Countdown to CNC Election Day

Turning a concept into something tangible, and useful, isn’t always easily or quickly achieved. This year’s Procedure Committee, the administrator of Scarsdale’s non-partisan village election system, has accomplished just that: turning discussion items years in the making into proposed amendments for approval by Scarsdale voters. The amendments will appear on the ballot of the Citizens Nominating Committee annual election at Village Hall on Tuesday, November 13, when voters also elect their neighborhood representatives to serve on the CNC. The polls are open from 7-10 AM and 2-9 PM.

The fundamental purpose of the main amendments proposed by the PC is to give to the elected members of the CNC primary authority for the selection of CNC and PC leadership. For example, Amendment #1 authorizes the 30 CNC voting members, who represent each of the five Village neighborhoods (according to elementary school), to choose CNC leadership for the following year from among the outgoing class of voting members. The amendment eliminates the responsibility of the Town and Village Civic Club and Scarsdale Neighborhood Association Presidents to fill the non-voting leadership positions on the CNC.

According to the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale: “The selection of chairs by the CNC from among those who have just completed their service on the CNC, comparable to the process set forth in the School Board Nominating Committee Resolution for selecting the leadership of the SBNC, promotes greater continuity and smoother transfer of procedural and historical knowledge, ensures that the CNC leadership possesses recent CNC experience, preserves the appearance of impartiality, integrity, and neutrality in the process, and makes certain that the incoming leadership will bear the indicia of approval of their CNC peers.”

Amendment #7 confirms that the Non-Partisan Resolution, the system’s governing document, is administered by the PC, not by the venerable Town and Village Civic Club, which is, after all, a completely separate organization. Similarly, Amendment #5 pertaining to the PC mirrors the changes in CNC leadership. The role of the TVCC and SNAP in automatically providing appointees to the PC is discontinued in favor of a more active role of the PC chair and vice chair and ratification of leadership by PC members. Providing the opportunity to recruit PC appointees from a broader pool of neighborhood and volunteer community organizations is another big step towards PC self-governance and has the potential to involve more of the community in the non-partisan process and civic life in the Village in general.

Aside from amendments, 13 of the 16 residents who appear on the non-partisan ballot are seeking your vote to join the 17 current members of the CNC. Together they will conduct a due diligence process to nominate candidates for the offices of mayor and three village trustees who will appear on the Non-Partisan slate in the annual March (2019) spring election. All candidates standing for election in this non-partisan process, and hoping to serve on the CNC and in village offices, are to be congratulated for their civic commitment and public-minded spirit.

The CNC Election Brochure is now available on the PC’s website. The brochure contains biographies of all CNC candidates running for seats on the CNC, a summary of all proposed amendments, and information on the Non-Partisan system. The election brochure will also be mailed to all households in Scarsdale, so look for it in your mailbox next week after the midterm election on November 6 and before CNC election day on November 13. Please vote in both elections – your vote counts!

The CNC Mail-In Ballot is also available on the PC’s website, which will permit voters to cast their ballot by mail for their neighborhood CNC candidates and for the proposed amendments. Mail in ballots must be received at the Scarsdale village center Post Office by or before 5 PM on November 13. The entire ballot will be available for review at Village Hall on November 13 if you vote in person, when the lobby polling place is open from 7-10 AM and 2-9 PM. Again, please exercise your vote on both November 6th in the midterm election and on November 13th in the CNC election.