OUR CANDIDATES

Valerie Simmons is a lifelong White Plains resident and community advocate with more than three decades of public service. Educated in the White Plains Public School system, she began her career through the AmeriCorps VISTA program, where she helped build capacity for local anti-poverty organizations with a focus on affordable housing during the height of Urban Renewal.

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Valerie spent ten years with the White Plains Community Action Program as an Office Administrator and Community Organizer, playing a key role—alongside CAP Director Jerome “Bump” Robinson and community partners—in advocating for the construction of the Slater Center following the loss of the Carver Community Center. She later joined the White Plains Housing Authority, serving as Resident Relations Coordinator and ultimately Property Manager for 352 units of low-income housing. During this time, she also held multiple elected union leadership roles. Valerie retired after 36 years of service and remains active with the CSEA Retirees’ Local 921.

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A longtime behind-the-scenes advocate, Valerie has dedicated her life to supporting communities impacted by systemic and bureaucratic barriers. She is a long-standing member of the NAACP and the Greenburgh–White Plains Chapter of the Black Women’s Political Caucus, serves on the White Plains Youth Bureau Board, and is a District Leader for the White Plains Democratic City Committee. She is also a founding member of the Coalition for Addition Without Subtraction (CAWS), focused on equitable redevelopment of the White Plains Galleria Mall, and continues to support numerous civic and social justice organizations.

Valerie remains deeply committed to preserving White Plains as a vibrant, inclusive, and diverse city where all communities are informed, engaged, and represented.