The Scarsdale Citizens' Non-Partisan Party Was Right the First Time

Naysayers and skeptics are fond of saying that politics at a national level is depressing and dispiriting, and that the high drama and partisan rancor is turning off a generation of young people from looking at public service as a worthy pursuit. That's why the recent Patch post by Jack Greenspan, a Scarsdale ninth grader who can't vote yet, but is already making his voice heard in local politics, should fill us all with hope for the next generation! Carl Finger, a current Trustee running for re-election on the Scarsdale Citizens Non-Partisan Party slate, also grew up in Scarsdale, and began his long record of civic engagement while in high school as well. That's how we do things in Scarsdale!

As often happens when partisan enthusiasm gets the best of us, when Mr. Greenspan denounced what he called the "rhetorical buzzwords" of the Scarsdale Citizens' Non-Partisan Party, he happened to echo the same rhetoric that the brain trust of the Voter's Choice Party (VCP) has been using to cast mud at Scarsdale's 100-year non-partisan electoral process. We’re sure he’s not the only one who may have let campaign poetry obscure the governing prose of our Scarsdale tradition that has been tested time and again and yielded so many extraordinary public servants.

Moving past rhetoric, here are facts.

The Scarsdale Citizens' Non-Partisan Party is proud to tout the experience of our candidates, who combined have eight total years serving on the Board of Trustees. Certainly, everyone running on either slate for Mayor and Board of Trustees this year possesses exceptional civic and volunteer credentials, from participation in committees of the Board or the Scarsdale Forum, to numerous other active volunteer pursuits to, yes, leader of the Tiger Den. But when it comes to the direct experience of being a Trustee and dealing with a broad range of matters integral to the successful management and operation of our local government, our candidates have eight years of service. Their opponents do not have a single day.

Mr. Greenspan wrote that "The [method by which the Citizens Nominating Committee members are elected and proceed to recruit and assess candidates for Mayor, Board of Trustees, and Village Justice] represents nothing like anything in contemporary politics," but you don't need to go far to find a parallel example. Within the next few months, the candidates for Westchester County Court Judge and a number of judicial positions will go through an almost identical process -- presenting their candidacies before delegates who were themselves duly-elected, advocating for their approach and temperament rather than how they would rule on specific cases, securing a political party line, and then putting themselves before the general electorate. That same process will be employed by political parties up and down New York State in similar local races.

Individuals may disagree with the CNC's preference to focus on experience, judgment, and temperament instead of specific issue pledges that favor one part of the community over another, or lock candidates into positions that may prove unworkable once they've had the chance to go over the budget and crunch the numbers. They may likewise think that candidates for judges should be nailed down to fixed positions on the cases likely to come before them, rather than approach them with fresh eyes and impartiality. (Given the current Article 78 proceeding against the Village, that's an apt comparison)

But when Scarsdale Village elections have been contested over many decades, the voters have nearly always voted overwhelmingly for the non-partisan candidates who have gone through this process and owe their candidacy to neither party bosses nor to explicit promises made to one faction of Village voters over another.

A favorite refrain of the VCP campaign members before they had officially declared their candidacies was that by employing a similar method to most party caucuses in New York State, Scarsdale's tradition of non-partisan elections was somehow undemocratic. Mr. Greenspan attributes what he finds to be "undemocratic" to the fact that hundreds but not thousands of Scarsdalians voted in the Citizens Nominating Committee elections, including the multiple school districts featuring contested elections for the CNC.

In contrast, one of the VCP candidates wrote on a comment thread on Scarsdale10583.com, "Here's how our secret 'process' worked: four Scarsdale citizens who think they can do a better job for the Village got together to run for office."

The criticism appears to be that hundreds of Scarsdalians voting for thirty representatives to participate in a rigorous, two-month candidate vetting process that begins with a public meeting in Village Hall is less "democratic" than just four citizens getting together in someone's house. What more needs to be said on this point?

Finally, there is the criticism that one has to guess as to where Dan Hochvert, Matthew Callaghan, Carl Finger, and Seth Ross stand on the issues. This would be illogical even if there were not a League of Women Voters Candidates Forum scheduled on March 7, as well as numerous SCNP "meet the candidate" events being hosted throughout next week, where voters are encouraged to get to know what Dan, Matt, Carl, and Seth have accomplished and their vision for moving Scarsdale forward. There would still be their accumulated eight years' record of service on the Board of Trustees, including their votes and public statements on a wide range of issues that have come up time and again. Our candidates already have distinguished themselves. They listened to the community, and they heard from every voice, not just the loudest ones. They made sure they knew what they were talking about and took no decision lightly. They looked over every line item in the budget, sometimes dozens of times. They didn't just make statements; they did the work and took the votes.

You don't have to guess. You just have to look at the record. Results speak louder than words, and Scarsdale's high standing as one of the most successful and admired communities -- one that welcomes both new families and those who a few years ago were just like Mr. Greenspan, going through our public schools, and now returning to start families of their own -- is a testament to this fact. It should be noted that Scarsdale has a AAA financial rating because of decades of competent non-partisan leadership in the positions of Mayor and Trustee. Since the statewide property tax cap went into effect, Scarsdale budgets have kept property tax growth to under 2% every year, half of what the rate was a decade before. We have dramatically increased investment in road repair, and finally have Con Edison contributing to the effort. Scarsdale has made bold choices on sustainability in terms of recycling textiles and food composting, and prudent investments in the cornerstones of our community, like the public library, that will benefit our children for generations to come.

Our century-old tradition of non-partisan elections has not hobbled our progress. It has enabled it.

We stand by our flier, we stand by our system, and we are confident the voters of Scarsdale will stand by the exceptional experience and judgment of Dan Hochvert, Matthew Callaghan, Carl Finger, and Seth Ross at the voting booth on March 21.

Tim Foley is a Scarsdale resident and a volunteer for the Scarsdale Citizens' Non-Partisan Party.