Mayor and Trustees Share Advice at First Open Meeting of the CNC

In response to feedback that the proceedings of the Citizen's Nominating Committee were too secretive, the Scarsdale Procedure Committee proposed a change in the Non-Partisan Resolution to open the first meeting of the year to the public. That resolution passed in the general election in November and as a result, the CNC hosted their first public meeting on Sunday night December 2 at Village Hall.

Chair Dan Hochvert lead the group through the agenda and David Irwin was approved as Secretary for the CNC's deliberations. Hochvert explained that this year the group is charged with the nomination of three Village Trustees and the Mayor.

Among the items on the agenda were confidentiality, due diligence and the process of attributing information about candidates to individuals and rules of civility. Also under discussion were rules concerning those who miss meetings, bad weather contingency plans and acceptance of the rules of procedure. Though there were proposed changes to these procedural rules from the Procedure Committee, the proposals were not discussed and the group quickly voted to adopt the rules of procedure that were used last year.

Three trustees who are not up for re-nomination – Trustees Eisenman, Lee and Mark – were invited to the meeting to share their thoughts on what qualities make a good trustee. These thoughts were shared with the nominating committee so that they could seek candidates who fit the bill. Also invited was Mayor Miriam Flisser to contribute her thoughts on the qualities of a good Mayor.

Trustee Mark began and used his time to speak in support of the Non-Partisan System, which he said came "under attack" in the wake of the storm. He suggested that the "types of issues our municipal government addresses are not ones that are driven by political debates....The municipal government is charged with providing basic services," and "plays a role through zoning and other ordinances in overseeing the physical character of the Village." He added, "we are also charged with establishing a budget and setting local tax rates to raise the funds necessary for Village operations and capital improvements....these are not political debates or .... discussions that break down on Democratic or Republican lines."

He explained, "The mayor and the village board do not run the municipal operations of the Village. The Village staff does that well  ... and the overwhelming evidence is that that our Village is very well run." He added, "I am not convinced that a partisan process would produce a better result. I could make the argument that under a partisan system, elected officials could easily find themselves beholden to those who put them in office to the detriment of those who voted for their opponents" and added, "the ability of the Board to approach issues without the pressures of partisanship gives it the freedom to balance competing concerns in exercising its judgment on the matters before it."

He said that "almost any resident can participate in the process" and that "the issues the Board addresses are issues for all of us. When your power goes out, our power goes out, when trees fall and block your streets, they block our streets as well. When your property taxes go up, our property taxes go up."

He said that candidates should be willing to make a "commitment of time and effort," should be "willing to work with others and to "respond courteously to staff and village residents."

Kay Eisenman agreed, saying, "Jon said almost everything I am going to say and did it well." She concurred that "party politics have no place in this system," and added, "I would not have become a trustee if I had to campaign – we are not politicians."
According to Eisenman, "Trustees must be able to listen without feeling attacked and must take whatever slings and arrows come our way." She said, Trustees, "must be prepared to accept anger or discontent, to be able to work in a group, and must do the necessary reading in order to fully understand the issues." She suggested that "knowledge of the law, land use, the environment would be helpful and also said, "It's important to know when to compromise and be open to the ideas of others."

She ended by saying, "We have been fortunate to elect people with a higher purpose."

Trustee David Lee outlined three areas to consider:

• A candidate's commitment to the demands of being a trustee
• Their role as a decision-maker
• Their relationship with the community

He advised the group to look for people with "a record of community involvement" and a "devotion to duty. " According to Lee, Candidate's should be "open-minded and have the ability to consider all sides of an issue. They should demonstrate willingness to compromise in trying to reach consensus and demonstrate practicality and humility."

Trustees should be "accessible, should put themselves out in the community and relating effectively to residents." Though they should listen to the views of friends, residents, and community members, they should "vote on what they consider best for the community as a whole."

He also said that Trustees should show "courtesy and respect toward others, including the Village staff, managers and residents. "

Mayor Flisser thanked the CNC for inviting her and said, "I have served on the Board for six years..... the Village Board is not an adversarial body." "Our mission is synthesize resident's concerns and use them to draft legislation." Among the qualities they should seek in a Mayor, she said, "verbal glibness is not needed."

She continued by saying that the current population of Scarsdale includes younger residents who "are well educated and require modern communications." She said that she "replies to many emails a day." She advised that the nominators on the CNC that they ask to read the "liaison reports that the Trustee produced after community meetings" when vetting a candidate.

She also said that it is "necessary to communicate instantly with the Village staff," sometime on an "hourly" basis. She advised that "the age factor should be considered" and recommended that the nominators seek someone with a "scientific education" who understands "complex mathematics and current scientific language." Referring to decisions about climate, the environment and infrastructure she cautioned "if these policies are left to the managers, they will fail." She warned, "we require strong leadership," not someone who would "lull us into focusing on supportive programs ... non-productive programs." Given that "times are hard," we need a "sound footing in reality." She summed up by saying that we need "grounding in prevalent modern communications of our time," and the ability to "respond in technical language." She said that this is "not the Village Board of yesteryear."

The CNC will meet several times in January and the general election will be held on March 19, 2013.

If you missed the meeting and would like to watch in on television, here the cable schedule is as follows: Tuesday December 4th at 2:00, 5:00, 7:30 and 10:30 pm, Friday December 7th through Sunday December 9th at 2:00, 7:00 and 10:30 pm and Wednesday December 12 at 2:00 and 7:00 pm.

CNC Chair Dan Hochvert sent in the following call for candidates:

The Citizen's Nominating Committee (CNC) is looking for potential candidates for Mayor and Village Trustee. Our non-partisan system tries to get the best Scarsdale citizens to serve on our Village Board. The committee considers all who are interested in the positions available.

For further information, please contact a member of the CNC by visiting the Procedure Committee website at http://www.scarsdaleprocedurecommittee.org/ and click on Nominating Committee or contact CNC Chair Dan Hochvert at 725-5040 or dan.hochvert@verizon.net

The deadline for submission of materials is January 8th at 5 p.m. The CNC plans to announce the slate on January 24th.