Saturday, Nov 23rd

Lindsay Elected President of the County League of Women Voters

sharonlindsay

At it annual convention on June 2, 2011, long-time Scarsdale resident Sharon Lindsay, was elected President of the League of Women Voters of Westchester County. Lindsay, a former litigation attorney at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCloy and former head of Litigation and Dispute Resolution at JP Morgan, retired in 1996. She has since served as Trustee and is currently a Trustee Fellow of Fordham University, President of the Westchester Symphony Orchestra, President of the Greenacres Neighborhood Association, Chair of the Scarsdale Board of Appeals, and Trustee and Deputy Mayor of the Village of Scarsdale. Lindsay holds a Bachelors and Masters degree from Fordham and a JD from Harvard Law School. Lindsay and her husband George live on Mamaroneck Road and they have been residents of Greenacres for 29 years. The Lindsay’s have two children; Kim, a litigator at Gibson Dunn in New York will be married on October 15, and Will is a venture capitalist in the film industry in Venice California.

Speaking about what lead her to the presidency of the Count League, Lindsay said, “While a long time member, my involvement with the Scarsdale League of Women Voters was limited due to my holding public office throughout my membership. I was asked to join the Executive Board of the County League last June and, in that role, have facilitated the establishment of a 501(c)(3) Educational Foundation for the League and participated in County legislative sessions on affordable housing and the budget."

Lindsay explained the role of the Westchester County League of Women Voters, saying, "The League is a strong force both locally, and at the County, State and National levels. We register millions of citizens to vote, defend voting rights, monitor government activities, sponsor candidate debates and public issue forums, undertake issue oriented studies, develop positions through consensus, educate our constituents, and then advocate via lobbying, testifying and all other means available to ensure our points of view are heard. Westchester County has over a thousand members and eleven local Leagues."

Furthermore, she provided information on the League’s agenda for this year; "To be most effective, the County League must prioritize what issues we will work on in the coming year. The program adopted at Convention earlier this month was quite ambitious and is available on our website. It calls for increased Voter Services, more extensive County Budget analysis and public comment, continued monitoring of County government activities with particular emphasis on implementation of the Housing Stipulation and Order of Settlement for fair and affordable housing and countywide property tax reassessment, options for replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge, and environmental and health issues. In addition, we will be monitoring the work of the County Charter revision commission, revitalizing various Advisory groups in the educational and corporate arenas, sponsoring a seminar for local League leaders, and taking a close look at opportunities for consolidation of municipal services, the impact of the State tax cap legislation, if enacted, and the County Board of Legislators elections in November. And, I have barely scratched the surface!”

She ended by crediting League volunteers, both new and experienced, saying, “This is a lot of work, but it is challenging and the League takes the lead in making it happen. Needless to say, we need dedicated Board members and volunteers to work together to stay informed, spotlight issues and prepare appropriate responses. I am blessed by the fact that the County League has a core of talented and dedicated long term Board members, who have been and remain committed to our mission and our programs and from whom I have much to learn and I am delighted to report that fellow Scarsdalians Carolyn Stevens and Beverley Sved were elected to the Board at Convention and Michelle Lichtenberg and Kitt Rosenthal have returned. I would be delighted to have even more participants and encourage anyone interested to visit the County League’s website , give me a call at 472-9568, or email me at [email protected]."