NY Mayor Violated Hatch Act, Federal Investigators Find
Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard used city resources for campaign mailers, according to the Office of Special Counsel.
Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard violated federal election law by using her office to influence an election, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel determined. The investigation found that Patterson-Howard, a Democrat, contravened the Hatch Act when she distributed campaign mailers stamped as an "important message" from the city to promote a slate of her endorsed candidates in the June 2025 Democratic primaries.
The Hatch Act, enacted in 1939, prohibits state and local officials funded by federal dollars from leveraging their official positions to sway elections. According to the ruling, the mailers were designed to appear as official city communications, potentially compelling residents to open them.
Erica Hamrick, deputy chief of the OSC’s Hatch Act Unit, stated in the ruling that the language used in the mailers could lead residents to believe they contained official business, thereby increasing the likelihood they would open the envelopes. The mailers included endorsements for five candidates running for comptroller, city council, and city judge, and even featured a sample ballot for voters.
Samuel Rivers, a Mount Vernon activist who filed the complaint, called for Patterson-Howard's resignation, asserting that the federal government's finding confirmed suspicions that the mayor exploited her office to influence voter choices. However, the Office of Special Counsel issued only a warning letter to Patterson-Howard, advising that future violations would be considered willful and knowing.
The Hatch Act violation marks the latest controversy for Patterson-Howard. She recently faced scrutiny after her handpicked deputy police commissioner, Jennifer Lackard, was charged with attempted murder. Lackard was allegedly involved in a drive-by shooting incident connected to her son.
Patterson-Howard, who made history as Mount Vernon's first female mayor in 2019, hired Lackard in 2020 for the newly created role of leading the police department's Wellness Unit, a position with a $125,000 annual salary. The mayor has maintained that Lackard underwent a rigorous background check. Patterson-Howard did not respond to requests for comment on the Hatch Act ruling.