Letter from CNC Chair Robert Berg: The Committee Did Its Job

Here is a letter from Scarsdale Forum President Robert Berg who served as the Chairman of the Scarsdale Citizens Nominating Committee this year: As the current President of the Scarsdale Forum, I had the privilege this year of leading the Citizens Nominating Committee as its non-voting Chairman. As Chairman, I do not vote on any of the potential nominees for Village office, nor do I give any of my opinions. My role is simply to make sure that the process is fair to all involved and that the procedures of the Non-partisan Resolution are followed. Importantly, except for the public portion of the first meeting of the CNC, which is televised, all proceedings of the CNC are conducted in strict confidence. The purpose of confidentiality is to encourage as many interested residents as possible to throw their hats in the ring for consideration without feeling any public embarrassment should they not be selected. The members of the CNC are aware of the need for confidentiality, and that is something that I emphasized at every meeting.

That's why I'm disappointed in the tack the Inquirer took in reporting on the outcome of the CNC process this year. Now, I don't know who told the Inquirer that Trustee Thomas Martin had sought endorsement for a second term from the CNC and that he had not been re-nominated. I personally doubt that the information came from a sitting member of the CNC (at least, I hope not, and if it did, I apologize on behalf of the CNC). My guess is that the Inquirer contacted Mr. Martin and asked him whether he had sought the CNC's nomination for a second term, and he told the reporter that he had, but that he did not receive the nomination.

Now, I understand that the Inquirer is a newspaper and the selections by the CNC are a major news story for Scarsdale residents. I don't at all fault the Inquirer for reporting on the selections, though the newspaper could have handled Mr. Martin's situation more delicately. What I find offensive is the Inquirer's editorial, which impugns the integrity and hard work of the Scarsdale residents who have volunteered their free time to responsibly serve on the CNC. The Inquirer's editorial wildly speculates as to why the CNC did not re-nominate Mr. Martin. I don't find such speculation responsible or helpful to the non-partisan process which the Inquirer has long supported.

I will, of course, preserve the confidentiality of the discussions of the CNC. But, in light of the Inquirer's editorial, I believe it is important that the public know that the process followed by the CNC was fair and thorough. The CNC met four times for a couple of hours each time between early December and late January. The members (and the public) heard the Mayor and several sitting Trustees at our open session explain what characteristics the CNC members should be looking for in candidates. As Chairman, I directed CNC members to solicit as many qualified residents as they could to submit their names for consideration for Village office. Many well-qualified potential nominees were asked, and a number of well-qualified potential nominees decided to submit themselves for consideration and appeared before the CNC. After hearing from each, the CNC members conducted extensive due diligence on each potential nominee. The CNC members went beyond the list of references provided by the potential nominees. Most importantly, only due diligence from sources who agreed to speak for attribution was allowed, pursuant to the rules of the Non-partisan Resolution. Therefore, no one was allowed to say, for instance, that a source who did not want to be identified said that Joe X is difficult to work with.

After extensive discussion of all the potential nominees, voting for each position took place by secret ballot. I personally tallied the vote, with SNAP's non-voting CNC member, Lucas Meyer, validating the count. After the various rounds of voting were completed, the CNC had selected as their party's candidates Jonathan Mark for Mayor and William Stern, Matthew Callaghan, and Carl Finger for Village Trustee.

As Chairman, I was very impressed with how seriously the voting members of the CNC took their responsibilities to select their candidates and the sensitivity with which they expressed their comments about potential nominees. I know that I-- and all the members of the CNC thank Trustee Martin for his excellent and dedicated service to our residents. We believe that the CNC's candidates this year will likewise provide outstanding and dedicated service to our residents, and we hope that residents will support these candidates by coming out and voting in the March Village elections.