yonkers Republican-turned-Democrat John Rubbo. It's about whether Yonkers continues a political system that has concentrated unchecked influence for decades...or whether voters decide it's finally time for independent leadership, greater accountability, and a government that answers first to the taxpayers—not to a political 'family'.

This is not simply the story of two brothers.

It's the story of how political power is built, protected, and passed from one generation of leaders to the next.

The Republican Party in Yonkers cannot rebuild its credibility unless it is willing to look inward. In my opinion, some individuals serving in Republican leadership positions have lost sight of the party’s mission. Rather than recruiting strong Republican candidates and offering voters meaningful choices, I believe they have inadvertently protected political arrangements that benefit incumbents and preserve the existing power structure.

If Republicans expect voters to believe they are serious about providing an alternative, then those responsible for enabling this system should step aside or be replaced through the party’s own democratic (small 'd') process. New leadership should be committed to building a competitive Republican Party that represents its members and voters—not one that exists primarily to benefit a small group of political insiders.

A political party should never function as a private club-where loyalty to individuals outweighs loyalty to the principles of the party or the interests of the taxpayers. In my view, the Republican Party’s mission should be to recruit qualified candidates, challenge incumbents, and to give voters a genuine choice at the ballot box.

Until that happens, I believe the existing political system (Spano system) will continue to benefit, regardless of which party label appears next to a candidate’s name.

FACT: Real reform begins by holding not only Democratic leaders accountable, but Republican leaders accountable as well.

Only then can the Yonkers Republican Party once again become a strong, independent voice for the taxpayers it is obligated to represent.

The voters of Yonkers must decide how to begin reforming this unchecked power in Yonkers.

Joseph Berger has been an active force in Yonkers politics and local government for decades. His extensive leadership includes serving as a Republican and Conservative Party County Committee Member, 9th Ward Conservative Party Leader, Yonkers Conservative Party City Executive Committee Member, Conservative Party State and Judicial Committee Delegate, and Southeast Conservative Party Chairman.

As a seasoned campaign strategist, he managed successful bids for former Yonkers Councilman and Mayor Henry Spallone and former Councilman Sal Saliano, while also lending his expertise as a political consultant to candidates on both sides of the aisle.

The opinions expressed are rooted in decades of firsthand involvement in Yonkers political campaigns and municipal governance, offering deep, authentic insight into the issues shaping the city and its residents.