"Everyone Is My Constituent": A Conversation with Council Member Evelyn Alicea-Santiago
- Jul 27
- 9 min read
There is an old adage that is sometimes attributed to Benjamin Franklin: "If you want something done, ask a busy person." If I have ever met an individual who personifies this quote, it would be Council Member Evelyn Alicea-Santiago, who has long made her mark on White Plains, and hasn't slowed since taking office.
The WPDCC sat down with Council Member Alicea-Santiago: mom, teacher, advocate, and one of White Plains' newest Common Council members, for a wide-ranging conversation about her path to public office and her first six months in the seat.
She told us how a school registration office visit in 1990 turned into a career in White Plains public education — and how advocacy for her ESL students grew, year by year, into the PTA Council, the Recreation and Parks Advisory Board, the Westchester County Rent Guidelines Board, nearly two decades with the White Plains Democratic City Committee, and finally a run for Common Council she says she never would have imagined "even a year and a half ago." From the beginning of her time here, Council Member Alicea-Santiago has demonstrated a willingness to step out of her comfort zone for the benefit of the community.
Our conversation covered myriad topics, including homelessness, which she frames as something that could touch nearly any working family: "one illness, one life event, one wrong turn, one job loss away."
We also discussed April's Immigration & ICE Policy Roundtable and the resolution on masked law enforcement that followed, and remembered Dylan Valle, the 32BJ SEIU advocate and roundtable voice we lost this year.
Throughout the conversation, she highlighted the importance of listening to each other, of finding common ground, and of advocating for what you believe in. Asked what she's changed her mind about since taking office, she said it's the idea that White Plains is divided at all — "there's more agreement than there is disagreement" when you really get to know people. In a moment when social media so often amplifies our differences, it's a message worth hearing.
And because she is a teacher first, she left us with a reading list. Her pick for the children's book every kid should have read to them: Stellaluna by Janell Cannon — two different species who "are so different, and yet they find commonality." On her own nightstand: How We Thrive: Caring for Kids and Ourselves in a Changing World by Stephanie Malia Krauss, recommended to her by a fellow educator.
The full conversation is below, lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
Ways to get involved (as promised in the interview):
Watch Common Council meetings and work sessions: https://whiteplainsny.swagit.com/common-council
Agendas and minutes: https://www.cityofwhiteplains.com/AgendaCenter
Council member contact information (email and phone for every member): https://www.cityofwhiteplains.com/90/Common-Council
Reach Council Member Alicea-Santiago directly: esantiago@whiteplainsny.gov | (914) 510-2279
Follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msevelynsantiago
Join us at an upcoming WPDCC meeting!
The Interview Transcript
WPDCC: Let's start with your White Plains story. What brought you to White Plains, and what has your life here been like?
Council Member Alicea-Santiago: What brought me to White Plains was my husband. We had been living in the Bronx, and he got a job opportunity here. Before that, I had heard very little about White Plains — there's a White Plains Road in the Bronx, so ironically I thought maybe we'd be moving there. It's actually 25 miles north.
When I got here in 1990, I registered my children for school, and the lady who was interviewing me — we're still friends, actually — saw something in me. I can't explain what it was; I've never asked her. She said, "We could use someone who's bilingual, to register parents just like I'm registering you." I got the job, worked with her part-time, and from there I decided to pursue an education career. My first teaching position was as a teaching assistant at Post Road School, and when I finished my degree, I became a teacher.
My motto is teacher, mom, advocate. The mom part had already started in the Bronx. The teacher part started in White Plains — as well as the advocate part.
WPDCC: Before you ran for Common Council, can you go more in depth about your civic and community work?
Alicea-Santiago: I became an advocate for my students, who were ESL students — all of them spoke another native language — to get the resources they needed in the classroom. Then I realized the parents also needed resources and advocacy, so I started working with the parent community. I was involved with the PTA and the PTA Council, and became treasurer of the PTA Council — this is over a span of years, of course.
After that I became part of the larger White Plains community: the Recreation and Parks Advisory Board, and almost 20 years with the White Plains Democrats. Once you say yes to something, they start asking you to do more and more. On the county level, I was invited to join the Westchester County Rent Guidelines Board — I've been on it since 2018, and that experience taught me a lot about both tenant and landlord needs — and the Westchester County Hispanic Advisory Board, among others. This is over a span of 25, 30 years, and those are things I'm still active on.
WPDCC: What made you decide to run for Common Council?
Alicea-Santiago: It was a natural extension. I've always been an activist and advocate — starting with the students in my classroom, and advocating for my own children, one of whom is on the autism spectrum. I've always been an advocate for special needs and disabled people, because I'm a parent of a disabled child.
But it was really when I became Second Vice Chair of the White Plains Democratic City Committee, and in 2021 Co-Chair of the Issues Committee. With the participation of our chair and others, we had a wide network of people that spanned all income levels and the diversity of White Plains, and we advocated successfully on several controversial issues, including affordable housing. I began to wonder how much someone like me — I consider myself an independent critical thinker, and I'm definitely an organizer — could accomplish if I held a position like this. Before I could even answer myself, others began asking the same question of me. People from the City Committee urged me to run, because they felt a seat at the council table would let me have a voice in resolving some of the issues that came up in the city. I would never have imagined myself doing this, even a year and a half ago, honestly.
WPDCC: What's one issue in White Plains right now that you feel deserves more attention than it's getting?
Alicea-Santiago: There are a lot of issues that deserve attention — education, the disabled, affordable housing, because it impacts the whole community. But the issue that has been brought most to my attention recently, and it's very complex, is homelessness. It seems to be on the rise, and it's because of affordability, in general, for average working people.
Most people I speak to, and most people I know and love — including people in my own family and my own household — you have to ponder: it takes maybe one illness, one life event, one wrong turn, one job loss away from possibly ending up homeless. Many people are noticing there are more homeless people in the streets right now, everywhere, including White Plains. We're trying to deal with it as best we can — we're going to try to form a committee, and the Mayor is aware of the issue and trying his best to give us access to resources that can mitigate some of the issues.
WPDCC: You were part of our Immigration & ICE Policy Roundtable back in April. What stayed with you from that night, and what's happened on that front since?
Alicea-Santiago: Several things. On a positive note, we were able to pass the resolution with regard to law enforcement and the use of masks — ICE included. While we still don't know how effective it is, or whether we can enforce it, we wanted to be on the books as having something. I'm very proud to say we're the first municipality in Westchester County to have passed something like that. And Governor Hochul is in the process of passing something now that will cover masking and other things.
On a less positive note, what has stayed with me is the amping up of ICE and its violent and unconstitutional tactics. That's very disturbing — on a moral basis, on a legal and constitutional basis. The strategy is less what happened in Minneapolis, where it was just like a bombardment — it's more now happening more quietly around the country, especially when you hear about the building of warehouses where we're going to warehouse human beings. Very disturbing.
On another sad note, one of the advocates on that roundtable was Dylan Valle, an advocate for the community from union 32BJ. He passed away in a motorcycle accident, and we lost an important voice in the community. That has stayed with me. But it also reminds us that we need people to raise their voices, especially in times when they see things that are immoral, illegal, unconstitutional in the United States of America. We should not have people being harassed, tackled, detained, chained, and deported without due process. On American soil, we were the gold standard for human and civil rights, and those days seem to be disappearing. That's why we all have to be willing to be advocates.
WPDCC: Our thoughts go out to his family. A lot of residents don't really know what the Common Council does day to day. What do you feel are the most important things it does?
Alicea-Santiago: Our purpose is really to legislate. We make financial decisions on behalf of the city; we make employment decisions on behalf of the city. One of the most important things, to me, is also listening to constituents and trying to help them resolve their issues. Business owners have approached me and said, "I'm having difficulty obtaining this permit — what can you do to help me?" Or they've been inspected and couldn't pass, and they want help finding out what the rules are. So I find myself in that role — finding information for people and helping them resolve their issues.
We also passed the budget recently. I'm very proud to say we have a strong and fair budget that covers all of the services we have — police, fire, social services, and services to youth like the Youth Bureau and Recreation and Parks. It passed handily, it's balanced, and we can still provide all of the services our constituents need.
WPDCC: When should a White Plains resident pick up the phone and call your office?
Alicea-Santiago: They should send us an email or call when they have a question about a decision we've made, something on the agenda, or an issue they feel we can help with. I've gotten calls about permitting issues, senior tax issues and senior tax breaks — and I've responded personally.
Even if I can't do much to help, I think making that person-to-person contact — making a phone call, shaking a hand, looking somebody in the eye — is so important in public service. I can't promise I'll get back within an hour, but within 24 hours, certainly, I can give them a call back. I can't guarantee I can solve everything — but I can hear you out. I can listen to you.
WPDCC: What's something you've changed your mind about since taking office?
Alicea-Santiago: Oh, that's a good question. I've lived in White Plains over 36 years, and there were certain perceptions — I live in my own little bubble in the downtown area — about whether certain issues matter to people in other areas. I've had a chance to really explore other areas of White Plains and speak to the people there. What I've changed my mind about is that we don't necessarily disagree. There's more agreement than there is disagreement.
I'm willing to listen — even change my perception on something once I've learned. That's the part I enjoy the most, the learning part of this job. I get to meet people from the wealthiest parts of White Plains as well as the least wealthy, and when I talk about the issues, I find there's a lot more commonality than not.
WPDCC: For someone watching who's never been involved in local politics, what's one first step they could take this month?
Alicea-Santiago: They can watch the meetings — our Common Council and work session meetings are available online. And attend — if they're Democrats (obviously, I'm a Democrat), they can attend a meeting with the White Plains Dems. Or whatever party they're involved with; I'm not going to judge. Knowing what the issues are, and knowing what the people elected to represent you say about those issues, is very important. You don't have to get involved directly — but at least inform yourself. And you can do that very easily now.
WPDCC: On a lighter note: as a former teacher and education advocate, what's one children's book every kid should have read to them, and why?
Alicea-Santiago: Stellaluna. I used to be terrified of bats — and it's about a cute little baby bat who gets adopted by a bird. Two different species. They're so different, and yet they find commonality. I think that's why I love that story so much. And it made me less afraid of bats.
WPDCC: And what's on your own nightstand right now?
Alicea-Santiago: I enjoy reading very much, but more on a professional note — I'm always curious about the latest research and theories in education. One book that was recommended by another educator is How We Thrive: Caring for Kids and Ourselves in a Changing World by Stephanie Malia Krauss — wisdom from more than 100 leading experts in mental health, neuroscience, psychology, and human development. I haven't begun it yet, but I'm very curious, and I hope to read it very soon.
WPDCC: Is the
re anything else you'd like to add?
Alicea-Santiago: I'm very happy to speak to anyone who'd like to speak to me, as long as it's done in a way that we can find common elements. Everyone is my constituent, whether I agree with them politically or not. I am open to listening — and I think that's the message I want to leave people with.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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