GOP Running Henderson for Mayor, Plus Council Slate of Fee, Jovanovich & Shuck

Councilman Bill Henderson will run for Mayor this fall on the GOP ticket, along with a full slate of three candidates for City Council. Henderson ran for City Council back in 2021. As of now, he will face Councilman Josh Nathan, who is running on the Democratic ticket. 

“It’s really about understanding what the role of the mayor is, which I don’t think this mayor has really fully understood,” Henderson told MyRye.com. “It’s not an executive position. The council oversees the city manager. The city manager is the executive … he’s really the chief executive officer.”

Henderson will be joined on the GOP ticket by James Fee, Robin Jovanovich, and Maria Shuck, all looking for seats on the Council. The Council seats up this fall belong to Henderson, James Ward (Democrat, running for re-election) and Julie Souza, who is not running again. Current Mayor Josh Cohn is not running for re-election.

Over the last four years, Henderson has pushed back against certain initiatives such as Sustainable Westchester’s Westchester Power (a community-based bulk energy purchasing program marketing green energy) and the limitations of the new tree ordinance, seeing these as government overreach. He also raised the issue of fairness when the Rye Golf Club moved to raise fees on its new members only, pushing until the change was retracted.

Henderson found an ally in his now mayoral opponent Nathan to push back on what they both saw as the secretive and controlling approach of Mayor Josh Cohn. But the two depart when it comes to policy.

“Government needs to be humble and respect that they don’t have all the answers, and they should only act when they need to act,” said Henderson.

Henderson is a retired CPA and attorney. His career included time as a federal prosecutor and as a partner in the forensic accounting practice at Ernst & Young. Bill and his wife, Beth Parker Henderson, are 31-year Rye residents and the parents of two adult sons, Forrest and Thomas. Henderson served on the Board of Education’s audit committee and is a member and former president of the Apawamis Club.

“I believe I am best positioned to lead the Rye City Council for the next four years,” Henderson said in a statement. “The Council works best when there is civility, robust debate and diversity of viewpoints. Our local government must use common sense, be humble, and respect our citizens’ rights and liberties. We must work with our representatives but protect Rye from some of the worst ideas coming out of White Plains, Albany, and Washington, D.C.  I believe that I can best bring the Council together to achieve these goals. That is why I am running.”

Henderson said his priorities as Mayor “will be to sustain the focus and further advance flood mitigation efforts, manage Rye’s development and growth reflective of the desires of its citizens, protect Rye’s environment and green spaces, ensure continued capital infrastructure investments, and prioritize public safety and adequate play spaces for Rye’s youth. Equally important will be the need to balance these priorities with maintaining fiscal discipline to keep tax increases as minimal as possible.”

Council Candidates

James Fee

James Fee, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Boston College Law School, is a litigator at a Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP focusing on litigating securities fraud class actions on behalf of institutional investors. He lives on Ormond Place with his wife Christina and three young children. In 2023, he spoke out against the two tier membership structure at the Rye Golf Club.

“When deciding where to make a home for our family, Christina and I had a choice to make,” Fee said in a statement. “We came to Rye because of all this special community has to offer, including beautiful surroundings and top-tier assets from its schools to its recreation facilities, and its bustling downtown. I am honored by my nomination and view it as a great opportunity and responsibility to serve our community.”

Robin Thrush Jovanovich

Robin Thrush Jovanovich, is a writer and editor and the former publisher of The Rye Record. She and her husband Peter, an educational publisher, moved to Rye in 1992 with their two then-teenage sons. Robin became involved with the community as a volunteer, serving on the boards of the Rye Arts Center, the Rye Free Reading Room, and 5 Steps to Five. 

In 1998, she contributed her first article to The Rye Record and went on to become the community newspaper’s editor and publisher, running the paper for many years until she sold it in the fall of 2023. For the last eight years, she has been president of The Alfred Harcourt Foundation, a college scholarship foundation. 

Her husband, who passed away last summer, served on the Rye City Council and as Deputy Mayor. He also launched an unsuccessful bid for Mayor in the fall of 2013. 

“I want to make sure Bill Henderson remains on the Council,” Jovanovich said in a statement. “His intelligence, pragmatism, and willingness to see all sides of an issue are notable and needed. I don’t just want to ‘keep Rye Rye,’ but rather want to ensure that important quality-of-life issues are addressed thoughtfully and efficiently. My two grandchildren live here. Our future is their future.”

Maria Tufvesson Shuck 

Maria Tufvesson Shuck has lived in the same house on Brown Avenue in Rye for over 30 years. Ms. Shuck recently concluded a 35-year career as a lawyer at Mannheimer Swartling specializing in global corporate restructurings. She is chair of the Lund University Foundation, a nonprofit designed to strengthen the Swedish University’s “ties with the United States and alumni” and also sits on the board of The Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce in New York. She has been married to her husband John for 36 years and raised her two adult sons (John, Carl) in Rye.

“The Rye community has been the heart and soul of my family’s life for a very long time,” Shuck said in a statement. “John and I picked this community to spend our lives in, and it has become our family. Rye is a wonderful place, and I am excited about the opportunity to give back by serving on the City Council.”

The general election is on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.