Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard has been found to have violated federal election law, according to a determination by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OCS). The agency ruled that the mayor breached the Hatch Act by using city resources to promote candidates in the upcoming June 2025 Democratic primaries.

The Hatch Act restricts certain state and local officials who receive federal funding from employing their official positions or resources to influence electoral outcomes. In this case, Patterson-Howard sent campaign mailers labeled as “important message” from the city, which the OCS said would likely lead residents to believe the correspondence was official communication from the mayor’s office.

Erica Hamrick, deputy chief of the OCS’s Hatch Act Unit, noted that the language used in the mailers “reasonably would lead residents to believe they contained official business from their mayor, compelling them to open the envelopes.” The office issued a warning letter to Patterson-Howard but took no further enforcement action.

This federal rebuke comes amid additional controversies surrounding Patterson-Howard’s administration. Her deputy police commissioner, Jennifer Lackard, recently faced criminal charges connected to an attempted drive-by shooting in The Bronx. Lackard is accused of escorting her son during the incident. Authorities have charged her with attempted murder. There was no immediate response from Patterson-Howard when asked to comment on either the Hatch Act findings or her deputy’s legal troubles.

The developments mark a challenging period for Mount Vernon’s leadership as they prepare for the key primary elections next year. Patterson-Howard’s involvement in election-related communications underscores ongoing issues about the use of municipal resources and ethical governance in local politics.