Elaine Weiss on Women's Suffrage and the History of the League of Women Voters
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Author Photo Credit: Nina SubinOn the evening of June 16, the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale welcomed author Elaine Weiss, an expert on women’s suffrage, to speak to the League about the fight to win the right to vote.
The 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote, was ratified on August 18,1920. Today, one hundred years after its ratification, voter suppression is still prevalent in various forms throughout the United States. In June 2020, we are at another pivotal moment in our democracy: living amidst a global pandemic crisis, with significant calls for cultural and social change, all converging during a major election year. Understanding the myriad aspects of women’s suffrage, including the suffragists’ inability to secure the right to vote for everyone, regardless of race, is critical in order to strengthen our democracy. Through an engaging and informative presentation, Elaine Weiss conveyed the deeply complex history of how women won the right to vote.
Please view the video of the League’s Elaine Weiss Program here. 
Weiss is a Baltimore-based journalist and author, whose feature writing has been recognized with prizes from the Society of Professional Journalists, and her byline has appeared in many national publications, as well as in reports for National Public Radio. Her long-form writing garnered a Pushcart Prize "Editor's Choice" award, and she is a proud MacDowell Colony Fellow.
Weiss’ most recent book, The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote, has won critical acclaim from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, and The New Yorker, hailed as a "riveting, nail-biting political thriller" with powerful parallels to today's political environment. Earlier this month, Weiss published a version of The Woman’s Hour for Young Readers.
The Woman's Hour was a Goodreads Readers' Choice Award winner, short-listed for the 2019 Chautauqua Prize, and received the American Bar
Association's highest honor, the 2019 Silver Gavel Award.
Steven Spielberg's Amblin production company is adapting the book for television, with Hillary Rodham Clinton serving as Executive Producer.
Cuomo Issues New Executive Order: School Ballots Can Be Dropped Off at the District Through June 9, or Mailed for Receipt by June 16
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A new executive order signed by Governor Cuomo on June 7 will extend the voting period for the school board and school budget election. The previous law required that school districts receive all ballot by mail by Tuesday June 9 and barred districts from receiving the ballots by hand.
As of Sunday, the district can accept hand delivered ballots until 5 pm on June 9 or by mail until June 16.
Here are instructions on how to bring your ballot to the district on Monday or Tuesday:
“A collection box for hand delivery of ballots will be located inside the Brewster Road entrance of Scarsdale High School from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, June 8th and Tuesday, June 9th. Upon arrival, a Safety Monitor will greet you and direct you to the location of the locked collection box. As a reminder, there will not be access to any other portion of the building, and only the Brewster Road entrance is open at this time. Please remember that masks are required to enter the school building and social distancing should be maintained at all times.”
This move should increase voter participation which was challenged by the short timeframe between the receipt of ballots at home and the deadline to return them.
The Governor also increased flexibility on voting in the New York State Primary. Voters who choose to vote by absentee ballot need to have the ballots returned by June 23. Voters can also vote in person.
Vigil in Scarsdale Postponed to Sunday Due to Rain
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A vigil to memorialize George Floyd and countless other victims of police brutality, including those in Westchester County, has been postponed from Friday June 5 to Sunday June 7 at Chase Park in Scarsdale, from 6 - 7:30 pm. The organizers encourage you to wear black and bring a sign. Please wear a face mask and stand six feet apart.
Vigil Called Off In Bronxville
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A call for a vigil in Bronxville for George Floyd sponsored by Black Lives Matter on June 1 set off fears of demonstrations and potential violence in Southern Westchester. The post at left appeared on Facebook during the afternoon and residents were worried that the trouble they see on television was coming their way.
The post showed a black fist and said, "Bronxville Town Hall, Monday June 1, 6 pm. For your own safety please wear a mask and remain 6 feet apart.”
Underneath it read, “New Rochelle, Tuckahoe, Yonkers, Bronxville, Eastchester, Scarsdale, White Plains, Pelham, Crestwood etc! These are the places we need to protest!!!!! Predominantly white neighborhoods. Leave black businesses and neighborhoods ALONE."
A twitter post showed signs that read “A call to action” posted in Bronxville. The signs gave instructions on how to protest George Floyd’s death. A subsequent Twitter post said that the vigil was cancelled, and photos of boarded up restaurants were posted.
A Facebook post from Bronxville Police Chief Christopher Satriale said, “The Bronxville Police Department and our partners are committed to keeping the Village safe this evening.
At 8 pm, Scarsdale Village Trustee Justin Arest sought to put the matter to rest, and posted the following on Facebook:
However, it’s clear that police were concerned because they stepped up their patrol of the Village.
An email to Scarsdale Police Chief Andrew Matturro was not answered. If you know more about this, please email us at [email protected], or comment below.
Your Letters: From Lee Fischman and Wendy Gendel
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This letter was sent to Scarsdale10583 by Scarsdale resident Lee Fischman:
If you don’t normally vote for School Board candidates, I hope to convince you to do so this time, so that the School Board Nominating Committee’s (SBNC) choice of Bob Klein and Amber Yusuf prevails. Why would anyone run independently? I can think of a few reasons, although none seem satisfactory. Keep in mind, these are general arguments, not aimed at any specific person. They apply for the current School Board election, and for past and future ones.
Perhaps the challenger was not selected by the SBNC but wants to serve anyhow. Because the nominating process is confidential, we do not know who was evaluated by them. What if the challenger was evaluated but not chosen? Think about that: SBNC members are elected by residents balanced from all five Scarsdale neighborhoods, they’ve spent months exhaustively vetting all the candidates, interviewed their associates of many years, and ultimately chose candidates judged best suited for the position. Could the SBNC know something about a challenger that we don’t?
Did the challenger not put their name forward for consideration by the SBNC, feeling they would not be treated fairly? This would be amazingly distrustful – an undesirable quality in anyone - given the diverse makeup and frequent turnover of the SBNC. Of course, a challenger with a disqualifying history also would not want to go through the scrutiny of the SBNC.
It’s possible the challenger believes that the SBNC suffers from “group think.” However, its diverse and continually revolving membership is elected by the community and for some, this is their first volunteer position in the Village, making “group think” unlikely. From my experience on the Citizens Nominating Committee, which is organized similarly to the SBNC, I'd say that the groups' composition and processes work to squelch a collective mindset from setting in.
Maybe a challenger doesn’t like the idea of a closed system and prefers a more conventional form of open politicking. Many of us would agree that brazen politics are a problematic affair everywhere else right now and are neither welcome nor necessary here in Scarsdale. Residents here benefit from informed choices based on deep background work done by a committee of volunteers, who choose candidates based on continually demonstrated character, experience and skills. That's the sort of endorsement that cannot be provided by a resume or advertisements, nor by letters from friends and supporters. In our genteel little ‘burb, those who support someone speak out, while those who do not support someone usually stay quiet, and so supporters' endorsements do not tell the whole story about a candidate.
An independent candidate may promote an agenda. All the same, SBNC candidates are members of the community too and so share many of the same concerns, and they also are selected in part based on their demonstrated ability to listen. The SBNC candidates are chosen because they’re most qualified, not because they’ve said the right things. Nonetheless, since School Board elections are decided by just a few votes, a minority of residents with preferences aligned to a narrow agenda may easily prevail.
Of course, someone might choose to run against "the System" because they think they are better than what it has produced. Certainly, one should feel free to have the most excellent opinion of him or herself, though that begs the question: if they felt so confident, why didn’t they go through the SBNC?
I hope you will agree that none of these reasons lend support to electing an independent candidate for the School Board this year. However, because this vote usually has low turnout, a random person can win, despite the hard work of the thirty volunteers of the SBNC. Please take a moment to mail in your vote affirming the SBNC’s choice of Amber Yusuf and Robert Klein, particularly if you weren’t planning to vote.
Lee Fischman
40 Wildwood
This letter is from Wendy Gendel, who served on the SBNC and as the Committee Chair:
To the Editor: Each January, members of our community have the opportunity to elect representatives to the School Board Nominating Committee, Scarsdale’s non-partisan body that recommends candidates to serve as members of the Board of Education. I have seen firsthand during my tenure on the SBNC committee as well as Admin Chair and Joint Chair over seven years, how thoughtful consideration and full vetting of Board of Education candidates has yielded exceptional members of our community to serve as stewards of Scarsdale’s education system.
This component of Scarsdale’s non-partisan system has served our residents well for decades. Scarsdale continues to be recognized as one of the country’s premier public school systems, in part due to the process we have endorsed for our BOE elections. The partisan rancor and political divisions present in other communities is usually not seen here. And the SBNC is a vital component of maintaining thoughtful debate, deliberation, and community decorum. The 30 members of the SBNC, representing equally all of the elementary school districts, and volunteering their time for review of potential candidates, are entrusted with selecting the highest quality candidates for our community’s review and election to the BOE. This year is no exception.
The two candidates submitted by our elected representatives to the SBNC, Amber Yusuf and Robert Klein, have shown their full capabilities and dedication to serve our students and community with enthusiasm, passion, and without favor to specific causes. Amber and Robert have the full support of our elected SBNC members. Both eminently qualified to serve, they have the well-being of our students as their first priority and concurrently, an eye to fiscal responsibility that many of us feel is vital during the current environment.
In addition, I encourage all Scarsdale residents to consider involvement in our School Board Nominating Committee. You’ll play a direct part in shaping the future of Scarsdale Schools, reviewing future BOE candidates, and ensuring our district remains one of our nation’s finest.
For the June 9th election, all eligible voters will receive an absentee ballot in the mail as there will not be in-person voting. Please be sure to submit your vote by returning your ballot in the postage-paid return envelope as soon as possible. All absentee ballots must be received by June 9th, 2020 - not postmarked by that date.
Please join me in support of the Scarsdale Non-Partisan system and the SBNC’s candidates, Amber Yusuf and Robert Klein.
Wendy K. Gendel
Brookby Road
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