Mount Vernon mayor recovering from medical procedure, appreciates well wishes

Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard is recovering after being hospitalized Tuesday night for an undisclosed medical condition.

“Grateful for Life. Grateful for God’s Healing Power. His Grace is Sufficient,” she posted on her Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard Facebook page Thursday morning.

City spokesman Timothy Allen declined to discuss any details of the mayor’s condition but issued a brief statement Thursday afternoon saying she "underwent a medical procedure earlier in the week and is currently in good spirits."

"Her doctors have advised her to rest and she has been in continuous contact with city staff and her colleagues in government."

In the statement, the mayor thanked people for their prayers and good wishes.

"Jesus is continuing to work miracles in my life and I am thankful. I look forward to bouncing back and continuing to work on behalf of Mount Vernon."

Earlier Allen would say only that “the mayor is well” and calling it a private matter.

“All operations in the City of Mount Vernon are continuing as usual, and there have been no changes to report regarding leadership or governance,” Allen said in an email Wednesday afternoon when asked if there had been any need for an acting mayor to be appointed.

He reiterated that in the statement Thursday.

Patterson-Howard, who turned 56 this past weekend, was elected mayor in 2019 and is now in the first year of her second term. She recently completed one year as national president of the African American Mayors Association.