Down to the Wire: Voting Day Recap

Last night was their last chance. It was a time for parting words and a final say on the issues. And, much like the previous appearance at the League of Women Voters, it was clear the two candidates were leading vastly different campaigns.

Today, thousands of Scarsdale residents trudged out to have their final say on the vote on whether or not to accept a $134.7 million school budget, and whether or not to accept the longstanding nomination party's suggestions for a new school board member, or to vote for the first candidate to contest the system in more than 20 years.

In the Scarsdale Middle School gymanisum, the conversation bubbles with activity, and the school audio/visual experts are hustling to get the school web site ready to post the votes as soon as they are announced.

And Scarsdale Patch is here too, and will break the vote tally as soon as it is ready. Our last post was at 6 p.m., when 1,711 people had voted, compared with 429 votes at the same time last year.

Undoubtedly, the contested seat in the name of lower taxes or a rebate for property owners versus higher taxes and investing in schools, was hot enough to stimulate enormous turnout.

Traditionally as Patch has reported, the School Board Nominating Committee presents a nominee that the elected body of 30 community members thinks would best serve the schools as a new Board of Education member. That year, this nominee was Suzanne Seiden, a mother, lawyer, and nine-year resident and volunteer of the Scarsdale community. 

While Seiden's credentials and community ties are strong, she was asked by the SBNC not to engage in any campaigning – something the nonpartisan system shuns, historically. But this was the first time in anyone's memory that the school board seats were contested, and, by not being allowed to campaign, Seiden was at somewhat of a disadvantage: she wound up running against Bob Harrison, a retiree and 30-year resident who forged a high-visibility campaign that publicized his platform at any opportunity.

Seiden's supporters, forming their own committee, Friends of Slate 2010, did a more understated outreach, relying largely on the vast network of PTA members and friends to get out the word: Vote for the nonpartisan party nominee.

Speaking to the Scarsdale Neighborhood Association Presidents last night, she re-emphasized, "I think I have the skills for the job," adding, "I like to work with the community."

Sieden showed up early to the meeting, and left about half an hour later, while Harrison came to listen in on, and speak, in the last 45 minutes. 

[The rest of the meeting covered ongoing town issues, including the considerations being reviewed for historical preservation of homes, emergency preparedness communication in the Village, and review of SNAP committee meetings.]

Susan Sieden has lived in town for nine years, and has three children in the school system, including a son that is graduating this year (who started a Facebook campaign on her behalf encouraging high-schoolers to vote).

• Worked for the federal government for 7 1/2 years, part of that time as general counsel for the Human Resources part of the federal government
• Since 9/11 she has become a "full-time volunteer"
• Co-chair on the drug and alcohol taskforce
• High school continuing scholarship fund
• Worked with the district to change the policy on funding the playgrounds
• Part of the PTA

Though she said she was unable to share a platform, or her opinion, she was more than willing to hear those of others in the community, and said she plans to listen to the community, and make her decisions based on what she hears from others involved in the school system. 

Seiden knows that more teacher layoffs are in the future, and someone will need to make the hard decisions.

Harrison recapped: He has lived in Scarsdale for 30 years and has had 2 sons go through the school system, and is proud to say that one of his grandsons will start kindergarten here soon.

• First invited by Tom Sobel in the mid 80's to help self-ensure the schools' medical benefits

• Sat on the technology advisory committee in the mid 90's
• Lowered class sizes for k-3 for better teacher to child ratio
• Raised $25,000 for middle school tennis courts from 400 families and started the youth tennis league. Consequently all children in the middle school take tennis as part of their Phys Ed
• Was a part of SNAP for five years, treasurer, vice chairman, chairman
• Was also on the original founding board for the Teen Center

He promised to bring his 43 years of business experience to the board.

Scarsdale schools have a rolling budget reserve of $5.3 million, the maximum allowed by state law, and he believes that was meant for schools with lower budgets but hopes to bring some of this unused funding back to the people in town as a tax break on what he characterized as "astronomical school taxes."  Harrison also wanted to renegotiate the village's contract with the Scarsdale teachers to avoid layoffs in the future.

When asked why he was not nominated by the SBNC instead of Seiden, he simply said, "I wasn't in the hopper."

An observer of the meeting and SNAP participant said Seiden's hestiance was a little nervewracking.

"She did not what to speak about where she stands - she actually refused to even discuss that, because I think she doens't even want to get into the entire campaign. I don't think she has a problem with going out and meeting people," the source noted, "but I don't think this is what she signed up for."

We'll keep you posted on this evening's events, and look for more photos of the announcements!