# Liam McLaughlin

Liam J. McLaughlin (born January 16, 1968) is the former Council President of the Yonkers City Council. He is a practicing attorney and partner at McLaughlin & Zerafa, LLP, an estates and trusts firm. On November 7, 2017 McLaughlin lost his re-election bid in a Democratic upset against attorney and CIA veteran Mike Khader. McLaughlin now is serving as Inspector General for the City of Yonkers.

## Early career and background

McLaughlin grew up in Yonkers, New York and attended Cardinal Spellman High School and Fordham University where he received a bachelor's degree in accounting in 1989. He became an auditor at Ernst and Young and went on to receive a Juris Doctor from New York Law School in 1996.

## Political career

Involved with a local neighborhood association, as well as the Ancient Order of Hibernians, McLaughlin first ran for the City Council in Yonkers, New York's fourth largest city and one of the "Big Five" cities in the State, in a 1997 election for the fourth district council seat. He scored an impressive 38% of the vote as a third-party candidate on the Conservative Party of New York State line. He won the seat outright during the 1999 general election after winning the Republican primary and served from 2000 to 2010, including service as Minority Leader and Majority Leader.
He ran for the New York State Senate in 2010 after being term-limited off the Council against State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, garnering 45% of the vote. He then returned to private law practice and served as an adjunct professor at Manhattan College.
In 2013, he was elected Council President. His first local law gave a school tax exemption to military veterans, which made Yonkers the first major city in New York to offer that benefit to service members. While Republicans across the nation surged to power on the coat tails on Donald Trump, McLaughlin was tossed out of office, beaten by Mike Khader, a son of Jordanian immigrants. With McLaughlin's defeat, the Yonkers City Council has changed to Democratic control. Khader won handily, defeating McLaughlin 54% to 46%.

## Electoral history
### Yonkers City Council

Yonkers City Council 4th District 1997 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Carlo J. Calvi | 2,405 | 34.18% |
| | Right to Life | Carlo J. Calvi | 265 | 3.77% |
| | Independence | Carlo J. Calvi | 189 | 2.69% |
| | Total | Carlo J. Calvi | 2,859 | 40.69% |
| | Conservative | Liam J. McLaughlin | 2,698 | 38.40% |
| | Democratic | Lucy DiVestea | 1,470 | 20.92% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 7,037 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |
Yonkers City Council 4th District 1999 Republican Primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Liam J. McLaughlin | - | -% |
| | Republican | Carlo J. Calvi (incumbent) | - | -% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | - | 100% |
Yonkers City Council 4th District 1999 Conservative Primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Liam J. McLaughlin | - | -% |
| | Conservative | Carlo J. Calvi (incumbent) | - | -% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | - | 100% |
Yonkers City Council 4th District 1999 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Liam J. McLaughlin | 2,280 | 38.40% |
| | Conservative | Liam J. McLaughlin | 477 | 8.03% |
| | Total | Liam J. McLaughlin | 2,757 | 46.44% |
| | Independence | Carlo J. Calvi | 1,585 | 26.70% |
| | Right to Life | Carlo J. Calvi | 563 | 9.48% |
| | Total | Carlo J. Calvi (incumbent) | 2,148 | 36.18% |
| | Democratic | Anthony DiPopolo Jr. | 983 | 16.56% |
| | Good Government | Anthony DiPopolo Jr. | 49 | 0.83% |
| | Total | Anthony DiPopolo Jr. | 1,032 | 17.38% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,937 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |
Yonkers City Council 4th District 2001 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Liam J. McLaughlin | 2,988 | 50.96% |
| | Right to Life | Liam J. McLaughlin | 302 | 5.15% |
| | Working Families | Liam J. McLaughlin | 72 | 1.23% |
| | Total | Liam J. McLaughlin (incumbent) | 3,362 | 57.34% |
| | Democratic | Frank A. Adamo Jr. | 1,855 | 31.64% |
| | Independence | Frank A. Adamo Jr. | 393 | 6.70% |
| | Total | Frank A. Adamo Jr. | 2,248 | 38.34% |
| | Conservative | Marina B. Manganelli | 253 | 4.32% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,863 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |
Yonkers City Council 4th District 2003 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Liam J. McLaughlin (incumbent) | 3,096 | 55.74% |
| | Democratic | Kevin T. Cacace | 1,843 | 33.18% |
| | Conservative | Kevin T. Cacace | 327 | 5.89% |
| | Independence | Kevin T. Cacace | 215 | 3.87% |
| | Total | Kevin T. Cacace | 2,385 | 42.94% |
| | Working Families | Keith Purce | 72 | 1.30% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 1 | 0.02% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,554 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |
Yonkers City Council 4th District 2005 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Liam J. McLaughlin | 2,135 | 46.09% |
| | Conservative | Liam J. McLaughlin | 398 | 8.59% |
| | Total | Liam J. McLaughlin (incumbent) | 2,533 | 54.68% |
| | Democratic | Mario DeGiorgio | 2,098 | 45.29% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 1 | 0.02% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 4,632 | 100% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### New York State Senate

New York's 35th Senatorial District 2010 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Andrea Stewart-Cousins | 39,226 | 50.77% |
| | Working Families | Andrea Stewart-Cousins | 2,220 | 2.87% |
| | Independence | Andrea Stewart-Cousins | 1,536 | 1.99% |
| | Total | Andrea Stewart-Cousins (incumbent) | 42,982 | 55.63% |
| | Republican | Liam J. McLaughlin | 29,393 | 38.04% |
| | Conservative | Liam J. McLaughlin | 4,867 | 6.30% |
| | Total | Liam J. McLaughlin | 34,260 | 44.34% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 22 | 0.03% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 77,264 | 100% |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### Yonkers City Council President

Yonkers City Council President 2013 Conservative Primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Liam J. McLaughlin | 295 | 79.52% |
| | Conservative | Grace C. Borrani | 71 | 19.14% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 5 | 1.35% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 371 | 100% |
Yonkers City Council President 2013 Democratic Primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Michael S. Rotanelli | 2,180 | 50.76% |
| | Democratic | Ivy Reeves | 2,048 | 47.68% |
| | write-in | Liam J. McLaughlin | 40 | 0.93% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 27 | 0.63% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 4,295 | 100% |
Yonkers City Council President 2013 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Liam J. McLaughlin | 10,579 | 42.35% |
| | Conservative | Liam J. McLaughlin | 2,284 | 9.14% |
| | Independence | Liam J. McLaughlin | 1,014 | 4.06% |
| | Total | Liam J. McLaughlin | 13,577 | 54.36% |
| | Democratic | Michael S. Rotanelli | 9,914 | 39.69% |
| | BYP | Michael S. Rotanelli | 251 | 1.00% |
| | Total | Michael S. Rotanelli | 10,165 | 40.70% |
| | Every Vote Counts | Grace C. Borrani | 692 | 2.77% |
| | write-in | Ivy Reeves | 222 | 0.89% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 22 | 0.09% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 24,978 | 100% |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic |
Yonkers City Council President 2017 Conservative Primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Liam J. McLaughlin (incumbent) | 362 | 91.18% |
| | write-in | Mike Khader | 25 | 6.30% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 10 | 2.52% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 397 | 100% |
Yonkers City Council President 2017 Independence Primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independence | Mike Khader | 340 | 56.67% |
| | write-in | Liam J. McLaughlin (incumbent) | 249 | 41.50% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 11 | 1.83% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 600 | 100% |
Yonkers City Council President 2017 Green Primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Green | Mike Khader | 37 | 66.07% |
| | Green | Liam J. McLaughlin (incumbent) | 19 | 33.93% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 56 | 100% |
Yonkers City Council President 2017 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Mike Khader | 15,762 | 49.28% |
| | Working Families | Mike Khader | 624 | 1.95% |
| | Independence | Mike Khader | 565 | 1.77% |
| | Green | Mike Khader | 220 | 0.56% |
| | Women's Equality | Mike Khader | 135 | 0.42% |
| | Total | Mike Khader | 17,306 | 54.10% |
| | Republican | Liam J. McLaughlin | 12,078 | 37.76% |
| | Conservative | Liam J. McLaughlin | 2,359 | 7.38% |
| | Reform | Liam J. McLaughlin | 225 | 0.70% |
| | Total | Liam J. McLaughlin | 14,662 | 45.84% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 18 | 0.06% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 31,986 | 100% |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |