Yonkers City Council president candidates square off in debate

Republican Yonkers City Council President Liam McLaughlin squared off against his Democratic challenger for the position in a debate Monday night.

McLaughlin is seeking a second term and called out his opponent, Mike Khader, during the debate at Sarah Lawrence College, hosted by the League of Women Voters.

"He was found to have lied in his campaign literature over and over again," McLaughlin said.

The two battled it out on issues chosen by the audience of Yonkers residents, seeking the candidates' stances on noise pollution, the creation of bike paths and attracting developers.

"You want a tax break, give something back, build a park...build a recreation center," Khader said.

"He wants to talk about giving tax breaks to developers -- it's complete nonsense," countered McLaughlin. "Any breaks that come, come at the state level."

The candidates also spoke about education, sending sparks flying and causing the gavel to come down.

Both men work as attorneys and hail from Yonkers. They encouraged residents to head to the polls come Election Day.