Westchester politicians losing sight of focus on housing

The Westchester Board of Legislators wasted hours Monday trying to bar County Executive Rob Astorino's appeal of a court ruling over his veto of a law in the county's affordable housing settlement with the federal government.

Two judges -- a magistrate assigned to the case and later a U.S. district judge -- have offered conflicting opinions on whether the county has properly promoted a thorny "source of income" law. The issue has been vexing from the start, and a final ruling on appeal may be the only way to accomplish the goal of providing the mandated housing by the 2016 deadline.

The board, in a meeting called especially to discuss the appeal, spent hours debating the county charter and who has the power to tell the county attorney what to do. This was followed by a memorandum, and a series of emails between Board Chairman Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers) and County Attorney Robert Meehan. Jenkins ordered Meehan not to file any appeal yet.

It smelled a lot like playing politics, as opposed to governing, particularly since the county attorney went ahead and filed a notice of appeal in U.S. District Court on Tuesday morning.

It's too bad the battles have come to this. The settlement is a serious matter. But the vague requirement that the county promote a law that would bar landlords from discriminating against tenants who receive some of their income from sources such as Section 8 vouchers, Social Security or disability benefits needs more clarity from the courts.

Sadly, skirmishes between the legislative and executive branches over their oversight roles have been a recurring theme since Astorino took office and Jenkins became chairman of the board in 2010.

So one can rightly ask: Is this about housing or something else? It sure seems like the latter, but the focus should be on the housing.