Yonkers Councilwoman Tasha Diaz was stripped of her title as majority leader on Thursday in response to a colleague’s allegations that she repeatedly made menacing remarks about her and had created a hostile workplace.
The city council held a special meeting for Democrats to remove Diaz as their leader and replace her with Councilman John Rubbo. The switch came less than two weeks after a USA Today Network article about a complaint Councilwoman Corazon PIneda-Isaac filed about Diaz with the city’s human resources department.
The most serious allegation in that letter was that Diaz spoke of slitting Pineda-Isaac’s throat after the council’s Jan. 2 meeting, when Pineda-Isaac voted against renewing Diaz’s leadership role for another two years.
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Pineda-Isaac censured after HR complaint
But in a surprise move, the council also voted on Thursday to censure Pineda-Isaac for recording a private conversation between Diaz and a staff member in which Diaz made violent and insulting remarks about Pineda-Isaac. That vote prompted an emotional speech from Pineda-Isaac, who protested that her colleagues were unfairly censuring her but not the person who made the remarks.
Though purely symbolic, that harshly worded censure — which declared that “trust has been weakened” and suggested Pineda-Isaac make a public apology — overshadowed the punishment of Diaz and stung Pineda-Isaac, who blasted colleagues for “victim shaming” after she dared to come forward.
“There is no resolution censuring Tasha Diaz,” she said, her voice breaking as she fought back tears. “There is no resolution asking her to apologize. This behavior was not new. This behavior was known by anyone who came close to Tasha Diaz.”
Yonkers City Councilwoman Corazon Pineda Issac speaks against extending term limits for Yonkers city officials during a meeting at City Hall Nov. 22, 2022. The Yonkers City Council voted to extend term limits, which will allow Mayor Mike Spano to run for a fourth consecutive four year term.
“I should apologize?” she asked with incredulity. “Where was the ‘trust’ to be able to come to work in a place that was not hostile, violent, threatening — where was that trust? Where’s the apology from Tasha Diaz? Where is it? It’s not going to come, but it’s not even being asked.”
‘Unsubstantiated stories’: Diaz condemns council’s actions
Two people interviewed by the USA Today Network corroborated the latest remark cited in Pineda-Isaac’s complaint letter, saying they heard Diaz say it twice after the Jan. 2 meeting ended — first in the council chambers and then in an adjacent office. They both quoted Diaz as saying: “I need to get out of here before I slice this bitch’s throat.”
Diaz didn’t attend the meeting. In a statement afterward, she denounced the council for removing her based on “unsubstantiated stories without any review by an independent body or wrongdoing found.” She dismissed it as an act of “political expediency” by council members worried about re-election in 2025.
Diaz allegations: Yonkers councilwoman accused of violent words about colleague in HR complaint to city
When asked previously about the remarks attributed to her, Diaz didn’t deny saying them but said she often speaks “hyperbolically.”
At Thursday’s meeting, Council President Lakisha Collins-Bellamy said the two actions were the result of negotiations among the Democratic council members in a series of conversations. Both she and Rubbo condemned what Diaz said in the recorded conversation — she vowed to “slap the taste” out of Pineda-Isaac’s mouth — while defending their censure of Pineda-Isaac for violating a colleague’s privacy with her recording.
The leadership change means a $15,000 pay cut for Diaz and raise for Rubbo. Both now earn $73,000 (Diaz gets a $15,000 stipend as a committee chairwoman).
Rubbo, the new majority leader, praised Diaz for her leadership and made no criticism of her in a statement after the meeting, calling her a “strong advocate” for Yonkers residents.
“Her dedication to the people of Yonkers is unmatched,” he said.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Yonkers councilwoman loses leadership role after claims of violent words against colleague
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