FIGHTING WORDS

Yonkers Councilwoman Accused of Saying She’d ‘Slit’ Her Colleague’s Throat

Tasha Diaz has not denied the accusations, but claimed the letter was retaliatory and a waste of city resources.

A city councilwoman in Yonkers, New York was accused of making threatening remarks in a formal letter this week, which claimed that Tasha Diaz said she wanted to slit a fellow lawmaker’s throat, according to Lohud. On Jan. 2, Councilwoman Corazon Pineda-Isaac voted against keeping Diaz as the Democratic majority leader, saying in a meeting that Diaz’s “unprofessionalism, the lack of decorum [and] disregard for others,” has remained since she was first elected to the position. Shortly after the meeting, a witness heard Diaz say “I need to get out of here before I slice this bitch’s throat,” according to the USA Today Network. Another witness told the network that she repeated the comment later, but said “slit” instead of “slice.” Pineda-Isaac detailed three other instances that Diaz had allegedly made violent comments in a letter to the city’s human resources commissioner. Diaz has not denied the accusations, but claimed the letter was retaliatory and a waste of city resources. She apologized, but also defended her speech. “In politics and while fighting for the residents of my district, I often speak hyperbolically as I am very passionate for fighting for the people of my district,” Diaz said.