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Vedat Gashi, a Yorktown resident who represents Legislative District 4 encompassing Yorktown, New Castle, and Somers, was unanimously elected as Chairperson of the County legislature on Monday night, May 15, the legislature announced.
Gashi's election comes after his predecessor, Catherine Borgia, announced her resignation on Friday, April 28.
Many of the county's legislators had called for Borgia's resignation after a former staffer, identified as Anand Singh, was fired on Thursday, April 13 when a video surfaced of him allegedly driving for hours to try and meet up with who he thought was a 14-year-old girl.
Singh has since been charged with one count of attempted enticement of a minor, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum possible sentence of life in prison, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
A native of Kosovo, Gashi immigrated to the US with his family at the age of 4 and has been a resident of Westchester for over two decades.
He has a Bachelor of Arts from Connecticut College and earned his law degree from Seton Hall University. During his studies, he interned for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor as well as at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Gashi is both the first person of Albanian-American descent and the first person of Muslim faith to be elected Chair of the Board.
"I am honored to have been chosen to lead this distinguished body," Gashi said of his election, adding, "I look forward to working with my fellow legislators to address the challenges facing our County, and to ensure that Westchester remains a great place to live, work, and raise a family.”
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