Scarsdale News and Opinion June 22, 2018 Issue

SCARSDALE NEWS and OPINION

June 22, 2018

Help the Voters Choice Party

Reform Scarsdale Government,

Because Your Voice Matters

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The Scarsdale Voters Choice Party (VCP) is a non-partisan organization created in January 2017 to promote transparency and accountability at Village Hall, give voters a choice of mayoral and trustee candidates, encourage discussion of relevant local issues, and increase civic engagement and voter turnout.

We know that you worked hard to get to Scarsdale, and we want you to stay! If you believe as we do, that Scarsdale will be better served when our residents have choice at the polls amongst competing candidates who clearly state their positions on Village issues and offer critical expertise, when cronyism is rooted out of Village decision-making, and when sunlight is allowed to disinfect, please sign-up for our newsletter.

VCP Newsletterhttp://eepurl.com/dvdpqX writers have current professional expertise in capital markets, economics, education, financial modeling, financial regulations, law, municipal finance, real estate, and technology. We deploy our skills to research, write and report upon Scarsdale issues relevant to your pocketbook and quality of life in order to propose solutions to the Mayor and Trustees.

The Scarsdale News You Need to Know!

*The Scarsdale Voters Choice Party (VCP) urges the Scarsdale Village Board of Trustees stop wasting our tax dollars to intimidate and suppress the exercise of Free Speech, particularly political speech, in front of residents’ homes. Earlier this year, lawn signs supporting the school bond began disappearing from our front lawns. When residents reported these as having been stolen, they learned that the Scarsdale police had removed them as instructed by Scarsdale Village government. Attorney Bob Berg has already won an early victory for Scarsdale residents. U.S. District Judge Nelson Román ruled on Feb. 6 that the Village may not stop Scarsdale residents from posting political signs in the Village right of way, as long as the signs pose no safety or traffic hazards. Judge Román granted a temporary restraining order.

The Village Board is paying an outside law firm with our taxes to fight a lawsuit against the First Amendment it has no chance of winning, where the judge has already imposed a temporary restraining order for the past four months because of the likelihood of its success on the merits. The Village has told the Court it plans on amending and updating the Village code provision dealing with political lawn signs. The Mayor has stated separately the new Code provision would eliminate the written permit requirement, but still require advance written notice. That’s like removing a ban on movie theaters and replacing it with a ban on movie cinemas.

Let the Mayor and the Board of Trustees know that our First Amendment rights are sacrosanct, and we will tolerate no abridgment. Email the Mayor (mayor@Scarsdale.com) and Board of Trustees (Clerk@Scarsdale.com), send us your thoughts for publication in our Newsletter and write to the editor at the Scarsdale Inquirer (editor@scarsdalenews.com)

*In response to inaction on the part of the Village Board of Trustees, the VCP has recommended running a survey or focus groups to determine residents’ priorities in order to create a long-term financial plan to figure out where sensible cuts can be made and in order to have a plan to withstand difficult economic or market conditions. The Mayor stands opposed to the development of a long-term financial plan.

*The VCP has attempted and will continue to attempt to help the Village Board adopt a sensible approach to sustainability. The Village Board approved new water rates for Village residents that raise the base rate by 12% but lowers the excess rate by almost 4%. This rewards excess water users and makes the rest of us subsidize excess water consumption.

*The VCP requests that the Village Board reconsiders its objection to writing formal guidelines that are clear in what expertise is needed in different boards and committees and that a request for a diversity of residents be widely disseminated through local media. Rank nepotism should have no place in Scarsdale government, because nepotism deprives our boards of qualified individuals and diversity of thought. Two wives and a brother of current Trustees now sit on important Boards and Councils, and the Trustees’ political supporters fill many positions.

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