Election 2025: Pierce faces Diaz in Board of Legislators race

Republican Braille Diaz faces democrat Erika Pierce for the Westchester County Board of Legislators District 2 seat on Nov. 4

By MARTIN WILBUR

County Legislator Erika Pierce and Braille Diaz are vying for the Westchester County Board of Legislators District 2 seat in the Nov. 4 election. The district covers Bedford, Lewisboro, Pound Ridge, Mount Kisco, North Salem and a portion of Somers.

Diaz, who appears on the Republican and Conservative lines, last year ran unsuccessfully for the Mount Kisco Village Board. Pierce, of Katonah, is on the Democratic and Working Families lines. 

Pierce worked in the private and nonprofit sectors, first as a financial officer for a Manhattan printing company and later as manager of a theater company supporting educational and veterans’ programs. She also was a teacher. She is currently serving her second term as a vice chair of the National Association of Counties Environment, Energy, & Land Use Committee and is on the New York State Association of Counties’ Environment Committee.

Diaz, 24, grew up in Mount Kisco after his family moved to the village in 2005. He is a Fox Lane High School graduate and went to Florence, Italy, to study in the seminary. Currently a Mount Kisco volunteer firefighter, he  has worked at the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester, where he had been a Youth of the Year candidate, The Pantry in Mount Kisco, and the Bedford Town Court.

The Recorded asked the two candidates questions about their qualifications, policies and priorities. Following is a summary of their responses, edited for length and clarity. 

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The Recorder: Why are you running for the County Legislature?

Braille Diaz: I’m running because the people of District 2 deserve a representative who puts residents first — not entrenched political machines. I’ve spent years serving our community as a volunteer firefighter with the Mount Kisco Fire Department, a member of the Mount Kisco Ethics Board and through various civic and faith-based organizations. That experience has shown me how poor policy decisions and government overreach hurt working families.

Since January 2018, when Rob Astorino’s term as county executive ended and Democrats took full control of Westchester County government, they have held a supermajority on the 17-member Board of Legislators (15 Democrats, one Republican, one Conservative) and the County Executive’s Office. At the state level, Democrats control the governorship and maintain overwhelming majorities in both the Assembly and state Senate — a one-party rule that has now lasted seven years. 

This unchecked dominance has been a disservice to residents, allowing radical, costly policies to be enacted without meaningful debate or fiscal restraint. During this period of one-party rule, property taxes have remained among the highest in the nation — the median Westchester homeowner pays roughly $9,000 annually — while energy rates and the cost of living continue to climb, according to Tax-Rates.org.

The responsibility for these conditions lies squarely with the current leadership. They’ve had the power to make change for several years now and have failed to deliver. I’m running to restore balance, demand fiscal responsibility, defend public safety and give taxpayers a real voice in their county government once again.

Erika Pierce: I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to have served our communities over the past four years. I came in during COVID and worked to help guide us through one of the hardest moments in our history. Since then, I’ve delivered real results for Westchester — advancing affordable housing, creating a program to provide legal aid for those facing eviction, funding flood mitigation and downtown revitalization projects and creating and passing legislation that saves and improves lives. At the same time, Westchester County has given millions in sales tax revenue to our towns and our school districts to lessen local taxes.

I’ve fought for long-overdue investments in our county parks, supported our nonprofits and first responders and helped residents and municipalities tackle everything from rising utility bills to wastewater treatment and PFAS contamination. I’ve taken on both utilities — Con Ed and NYSEG — for their rates and NYSEG for its unfair billing practices, and pushed the county to enter both rate cases, fights I intend to see through. We will next need to focus on state legislation to make sure utilities and the Public Service Commission are accountable to us, the ratepayers.

Now, as we face new challenges — including from tariffs, inflation and funding cuts — our communities will need strong, dogged leadership. I’m running to keep fighting for our corner of Westchester and to ensure every resident has a voice, a fair chance and a future here.

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The Recorder: It’s been nearly a decade since Westchester County complied with the federal housing settlement. How would you assess its impact and what should the county do to add more affordable housing units to its inventory?

Pierce: This summer, the median home price topped $1 million — proof that demand for Westchester housing has far outstripped supply. Look to our declining school enrollment for another sign; young families, our future, struggle to live here. We knew this was a growing issue even during the years of the housing lawsuit, but instead of developing solutions, the county spent years in court.

Post-settlement, Westchester released an Affordable Housing Needs Study (covering 2010-2017). It revealed an aging housing stock with widespread substandard conditions, 40% of residents paying more than 30% of their income on housing, and more than 4,500 households facing severe overcrowding, with 22% of all county housing ticking one or more of these boxes. The cause was clear: too little investment on housing, both new and existing. On top of that, layer aging in place, leading the average age of our residents to soar.

Since 2018, Westchester has turned a corner, partnering with municipalities and developers to build and preserve affordable housing countywide, including in Lewisboro and Bedford. The Housing Implementation Fund and New Homes Land Acquisition Program together represent nearly $500 million in current and future investments. Since 2019, county funds have helped create or preserve 3,383 affordable homes, giving more residents access to safe, quality housing. We’ve also launched initiatives to help people stay in their homes, including promoting accessory dwelling units to create both new units and stabilize existing households.  

A study released this year shows us short by more than 50,000 units by 2040. Our work is far from done.

Diaz: While Westchester officially met the terms of the federal housing settlement — developing over 750 affordable units by 2021 — the approach was a one-size-fits-all mandate that ignored the needs and limits of individual communities. (Source: Lohud, 2021)

The reality is that housing costs in Westchester remain among the highest in New York state, with roughly 38% of residents spending over 30% of their income on housing. (Westchester Index, 2023) But the solution isn’t more state mandates or forced density, it’s responsible, locally guided growth that respects infrastructure limits, preserves community character and ensures that new development doesn’t overwhelm schools, roads or emergency services. 

I will support and work directly with local municipalities to tackle housing affordability in a way that allows each community to maintain control over its own zoning, planning and character. Every town and village in Westchester is unique, and local leaders — not Albany bureaucrats — should determine what works best for their residents.

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The Recorder: With the threats of various cuts from the federal government looming, what is the role and the ability for Westchester County to help residents in need to ease their burden?

Diaz: The county must focus on essential services — public safety, infrastructure and helping our most vulnerable residents — while cutting waste and unnecessary spending. Too often government tries to be everything to everyone, and that’s how we end up with record taxes and little accountability.

Let’s not forget why we’re risking federal funding in the first place: it is because County Executive Ken Jenkins, Legislator Erika Pierce and the entire Westchester County Democratic caucus have chosen to maintain the county’s current “immigrant protection” policy (sometimes labeled a sanctuary‐style policy) rather than fully cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.

In fact, on Feb. 18, 2025, Jenkins publicly proclaimed that “Westchester County is not a sanctuary county,” yet the county continues to implement policies that the federal government has warned may jeopardize eligibility for federal grants. 

For example, the U.S. Department of Justice has stated that jurisdictions failing to comply with federal immigration law risk losing key federal grants such as the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant and other public-safety funding.

By prioritizing policy protections over full cooperation with federal law enforcement, Jenkins, Pierce and the Democratic legislative majority are placing our residents at risk of losing federal support — support that our taxpayers expect to benefit from.

Instead of placing politics ahead of residents, Westchester should prioritize partnerships with faith-based and community organizations that already deliver food, housing and family assistance to those in need. Empowering these local groups and reducing bureaucratic layers will deliver help faster and more efficiently without expanding the size and cost of government. Compassion must be guided by accountability and respect for the law, not political pandering.

Pierce: As soon as Nov. 1, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a vital program providing needy families with food, could go dark due to the shutdown. Funding for home heating assistance could also be delayed. These are tastes of things to come. 

Because of the federal cuts, some members of our community will lose access to SNAP permanently, while others will face new rules and work certification requirements, all starting Nov. 1. Upcoming changes to Medicaid also threaten to slash hospital funding and jeopardize health care coverage for thousands of county residents. And we know cuts to other programs remain on the table.

Westchester County is facing cuts, too. The county oversees federal programs, including SNAP and Medicaid, and we’ve lost key funding that covers our costs in managing those programs. Where costs of programs are shared, our side of the ledger is getting bigger. And new program rules will demand more money from our taxpayers. 

All of this results in fewer resources to support our county and residents, all while communities struggle under the combined pressures of cuts, inflation and tariffs. To make things worse, our nonprofit partners are also being hit. Feeding Westchester alone has announced a $2 million loss in federal funding.

Our county and our communities are being squeezed from every direction. My office and Westchester County will stand with residents and work closely with local organizations to provide support. It is our duty — as a government and as neighbors — to do our part in making certain no one is left behind.

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The Recorder: Multiple municipalities have received applications for Battery Energy Storage Systems, and many officials have deep concerns about their safety. What can the county do, if anything, to help or to guide communities when these applications are submitted?

Pierce: Battery storage is an important and growing tool already present in our communities. In 2021, Mount Kisco cut the ribbon on a municipal community solar and battery storage project and more recently added a solar-powered EV charging system at its police headquarters. As with most projects, though, scale matters; matching the right project scale to the right location is critical. It’s the large projects, which are raising the biggest concerns.

As with housing, local zoning laws govern these projects. Westchester County has limited authority unless a project is on county property or involves county funds. Along with others at the county, I’ve urged the state to give municipalities more time to review proposals while the state finalizes the best practices local governments need to guide local decision-making. This has led to moratoriums in our communities. 

Working with our board attorney and county staff, I’ve also submitted questions to the state — particularly around public safety — to ensure any best practices address these concerns, particularly as it relates to our volunteer firefighters’ ability to respond to any fires. 

Earlier this year, at the request of our Department of Emergency Services, Westchester County passed a law requiring all battery storage facility locations to be documented and shared with the county. This ensures that first responders, including mutual aid teams, know exactly where these facilities are located in the event of an emergency.

Diaz: As a volunteer firefighter, I’ve personally seen the dangers that these Battery Energy Storage Systems pose to both first responders and nearby residents. The risk of chemical fires, toxic gas release and explosions is very real — and the technology, while still evolving, remains far from safe for residential or community settings.

I stand firmly against any BESS facilities within District 2. Public safety must always come before profit or politics. These projects are being pushed too quickly, often without adequate safety standards, environmental safeguards or proper training for local fire departments.

The county should stand with local officials who choose to reject or delay these applications until the technology can be proven safe. In the meantime, we should focus on protecting our residents, supporting our volunteer fire services and ensuring that no community is forced into accepting a facility that puts lives at risk.

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The Recorder: What do you believe is the most important issue affecting District 2 residents and how would you address that matter?

Diaz: Affordability, public safety and quality of life are the top issues facing District 2 residents. Families are struggling with rising property taxes, Con Edison and NYSEG rate hikes and the growing problem of overcrowded housing that strains our schools, infrastructure and emergency services.

According to the PSC, Con Edison’s approved rate plan includes an 11.4% electricity and 13.3% natural gas delivery increase next year, while NYSEG customers face similar hikes. Combined with some of the nation’s highest property taxes — averaging over $9,000 per homeowner annually — Westchester residents are being squeezed from every direction.

Overcrowded and unsafe housing doesn’t just affect those living in it, it impacts entire neighborhoods by increasing traffic, reducing parking and creating fire and health hazards. As a firefighter, I’ve seen how these conditions can quickly become dangerous, and it’s time for stronger code enforcement and smarter planning that protects both tenants and the broader community.

Beyond housing, we must invest in critical infrastructure projects, including the repair of aging roads, bridges and water systems, to ensure our communities remain safe, resilient and functional. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, much of New York’s infrastructure is rated “C-” or worse, underscoring the urgency of this issue.

I will fight to make Westchester more affordable by cutting wasteful county spending, opposing new taxes and demanding accountability for how every dollar is used. And I’ll continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our police officers, firefighters and first responders to keep our neighborhoods safe, stable and protected.

A county that is unaffordable, overcrowded and unsafe cannot thrive — and that’s exactly what I intend to change.

Pierce: Top of my mind are affordability and quality of life, twinned issues made worse by the combined impacts of federal cuts, inflation and immigration policies. 

I work closely with area seniors and know many are struggling. They rely on programs like SNAP, senior nutrition services, ParaTransit and our local food pantries. Our younger families are also struggling and will be facing health coverage losses and increasing costs for childcare. Everyone needing the support of home health aides will be in distress. We must protect these essential supports while also expanding local partnerships to protect the most vulnerable.

Our region also depends on a strong health-related economy, anchored by institutions like Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco. Cuts to health insurance and public health funding will harm both residents and the local economy. That’s why I’m advocating for continued state and county investment in health care programs so that we can maintain preventative care access and support our hospitals and community health providers as they navigate these cuts.

Lastly, parts of our district have a lack of drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, threatening public health, our lakes, undermining our economy and downtowns and making the construction of much-needed new housing even more difficult. These projects are expensive, and losses in potential grant funding will hit hard.

These issues — along with housing and utilities — are ones I have long fought for and deeply understand. I am running to continue working to advance progress on these fronts and support our communities through the difficult years ahead.