Shawyn Patterson-Howard could become Mount Vernon’s first mayor to be elected to a second term in a row in 20 years if she beats Wallace.
Shawyn Patterson-Howard, the mayor of Mount Vernon, said, “I have results of getting things done.”
In a city where Democrats significantly outnumber Republicans, the winner of Tuesday’s primary election will likely determine the winner of November’s general election.
She made history when Patterson-Howard became the city’s first woman mayor four years ago.
She’ll have to get past a familiar face if she wants to make history again: Andre Wallace, a former mayor.
When then-Mayor Richard Thomas pleaded guilty to misusing campaign funds in August 2019, a court ruled favorably and appointed Wallace as interim mayor.
In the June Democratic primary that same year, Wallace lost to Patterson-Howard, Thomas, and former Mount Vernon Police Commissioner Clyde Isley. He also lost to Patterson-Howard again when he ran for reelection in November.
Wallace claimed that he had unfinished business during his brief time in office.
Andre Wallace, a Democratic candidate, and former Mount Vernon Mayor, stated, “If I can do that in four months, imagine what I can do in four years.”
Like every major American city, Mount Vernon faces numerous difficulties.
The affordability of housing, public safety, and housing are three issues that both candidates are campaigning on.
Three teen victims of three homicides at the beginning of 2023 shook the city earlier this year.
Eight months earlier, 16-year-old Mount Vernon cheer captain Kayla Green was stabbed to death during a citywide celebration of the high school men’s basketball team’s state championship.
Patterson-Howard responded by launching a block watch program, bringing back citizen peacekeepers, and a three-pronged public safety program. She has sought a collaborative approach to removing illegal guns from the streets as president of the African American Mayors Association.
“This is not just a policing issue. It is a combination of working with the federal government to stop the flow of guns into our community,” said Patterson-Howard. Wallace is taking a different approach and believes the city’s crime problem is a policing issue. He has promised to hire 40 new police officers, increase their pay and install more street cameras as a deterrent and investigative measure.
Wallace said, “We are short police officers, and they are leaving here faster than we can bring them in.” Over the past few years, the city has undergone a lot of development, including the completion of Memorial Field, repairs to bridges, and upgrades to its aging water and sewage systems.
To address issues related to flooding and pipes, Patterson-Howard secured grants from the state totaling $163 million.
“This is not that’s going to take a year or two. This is work that’s going to take 10 to 20 years, but we are working,” said Patterson-Howard. If re-elected, Wallace says paving roadways, addressing the underground pipes, and knocking down zombie homes will be top priorities.
“People are a product of their environment. If we don’t lift that environment, we can’t lift the people,” said Wallace. Patterson-Howard also wants to continue expanding economic development, rebuilding the city’s fund balance, and fighting for a hospital.
According to Wallace, he will concentrate on expanding programs for youth and seniors, lowering property taxes, and expanding opportunities for the middle class.
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After being elected in 2015, Thomas is also making a second attempt to run for office. Before the end of his first term, he had to resign as part of a plea deal.
After the county Board of Elections invalidated some of his petition signatures, preventing his name from being officially on the ballot, he is waging a write-in campaign to reclaim his previous position.
