Get Involved in Your Village Government

Letter to the Editor: We are the Chair and Vice Chair of the Scarsdale Procedure Committee, charged with administering the election this coming Tuesday, November 15, for election of members to the Citizens Nominating Committee and of amendments to the Non-Partisan Resolution that governs our Non-Partisan system of government, being proposed to facilitate participation on the CNC by more residents.

Recent comments by residents that they do not understand the Non-Partisan System and feel shut out by what is described as a group of insiders cause us to write now to urge residents to take two important immediate steps and several longer-term steps to become involved in the running of our Village:

First, read about the backgrounds of the candidates for the CNC and the substance of the amendments, by going online to www.scarsdaleprocedurecommittee.org.

Second, vote at Village Hall next Tuesday, or by mail-in absentee ballot before next Tuesday, for representatives of the Citizens Nominating Committee and on the amendments; the downloadable absentee ballot is also at The Procedure Committee website.

Then, even beyond next Tuesday’s election, there are abundant opportunities for Scarsdale residents to participate in and influence government in this Village:

• attend the biweekly Village Board meetings or watch them on cable,

• attend the frequent public debates sponsored by the Scarsdale Forum, such as the one held last month on the proposed amendments,

• ask questions or comment at the many public meetings held by the Mayor and Board of Trustees on every issue imaginable to the running of our Village, including budget issues,

• join one of the many Village committees, or

• apply to be a candidate for election to the School Board Nominating Committee or the Citizens Nominating Committee, School Board, or Village Trustee or Mayor.

Scarsdale is the essence of a participatory democracy and there is every opportunity to learn what the relevant issues are and to participate in the debate on those issues. Scarsdale has had a long history of effective volunteer participation in civic affairs. Today’s “insiders” are yesterday’s volunteers, who are joined year after year by new volunteers, who work hard on issues and committees and come back for more.

If you'd really like to help even sooner, please volunteer on November 15 to help administer the election.

Voter participation is lower than it should be. Last year, only 516 people voted, of which 138 of the votes were from absentee ballots. Please make every effort to vote this Tuesday in person, or by mail-in absentee ballot by close of business Monday, to make certain that we have greater voter participation and a more involved community going forward.

Michelle Lichtenberg and David M. Brodsky
Chair and Vice Chair, The Procedure Committee