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Published: 16 March 2011

Created: 16 March 2011

Last Updated: 16 March 2011

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Scarsdale Village voters were galvanized by a last minute campaign from two write-in candidates that brought a record number of voters to Village Hall on Tuesday March 15. By 9 pm on Tuesday, 960 machine votes were cast and 68 absentee ballots were submitted for a total of 1,028 votes. The Village election usually brings out around 300 voters and due to the storm in March, 2010 only 150 votes were cast last year.

The Scarsdale Citizen's Non-Partisan Party slate carried the day and the new team at Village Hall is:

• Miriam Flisser –    Mayor
• Stacey Brodsky – Trustee
• Robert Harrison – Trustee
• Robert Steves –   Trustee, second term

Here are the final counts including the machine votes and absentee ballots from Village Clerk Donna Conkling.

For Mayor:

• Miriam Flisser:    798
• Sharon Lindsay: 136
  

For Village Trustee:

• Stacey Brodsky:    855
• Robert Steves:      836
  
• Robert Harrison:   682
• Robert Selvaggio: 139

Though the two write-in candidates trailed in votes, they did bring increased interest to the election and also spurred the Citizens Non-Partisan Party to campaign for votes.

The Non-Partisan election was highlighted by some partisan activities Here are a few observations of activities that took place during the election:

• The Citizen’s Non-Partisan Candidates (CNC) were out shaking hands and distributing leaflets at the train stations on Monday and Tuesday.
• The Citizen's Non-Partisan Party held a phone-a-thon at a local realty office on Monday night to bring out the vote
• The party had three full time poll watchers
• The party retained an election attorney to monitor the vote count
• A policeman was put on duty at the poll after officials received complaints from the election workers and voters about intimidation from the poll watchers.

To some it appeared as if the Citizen’s Non Partisan Party did not trust the Village Clerk, Attorney and election officials to properly run the election and tally the votes.

Despite the drama, the party candidates were the clear victors and more residents became aware of the process and participated. Here is a comment on the election from former Trustee Sharon Lindsay, the write-in candidate for Mayor:

"My sincere congratulations to Miriam, Stacey, Bob Steves and Bob Harrison. You now have our Village's trust and I have confidence that you will serve us wisely.”

“Many have asked if I am disappointed in the election results. Far from it. I am thrilled. Neither I, nor Bob Selvaggio - whom I have yet to meet, but look forward to it! - sought our role or campaigned in this election. But obviously, even the hint -- spread by word of mouth at a grassroots level -- that there might be some choices, engaged our residents. The turnout is multiples of the usual Village election tallies and the number of write-ins (not an easy task to be sure!) exceeded by far any recorded in my memory.”

“There was an ENERGY in this election and I fervently hope that energy can be converted into real changes in our current Non-Partisan system to ensure even greater resident involvement in the future."

When asked to shed some light on yesterdays results, outgoing Mayor Carolyn Stevens was more philosophical about uncontested elections and how the Non-Partisan system works in Scarsdale:

"When the Non-Partisan system is allowed to function the way it should, it serves the Village well. Every so often over the years it loses its way - whether it gets hijacked by people with an agenda, fails to keeps its ear to ground on community issues or allows issue-driven candidates to be selected. When this occurs, some feel that it has not expressed the will of the people and the voters look for a choice in the voting booth. And so those who feel let down by the system mount organized parties to run a slate, or they start a well advertised write-in campaign or, as in this case, some word-of-mouth unorganized grass-roots effort to send a message."

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Published: 14 March 2011

Created: 14 March 2011

Last Updated: 14 March 2011

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The Scarsdale Village election is Tuesday March 15 – and a grass roots campaign to elect write-in candidates has taken the community by surprise.

Each year the Citizens Non-Partisan Committee (CNC) selects a slate of officers and most years these candidates run uncontested. These uncontested elections draw few voters as little is at stake. However, this year is different as two write-in candidates are challenging the CNC nominees for their seats.

One of the benefits of the current system has been that there is little political rancor and no need for divisive campaigns. But this year since there are challenges to the seats, candidates have been out campaigning. Candidate Bob Harrison was at Hartsdale Train Station today shaking hands with voters and the CNC plans to make phone calls from a local realtors office tonight to support their candidates.

In brief, here are the candidates for office:

Citizens Non-Partisan Committee Slate:

For Mayor: Dr. Miriam Flisser has served two terms as Village Trustee and as liaison to the Advisory Council on Parks and Recreation, Technology, Youth, the Board of Architectural Review and more. She is a pediatrician and has served in leadership positions on the governing boards of Montefiore and Lawrence Hospitals. Flisser has been a resident of Scarsdale for 35 years.

For Village Trustee:

Stacey Brodsky is running for her first term as Village Trustee. She is a lawyer who worked at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and in private practice. She is also a certified teacher. In Scarsdale, Brodsky has served on the Board of Architectural Review, the School Board Nominating Committee, as President of the Heathcote PTA, on the Board of the Scarsdale Library and on the Board of the Scarsdale Library. Brodsky is a graduate of Vassar College and Hofstra Law School, where she graduated first in her class.

Bob Harrison is running for his first term as Village Trustee. Bob has been active in the community for many years. He is currently a member of the TVCC (Scarsdale Forum) Board of Directors and most recently served on their Revaluation committee. He is the Founder and Director of the Summer Youth Tennis League and raised funds to restore the Middle School Tennis courts. He was a founding member of the Scarsdale Teen Center, a supporter of Fields for Kids and the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps.  Bob has made several independent bids for Village office and last year he challenged SBNC candidate Suzanne Seiden for her seat on the Scarsdale School Board. In business, Bob was a Vice President of Goldman Sachs for 28 years and has an undergraduate degree from Penn State and an MBA in finance and marketing from Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

Robert Steves is running for his second term as Village Trustee. He is currently the Assistant Treasurer of Fordham University and from 2000-2004 he was the treasurer of CUNY. Steves has been very active in the Scarsdale community and among his many roles he served as a member and as the president of the Scarsdale School Board, member of the Greenacres Association, member and president of Scarsdale and Edgemont Family Counseling, member of the Citizens Nominating Committee and the Greenacres Association.

Two write-in candidates were vetted by the Citizens Nominating Committee, but not selected. A grass roots campaign has emerged and their supporters are encouraging voters to write-in these names in the voting machine.

The two write-in candidates are:

For Mayor: Sharon Lindsay served two terms as a Village Trustee, and was the Deputy Mayor under Mayor Noreen Fisher and Carolyn Stevens. She was the Chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals and the President of the Greenacres Association. She is an attorney and a litigator and has lived in Scarsdale for 29 years.

For Trustee: Robert Selvaggio is a write-in candidate for Bob Harrison’s seat as Village Trustee. He currently has a risk-management consulting firm and has worked as a Senior Vice President at Fidelity Investments, as a Managing Director at Ambac Financial Group and as a Managing Director at Chase Bank. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD in economics from Brown. Though he has not volunteered extensively in Scarsdale he has served as a coach and taught youth sports. He is willing to serve if elected.

If you wish to write-in a candidate, learn more about how to do it here. Also read our election coverage and extensive comments from your neighbors by clicking here .

Remember to vote in the village election at Scarsdale Village Hall from 6 am – 9 am and from noon to 9 pm on Tuesday March 15.

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 14 March 2011

Created: 14 March 2011

Last Updated: 14 March 2011

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The Scarsdale Village election for Mayor and three Trustee positions is just a day away. On Tuesday March 15th, voting will be held at Scarsdale Village Hall from 6 am to 9 am and from noon to 9 pm. A late breaking write-in campaign has brought more attention to the process than in previous years and may bring out more voters.

In late January, the Citizen’s Nominating Party announced their slate for the posts and if this year were like many before, the CNC candidates would run unopposed with little controversy. However this year has proven to be different as some are disenchanted with the process and believe that the nominating committee proceedings may have been swayed by special interests.

Late last week, Scarsdale10583 learned of a write-in campaign for two of the posts; with a challenger for Mayor and for Bob Harrison’s seat as Trustee. The process does allow for write in votes, either on absentee ballots which can still be secured at Village Hall on Monday March 14, or in the voting booth on Tuesday. Click here to see more on how to cast a write-in a vote.

The four candidates proposed by the Citizens Non Partisan Party are as follows:

• Mayor: Dr. Miriam Flisser
  Trustee: Stacey Brodsky
• Trustee: Robert Harrison
• Trustee: Robert Steves (second term)

You can find complete information and a video about these candidates  here:

“Hello! I'm Miriam Levitt Flisser, and I am a candidate for Mayor. The election is tomorrow March 15. I am glad to run in any contested election, although I wish we had more time for debate in this one, and that the "nominators" weren't anonymous. My nominators were chosen in open community elections.

You can read about me on 10583. Besides my bio, and my long history of community service, you should also know that Sharon Lindsey endorsed my candidacy by signing my candidate's petition on Feb 3, 2011. The petition is filed in the Village clerk's office, so you can check.

Since 10583 has posted a graphic illustrating one part of the voting booth, here's my try at posting a picture to show you how to cast a vote tomorrow. We're using the terrific old lever machines, and Harvey, my husband, along with certified Village election personnel, checked the machine on Friday, to make sure it was in good order. Harvey took the picture.

Pull the levers down over the individual names to cast your vote.

Thanks! “

In response to questions from readers, we reached out to the two write-in candidates to learn more.

Sharon Lindsay, a former trustee and deputy mayor of Scarsdale told us that she had been vetted by the CNC this year. She was not the instigator of the write-in campaign but was approached by a large number of unhappy residents who expressed a wish for a choice. In her words, “That is the democratic way and is totally consistent with any election process at any level in our country.” If elected she is willing to serve as Mayor.

In a comment posted to the site, Lindsay said, “First, my signing the petition referred to in Miriam Flisser's and Bruce Well's comments was merely supportive of the presence of the CNC nominees on the ballot. It in no way constitutes an endorsement of, or a commitment to vote, for all or any of them. It is their right to be on the ballot and let our electorate decide.”

“Second, if there are constituents in our Village who are, for whatever reason, dissatisfied with all or any of those nominees, it is their legal right to write in alternative candidate(s) of their choice. This has happened in every Village election in which I have participated in the past 29 years. There is no "stealth campaign", indeed no campaign at all ... but rest assured that any candidate, whether they be a CNC nominee or a write in, who receives a majority of the ballots cast, would have a civic duty to serve. That is, after all, the democratic process.”

Robert Selvaggio the write-in candidate for Bob Harrison's seat as Trustee was also contacted. In response to a question about his willingness to serve if elected, he said, “This is a question that never crossed my mind until Friday afternoon. My thoughts are that first, I am sufficiently unknown at the moment that the likelihood of my have to cross that bridge is remote; and second, that it's hard to be a good citizen and not serve when asked to do so. Very much the same thoughts that ran through my mind when the CNC asked me to consider being considered a couple of months back."

We also asked him if he had been pressured not to run and he replied, “I have received many, many calls from friends and acquaintances on both sides of this issue.”

Selvaggio sent in the following statement for publication:

“While I am flattered that my name has been advanced as a write-in candidate for the office of Village Trustee, I have not been an active candidate for this position since the CNC held its vote on a snowy Wednesday evening some six weeks ago. I learned of this write-in campaign on Friday afternoon, and have taken many calls over the weekend from friends who were as surprised as I was. 

In late December or early January, a CNC member asked me to consider serving the village as a Trustee and subsequently sponsored me as a potential nominee to one of three open seats. I addressed the Committee on a Sunday afternoon, and subsequently met personally and on the phone with a number of individual Committee members conducting due diligence. I felt each conducted a very thorough interview, and I was impressed by some very tough questions and by their strong sense of purpose.”

“While I am told that I had considerable support among the CNC for a first-time candidate, I ultimately finished fourth in a contest for three seats. Simply put, I lost in a fair contest to others who were deemed more qualified. 

I received valuable feedback that while my professional credentials are solid, my civic experience may have been too limited to coaching and teaching youth sports. Additionally, there were concerns about potential time conflicts between my risk management consulting practice and the important role of Village Trustee. I have been encouraged to join a committee or two this year in order to contribute to the community and to gain a sense of how to be an effective Trustee -- and then see if the office calls to me next year. 

While any good citizen will serve if at all possible when a public office calls, the counsel I received still seems to me to be wise and remains my base-case glide-path.”

Last, Bruce Wells, who is the President of the Scarsdale Forum and chaired the proceedings of the Citizens Nominating Committee this year posted the following comment on the site:

“The Candidates of the Scarsdale Citizens' Non-Partisan Party are selected by elected neighborhood representatives, providing due diligence and reviewing extensive recommendations from the community. They have spoken in public as candidates since January 25. Their candidates' petition was endorsed by one of the "alternative candidates" on Feb 3. The alternative candidates have issued no public statements accepting their willingness to run and serve if elected.

Come out on Tuesday March 15th and pull the lever for the Scarsdale Citizen's Non-Partisan Party candidates: Miriam Flisser for Mayor; Bob Steves, Stacey Brodsky and Robert Harrison for Trustee. A vote for them is a vote for Scarsdale.”

Whatever your view, Scarsdale residents are encouraged to participate in the vote by absentee ballot today, Monday March 14 --or by voting at Scarsdale Village Hall on Tuesday March 15 from 6 am – 9 am and from noon - 9 pm. Continue to send your comments about the candidates, the process and the election here and watch Scarsdale10583 for the results.

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 09 March 2011

Created: 09 March 2011

Last Updated: 10 March 2011

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Ending months of uncertainty, Scarsdale High School Principal John Klemme announced that he will retire at the end of the school year. Klemme has been out of school dealing with health issues since before the Christmas break -- and until the March 8th announcement the community was wondering if and when he would be back. He plans to return to school after the April break and work until the end of the school year to complete his term as Principal.

In an email to his colleagues, Klemme said his years at Scarsdale were “the singular experience of my career in education,” and thanked his colleagues for their “commitment to the education of Scarsdale students,” calling the high school “a pioneer in preparing student for productive lives in the twenty-first century.”

Klemme came to Scarsdale in 1998 from Birmingham, Michigan where he was an English teacher and administrator. In an interview on Scarsdale10583 in 2009 he recalled his first impression of Scarsdale where he was “struck by the extraordinary achievement levels of the students and the strong support for education in the community at large. Klemme also recounted the story of President Clinton’s landing in a helicopter on the Scarsdale football field.

During Mr. Klemme’s years the school undertook some major curriculum shifts that were bitterly debated. The faculty and administration favored the adoption of Advanced Topics courses in the high school, in place of the highly structured AP program. They believed this move would give teachers more flexibility and the opportunity to teach certain areas in depth. Fearing that the AT courses would be viewed less favorably by colleges, some parents fought the faculty and Klemme on this move. Ultimately the AT program was adopted and has now been hailed as a success. Other changes to the ninth grade orientation process and curriculum were more universally accepted. In athletics, during Klemme’s tenure additional athletic teams were added to give more students the opportunity to play and funding was provided for extracurricular activities such as debate, mock trial and Model U.N. Klemme also oversaw a major expansion of the school as a wing of new classrooms and a large gymnasium were added in the early 90’s. This year, Klemme was excited about a student exchange with China and spoke about his own trip there during his graduation speech in 2010.

Disciplinary responsibility fell on Klemme’s shoulders and he was severely tried by student drinking at a 2003 homecoming dance. Several students were hospitalized and Klemme sought to suspend students who had been caught drinking or named by others. Parents fought the disciplinary actions and some said the student code of conduct was over reaching.

More recently, in the fall of 2010 several suicides in Scarsdale deeply affected the school community and posed mental health challenges to the faculty and the students. Klemme lead the school through these tough times and they undoubtedly affected him.

On a personal note, I must thank Mr. Klemme for supporting two of my children during their years at SHS. Both my son and younger daughter served on the student government and Mr. Klemme invited them to meetings, sought out their opinions and guided them in their education. Despite his many duties, he made the effort to get to know them and we are grateful for his care.

In his resignation letter he reports that next year he will return to the classroom where he will teach in Florida. We wish him the best of luck in his journey and thank him for his service to Scarsdale.