Write-in Candidates Challenge Citizens Party Slate in Tuesday Election
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Though elections in Scarsdale are usually uncontested, this year may be different. Elections for Village Mayor and Trustee are scheduled for Tuesday March 15 and the Citizen’s Non Partisan Committee has selected its slate of candidates. The party’s nominee for Mayor is Dr. Miriam Flisser and for Village Trustee the CNC candidates are Stacey Brodsky, Robert Harrison, and Robert Steves. In the past, very few people turned out to vote because there was no choice of candidates and residents could either vote for the individuals on the slate or abstain.
However, write-in votes are permitted, and Scarsdale10583 has learned that this year a move is afoot for a write-in campaign. Disenchanted with the CNC’s selection process, a well-organized group of residents has selected two people to challenge the Non-Partisan Committee candidates. The ad hoc group is encouraging Scarsdale voters to write in these names on the ballot when they vote at Village Hall or on absentee ballots. For the post of Mayor, they favor Sharon Lindsay, and for Trustee they are backing Robert Selvaggio, for Bob Harrison's seat.
Sharon Lindsay is an attorney who served as Village Trustee and Deputy Mayor, as the Chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals, and as the President of the Greenacres Association. She has lived in Scarsdale for 29 years. Robert Selvaggio has worked in finance for over 20 years and has a B.A. in economics and math from the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD in economics from Brown University.
Voters can write in alternative candidates – whether for Ms. Lindsay and Mr. Selvaggio or 
otherwise – by collecting an absentee ballot from Village Hall on Monday, or in the voting booth on Tuesday’s Election Day. The latter option can prove complicated, requiring voters to lift a small lever located above the CNC candidate’s name, and penning the write-in candidates name on a blank line there.
Voting will be held on Tuesday March 15 from 6 am to 9 am and from noon to 9 pm at Scarsdale Village Hall-- and whatever the outcome-- this challenge is sure to increase voter participation.
Why Vote In an Uncontested Election?
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Tuesday, March 15 is Election Day in Scarsdale for the village mayor and for three village trustees. This year, as has been the case for the overwhelming majority of the last 100 years, the election is uncontested. Four candidates are running for four positions. For full disclosure, I am one of those candidates and have been nominated to serve as a village trustee. I hope that, if you are a registered voter in Scarsdale, you will vote on March 15. Your vote is important even in an uncontested race.
Hundreds of Scarsdale residents volunteer tens of thousands of hours annually in wide-ranging activities that enhance life in our community. People who volunteer do so because they believe that their efforts make a difference. All of us know that the combined effort of so many people contributes in wonderful ways to the quality of life in our village. Men and women who serve on the village and school boards, and as mayor, are also volunteers.
Each year, the Citizens’ Nominating Committee proposes candidates for village trustee vacancies, and every two years the CNC nominates a mayoral candidate. The School Board Nominating Committee serves the same function for school board candidates. Any registered voter may run to serve as a member of one of the nominating committees and any eligible adult may appear before the nominating committees to be considered in the candidate selection process.
This non-partisan nominating process was inaugurated in Scarsdale in 1911 in order to minimize the discord that can arise in a contested electoral process.
Is the process perfect? No, but non-partisan elections have many characteristics that serve to strengthen our community. First, the nominating committees typically reach out to prospective candidates with vastly different sets of experiences and skills. The non-partisan process successfully attracts many qualified people who have expertise and civic commitment but who would not be interested in the competitive nature of a contested election, including the fundraising and sparring that comes with running against an opponent.
Candidates who are nominated through the non-partisan process are not defined by party affiliation, and they owe no allegiance to any organization, donor, or group, other than to the residents of Scarsdale. The boards are accountable only to the community.
Because non-partisan candidates have not campaigned on a platform of issues and promises, when elected, they are able to enter the debate about matters that affect the community neutrally and with an open mind. Equally, residents can feel comfortable that their representatives serve everyone. There will still be issues that are controversial. There will still be decisions that do not satisfy all people. But by means of the non-partisan process, controversy does not have to translate into divisiveness.
Your vote for in village and school board elections reflects your commitment to Scarsdale and your commitment to the volunteerism that is the hallmark of our village. Please support the non-partisan election process by casting your vote in the village election on March 15. Voting will take place at Village Hall from six to nine in the morning, and from noon until nine in the evening.
See a video of the four candidates here:
Explore the Roots of the Middle East Uprisings at the Scarsdale Adult School
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The explosive news from the Middle East makes Professor Ron Brown’s course on Religion and the New World Order especially relevant today. Dr. Brown’s will be teaching at the Scarsdale Adult School for four Thursday’s, beginning on March 3rd and will focus on many of the issues that have driven recent uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, and Libya and clashes in cities around the world.
Topics for the sessions will include:
Religion in the News Today: Brown will explore religious inspired terrorism and wars in the Middle East, campaigns to outlaw abortion, oppose gay marriage, and return prayer to the schools in the United States, the Israeli ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem and settlement building in the West Bank and campaigns by African Christians and Muslims to divide religiously mixed into one-religion states.
Samuel P. Huntington’s Vision of the Religious Future of the World: In his book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order Huntington argues that the future will be dominated by religious conflict between the nine major world religions. Regarding the United States, Huntington warns that the country must halt the inflow of new immigrants who do not share our historic religions and have no intent to assimilate. He argues that if we fail to close the gates the country will become a battlefield in the “Clash of Civilizations.”
The Religions of Today are not those of the past: Mass international migration has transformed local faiths such as Pentecostalism, Mormonism, Voodoo, Santeria, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Hinduism into global faith communities. In addition, the bulk of these migrants settle in mega-cities where they are often greeted with hostility. In response to these upheavals many migrants reinterpret their religions in ways their elders and religious leaders would never recognize.
Flushing, Queens as a Paradigm for the Future: Founded by the Dutch in 1644 as a refuge for exiled English Quakers, Baptists, and other non-conformists, the town of Flushing was proud of its religious diversity. But in 1657 Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant attempted to restrict their religious freedom of the town. They responded by sending the Flushing Remonstrance to Holland, which demanded religious freedom for not only all Christians, but Jews, and Muslims as well. The Dutch authorities instructed the governor to grant religious freedom to the town and soon Flushing became a beacon of religious freedom and tolerance. Can Flushing show the world the way to avoid Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations”?
Dr. Brown holds degrees from Gannon University, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Harvard University, and the University of Geneva, Switzerland in history, world religions, and international relations. He currently teaches at Touro College and the Unification Theological Seminary in New York City, and has taught at universities in Jerusalem, Moscow, Budapest, and Prague. He recently appeared on the PBS special program, “God in New York City.
The class will be held four Thursdays, starting 3/3 from 7 - 9 pm at Scarsdale High School and the cost is $115.
To register, for information on all SAS offerings, and to view the full catalog, visit www.ScarsdaleAdultSchool.org . Look for your new spring catalog in the mail or at Village Hall and the Scarsdale Public Library. Questions? Call 723- 2325.
Accident at Seely Place and more from the Greenburgh Police
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A tractor trailer backed into a building on the property of the Seely Place school at 9:45 am on Thursday March 3rd. A school custodian called police when the Yellow Freight Company truck hit one of the pillars on the front of the building while attempting to make a delivery.
Both the Greenburgh Police Department and the Greenville Fire Department responded and fortunately there were no injuries to any bystanders or the driver. The school day was not interrupted and students and teachers were never endangered. The Town of Greenburgh Building Department will conduct a follow-up investigation to assess the extent of structural damage to the building.
Facebook Threat: A Hartsdale woman reported a threatening message she received from a high school acquaintance from Pelham on Facebook on February 22. The message said “Carol, you will be missed”… and that “the world is full of watchers, talkers and sleepers …” Police tried to make contact with the Pelham woman but her Facebook account was locked.
The owner of Bird Jungle on Central Avenue called police on the evening of 2/22 when an irate customer was screaming obscenities at him. The customer, Michelle C Misch of Yonkers was angry about a purchase she made in the past. She threatened to sue the store but left before police arrived.
Inside Job at the Christmas Tree Shop: The Loss Prevention Officer at the Christmas Tree Shop on Central Avenue reported that he was contacted by the store’s corporate office who told them that an employee of the store was committing fraud using store coupons. The Loss Prevention Officer confronted the cashier and she admitted to taking $149.43. On 2/23 the employee was arrested, transported to headquarters and released pending a court date.
A 28 year-old man was reported missing from a group home on Old Army Road home on Sunday 2/27. He called his mother and said he was going to visit a friend and that he would not return to the home. He has a history of mental disorders and requires medication.
A Highpoint Road woman contacted the police on 2/28 concerning her 2010 tax return. She found out that someone had filed electronically in her name on 1/15 and 16/2011. Consequently when she tried to file her actual return, the IRS rejected it.
Teachers, Ethics, A Bargain, and Scarsdale
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Over the past several years, I’ve reflected a fair bit on my life. Thinking about times past is not a new thing for me – for decades I have happily recalled particular plays from high school football or baseball games, for example – but for one reason or another my thoughts of late have turned increasingly introspective. And when I think about the biggest influences on my life, coaches and teachers always come to the fore.
My parents, dead ringers for Frank and Estelle Costanza of “Seinfeld” fame, had something to do with this. Whilst they argued over whether the Dead Sea or the Red Sea was the best sea, I fought to tune them out. On the rare occasion I turned to them for help or guidance, they mostly came up empty.
What I have lately come to realize is that much would have turned out poorly for me except for one saving grace in my life – Polytechnic School (Pasadena, CA). Well known to college admissions officers throughout the country, Poly is one of the finest private schools in the country. It was at Poly that I found adults that I could learn from, adults who I could appreciate, and consequently, adults that I would listen to. Poly made all the difference.
We’ve got seven public schools in Scarsdale, and our district is a beacon of what a public education can and should be. Of course it has flaws (as did my beloved Poly), but in the end we have a special district run by excellent administrators and superb teachers. Any organization with 400 employees has a bottom ten percent, of course, but we really do have a remarkable set of teachers. And for many of our students, these teachers (as mine did for me) make a real, noticeable impact on their lives – an impact that will be felt for decades.
If I have learned anything in my life, it is that great teachers are worth almost any reasonable, market-based price. Great teachers are a scarce commodity – the trick is finding them and hiring them and keeping them.
Many of us in the private sector have seen our pay cut, or our pensions taken away or our medical benefits diminished. Or perhaps all three. And some of us have lost our jobs outright. But unlike some in this town, I’m not looking to get my pound of flesh to even the score. In fact, I see the growing regional hostility toward teacher pay as a potential competitive advantage. If others look to violently clamp down and Scarsdale remains reasonable, we can more easily hire the best and the brightest.
When you decide to make teaching your life’s work, you are voluntarily choosing to put a cap on your lifetime earnings. One can calculate this cap with a fair amount of precision. If I work Y years, and get a Master’s degree, once I have been working 30 years I will make $X. Though the earnings cap is real, teachers get excellent benefits and generous vacation, and tenure. This is the essential bargain that they have signed up for.
Now, many want to change the bargain. Leaving tenure aside (I am not a fan), suppose someone began teaching at age 24 and is now 45 years old. They went into the profession having struck the bargain above. Now, midstream, many want to change the bargain. It isn’t ethical.
Unlike teaching, there is no cap on what an individual can earn in the private sector. For a captain of industry or an internet innovator, financial reward is theoretically unlimited. Teachers knowingly accept this reality when they choose the profession. But they also “know” that the benefits are excellent and so, again, they strike the bargain.
So, what to do? I’d suggest a few things. Regarding pension, the state should create a two tiered system. One for new teachers and one for those already in the system. New teachers would not even have a traditional pension, but they’d know this coming in, and can choose a different profession if this is a deal breaker. But those already in the system should continue to have the pension they signed up for. It simply isn’t right to change the bargain midstream.
Locally, I’d continue to pay top dollar for top talent. Great teachers and coaches made my life what it is today. Without Geoff Yure (Football) and Roger Ipswitch (Social Studies), I’m nothing. And that’s worth……..everything.
Jeff Blatt served on the Scarsdale Board of Education and lives in Greenacres with his wife Erin and daughters Charlotte, Josephine and Louisa. Mr. Blatt graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1987 and served as Publisher of the daily campus newspaper, The Dartmouth and is currently on the newspaper’s Board of Directors. He earned his MBA beta gamma sigma via Columbia University's Executive Program in 1996.
In his professional career, he is CEO of Synapse Group, Inc. and QSP, Inc., both wholly owned subsidiaries of Time Incorporated. Synapse is a marketing solutions provider, lead generation company, and the largest third party marketer of magazine subscriptions in the United States. Prior to assuming his current posts, Mr. Blatt served as President of Time Direct Ventures (TDV), a division of Time Consumer Marketing that develops new channels of subscription sales for Time Inc. where he has worked in a variety of posts for 23 years.
