Mike Spano

Mike Spano
Spano at the 2012 St. Patrick's Day parade in Yonkers
Mike Spano
Born	Michael Joseph Spano 22 4, 1964
Birthplace	Yonkers, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician
Education	Manhattan College (attended)
Spouse(s)	Mary Calvi
Children	3
Website	[[mikespano.com mikespano.com] Official site]

Michael Joseph Spano (born April 22, 1964) is an American politician who has served as the 42nd mayor of Yonkers, New York, since January 1, 2012. A native of Yonkers and a member of one of Westchester County's most prominent political families, Spano previously served in the New York State Assembly for nearly two decades, representing districts in Yonkers first as a Republican and later as a Democrat. He first won election to the Assembly in a 1992 special election at the age of 27, and after briefly leaving office due to redistricting, returned in 1995 and served continuously until 2011. In 2007, Spano switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat, a move that reflected shifting political dynamics in Yonkers and Westchester County more broadly. He went on to win the Yonkers mayoral race in 2011, succeeding Phil Amicone, and has been reelected multiple times since. His tenure as mayor has been marked by efforts to manage the city's fiscal challenges, oversee development projects, and guide New York's fourth-largest city through periods of economic change.

Early Life

Michael Joseph Spano was born on April 22, 1964, in Yonkers, New York, a city situated directly north of New York City in Westchester County. He was raised in a family with deep roots in Yonkers politics and public life. His brother, Nick Spano, went on to serve as a member of the New York State Senate, representing the 35th district for multiple terms, making the Spanos one of the most recognizable political families in the county.

The Spano family's involvement in Westchester County politics extended beyond Mike and Nick. The family name became synonymous with Republican politics in the region during the latter decades of the twentieth century, with multiple family members holding elected or appointed positions at various levels of government. Growing up in Yonkers, Mike Spano was immersed in the civic and political culture of the city from an early age, an environment that would shape his eventual career trajectory.

Yonkers itself, as the fourth-largest city in New York State, presented a complex urban landscape during Spano's formative years. The city faced significant challenges related to housing, education, and desegregation during the 1980s, issues that formed the backdrop to the political environment in which the Spano family operated.

Education

Mike Spano attended Manhattan College, a private Catholic institution located in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, New York, though he did not complete a degree. Manhattan College, situated just south of the Yonkers border, is known for its programs in engineering, business, and the liberal arts. Despite not completing his undergraduate studies, Spano entered public life at a young age and built his career primarily through political service and civic engagement in his hometown of Yonkers.

Career

Early Political Career and New York State Assembly

Spano's political career began in earnest in 1992 when he won a special election for a seat in the New York State Assembly representing the 89th district. The special election, held in February 1992, was called to fill the vacancy left by Terence Zaleski. Running as a Republican, the 27-year-old Spano won the seat, becoming one of the younger members of the Assembly at the time. His victory was noteworthy as it demonstrated the strength of the Spano family's political network in Yonkers and underscored Republican competitiveness in parts of Westchester County during that era.

Spano's initial tenure in the 89th district was brief. Following redistricting after the 1990 United States Census, the boundaries of Assembly districts in the Yonkers area were redrawn, and Spano's term in the 89th district ended on December 31, 1992. He was succeeded in the reconfigured district by Cecile Singer.

However, Spano did not remain out of office for long. He ran again for the Assembly in 1994 and won election to the newly drawn 87th district, taking office on January 1, 1995. In this capacity, he succeeded Cecile Singer, who had briefly held the seat following redistricting. Spano would go on to represent Yonkers-area districts in the Assembly for the next seventeen years, a period that encompassed significant legislative work and evolving political allegiances.

From 1995 to 2002, Spano represented the 87th Assembly district. Following another round of redistricting based on the 2000 United States Census, his district was renumbered as the 93rd district beginning in 2003. He continued to represent this district until the end of 2011, when he left the Assembly to assume the mayoralty of Yonkers. His successor in the Assembly was Shelley Mayer, who later went on to serve in the New York State Senate.

During his years in the Assembly, Spano worked on issues affecting Yonkers and the broader Westchester County region, including matters related to education, municipal governance, and economic development. As a legislator representing a diverse urban constituency, he navigated the competing interests of various community groups and stakeholders in one of New York's most complex cities.

Party Switch

In 2007, Spano made the significant decision to switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat. The move was part of a broader trend in Westchester County and the lower Hudson Valley region, where the political landscape was shifting in favor of the Democratic Party. Several factors contributed to this realignment, including demographic changes, evolving voter preferences on social and economic issues, and the increasing difficulty faced by moderate Republicans in winning elections in the New York metropolitan area.

For Spano, the party switch reflected both pragmatic political calculations and, as he characterized it at the time, a closer alignment with Democratic positions on key policy issues. The transition was notable given the Spano family's long association with the Republican Party in Westchester County. His brother Nick Spano had served as a Republican state senator, and the family name had been closely identified with the GOP in the region for years. Mike Spano's decision to become a Democrat signaled a new chapter both for his own career and for the broader political dynamics of the Spano family's involvement in Westchester politics.

Mayor of Yonkers

First Term (2012–2015)

In 2011, Spano ran for mayor of Yonkers as a Democrat, seeking to succeed the term-limited Phil Amicone, who had served two terms as the city's chief executive. Spano won the general election and took office as the 42nd mayor of Yonkers on January 1, 2012. His deputy mayor was Steve Levy.

As mayor of New York's fourth-largest city, with a population of approximately 200,000 residents, Spano faced a range of governance challenges. Yonkers had long struggled with fiscal pressures, an aging infrastructure, and the need to balance development with the preservation of established neighborhoods. Spano's administration worked to attract investment to the city's downtown waterfront area along the Hudson River, a focus of redevelopment efforts that had been ongoing for years under successive administrations.

Second Term (2016–2019)

In November 2015, Spano won reelection as mayor of Yonkers, securing a second four-year term. His reelection reflected a degree of voter confidence in his stewardship of the city during his first term.

During his second term, Spano continued to focus on fiscal management and development. In April 2017, he proposed the Fiscal Year 2018 executive budget for the city of Yonkers, a process that involved balancing the competing demands of municipal services, public safety, education, and infrastructure maintenance against the city's revenue constraints. The budgetary process in Yonkers has historically been a source of political contention, given the city's reliance on state aid and the challenges associated with maintaining services for a large and diverse urban population.

Spano's second term also saw him become something of a public figure beyond the confines of Yonkers city politics. In August 2018, Spano appeared on the television show Impractical Jokers, the popular hidden-camera comedy series filmed in the New York metropolitan area. The appearance reflected the show's frequent use of locations in the New York area and provided Spano with a moment of national visibility.

Third Term (2020–present)

In November 2019, Spano won a third term as mayor of Yonkers, defeating Republican challenger Mario DeGiorgio. The race affirmed the Democratic Party's dominance in Yonkers municipal politics and Spano's personal hold on the office. News 12 Westchester reported that Spano claimed victory in the race, continuing his tenure as the city's chief executive.

Spano's third term encompassed a period of significant challenge for municipalities across the United States, as the COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented public health, economic, and governance crises beginning in early 2020. As mayor of a densely populated city adjacent to New York City—the early epicenter of the pandemic in the United States—Spano was tasked with coordinating the city's response to the health emergency, managing the economic fallout, and overseeing the eventual recovery.

Prior to his third-term election, there had been speculation about whether Spano would seek another term. Yonkers Voice reported on the question of whether the mayor would run for a third term, reflecting the public interest in the trajectory of his political career and the future governance of the city.

Throughout his tenure as mayor, Spano has overseen a period of significant development activity in Yonkers, particularly along the city's downtown waterfront and in areas near commuter rail stations. The city has seen the construction of new residential and mixed-use buildings, reflecting broader trends in urban development in the New York metropolitan area.

Personal Life

Mike Spano is married to Mary Calvi, an Emmy Award-winning television news anchor who has worked for WCBS-TV in New York City. The couple has three children and resides in Yonkers. The profile by WAG Magazine highlighted the challenges the couple faces in balancing demanding public careers—Calvi's work in broadcast journalism and Spano's duties as mayor—with family life.

Spano's brother, Nick Spano, served in the New York State Senate for multiple terms as a Republican, representing the 35th district, which included parts of Westchester County. The Spano family's involvement in Westchester politics has been described as a political dynasty, with multiple family members holding elected or appointed positions over several decades. A 2019 article in The Journal News examined the legacy of the Spano family in Westchester County politics, noting the breadth of the family's influence and the roles played by various members in shaping the political landscape of the region.

In 2004, The New York Times published a profile noting Nick Spano's references to the importance of family life, further illuminating the family-oriented public identity that both Spano brothers cultivated throughout their careers.

Recognition

Spano's long tenure in public office—spanning nearly three decades between his Assembly service and his time as mayor—has made him one of the most recognizable political figures in Yonkers and Westchester County. His ability to win elections consistently, first as a Republican and then as a Democrat, has been noted by political observers as evidence of his personal appeal to voters across party lines in a politically diverse city.

His 2018 appearance on Impractical Jokers brought him a measure of attention beyond the political sphere, introducing him to a national television audience. The appearance was part of a broader trend of local politicians making cameo appearances on entertainment programs filmed in the New York area.

As mayor, Spano has been the face of Yonkers during a period of significant urban transformation, with the city's waterfront development and new residential construction projects receiving attention from real estate and urban planning observers. His administration's management of the city's budget and development agenda has been a central feature of his public record.

Legacy

Mike Spano's political career reflects the broader evolution of politics in Westchester County and the New York metropolitan region during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. His party switch from Republican to Democrat in 2007 mirrored a wider realignment in the lower Hudson Valley, where once-competitive Republican strongholds shifted toward the Democratic Party as suburban voters' preferences changed on issues ranging from social policy to the environment.

The Spano family's multi-generational involvement in Westchester politics—with Mike as mayor of Yonkers and his brother Nick as a former state senator—represents one of the more prominent political family legacies in the region. The family's trajectory also illustrates the complex dynamics of party loyalty and political pragmatism in a changing electoral landscape, as family members navigated the shifting terrain of New York State politics across different eras and party affiliations.

Spano's tenure as mayor has coincided with a period of significant change for Yonkers, as the city has sought to reinvent itself from its twentieth-century identity as a struggling postindustrial city to a more dynamic urban center benefiting from its proximity to New York City. The development projects advanced during his administration, particularly along the waterfront and near transit hubs, have contributed to this transformation, though the long-term outcomes of these efforts remain a subject of ongoing assessment by residents, planners, and political observers.

His nearly two-decade tenure in the State Assembly, combined with his multiple terms as mayor, has given Spano an unusually long and continuous presence in the governance of Yonkers, a continuity that has shaped the city's political culture and policy direction over a significant period.