Westchester County Court Judge David F. Everett dismissed the remaining defendants in the lawsuit brought by former City Council President Mike Khader after two parties issued somewhat apologetic statements in their involvement in an alleged smear campaign against him.
The complaint
Leading up to the 2021 primary election for Yonkers City Council President, incumbent Mike Khader faced a barrage of challenges. He alleged a smear campaign manifested from a coordinated effort by Mayor Spano and allies to oust him. Ultimately, Khader attributed the cause of the defamation campaign to his opposition to a luxury residential development plan using taxpayer dollars involving Mayor Spano’s family property.
Central to the alleged campaign was an accusation that Khader improperly awarded a public contract to a law firm for which he rented office space. Despite conflicting evidence, the story was amplified through various channels like the Yonkers Tribune. Simultaneously, a female staffer’s resignation letter citing gender disparities in the workplace was leaked also to the Tribune. This led to the Yonkers Democratic Party rescinding its endorsement. Khader, who lost the election to Lakisha Collins-Bellamy, claims harm from the endorsement revocation and defamatory, inaccurate press coverage.
In a lawsuit filed in October 2022, Khader sought substantial reimbursement totaling $6 million and removal of defamatory materials online from defendants. The defendants included Mayor Spano, Hezi Aris/Yonkers Tribune, a political PAC, a printing press, and private citizens like Ron Matten.
The mea culpas
After a year of litigation, multiple hearings, and over 200 filings, defendants Hezi Aris and Ron Matten settled their cases. The terms of the settlement were direct and immediate. Both issued statements denying any factual knowledge of wrongdoing by Khader. The full statement by Hezi Aris is below.
From March 2021 to July 2021, I published several articles about Michael Khader. I recognize that the articles did not portray Mr. Khader in a flattering light and caused distress to him and his family. To be clear, I have no personal knowledge of Mr. Khader doing anything illegal or unethical, and I did not contact Mr. Khader prior to publishing specific articles that have as of today been taken down and deleted from our database.
Ron Matten signed a statement with a similar sentiment. In it, he claims that “he has found no indication of any unethical, improper, or unlawful acts of Mr. Khader and regrets any harm or consternation suffered by Mr. Khader and/or his family.”
The dismissals
Other defendants dodged any such admissions as the court granted their motions to dismiss on January 16. In the seven page decision, the court found that Khader’s defamation claim against Roseanne Gallego, head of Committee for a Better Yonkers, “fail to meet the heightened standard required” that the statements made were knowingly false in regards to acts committed while Khader was an elected official. While Gallego’s dismissal comes as a minor loss to Khader, the biggest fish in Khader’s lawsuit, Mike Spano himself, also failed to be hooked.
The court had a more novel, and purely technical, rationale for dismissing Mike Spano from the lawsuit. Starting from the first hearing, the court sought clarity on who exactly Khader was suing. Was it Mike Spano the person, or the Mayor of Yonkers? The initial complaint makes reference to “Mayor” Spano and service of the lawsuit occurred at City Hall. However, Khader refuted that he was suing the Office of the Mayor, but instead Mike Spano as an individual. Ultimately, the court believed it was the original intent for the Mayor of Yonkers to be the defendant. As such, the legally required Notice of Claim was never filed with the City of Yonkers, therefore nullifying the complaint against Spano altogether.
One door closes
We spoke with Mike Khader on the outcome of his lawsuit. While he is grateful for the retractions, he disagrees with the court’s decision on the other defendants’ dismissals.
My goal in pursuing this lawsuit was to clear my name and secure a public apology and retraction. I am pleased with the results; the defendants Ron Matten and Hezi Aris have acknowledged the absence of any wrongdoing on my part. Notably, defendants Ron Mattan and Hezi Aris of Yonkers Tribune were catalysts in starting the smear campaign that tarnished my name. Defendant Rose Press stated in open court that they did not create any mailers and have no knowledge of Mike Khader doing anything improper, and that the content came from and was paid for by Committee for a Better Yonkers.
While certain defendants were dismissed on procedural grounds rather than on the merits, I disagree with the court’s decision in that regard. Although the legal battle may be over, the issue of dirty politics in our local government has only intensified. It is now incumbent upon us, as concerned citizens, to be the agents of change and strive for a more representative government
With the lawsuit now behind him, some wonder what is next for Khader. His recent verbal jabs at his former opponent and sitting Council President elude to ambitions of a future political run. And on this speculation he concedes, “I’m not done.” And while a repeat of the last City Council President race seems obvious, some rumor that Khader may seek a different office altogether.
