Changes Proposed To Scarsdale Non-Partisan Rules

SCARSDALE, N.Y. – Three amendments to the Scarsdale Non-Partisan Agreement were proposed by David Brodsky, chair of the Scarsdale Procedure Committee, Thursday night at a Scarsdale Forum meeting.

Brodsky spoke at great length about the first proposed change, which would allow the public inside the Citizens Nominating Committee’s (CNC) meetings and election process.

“This is a significant step, and we’re excited about the possibilities it presents,” Brodsky said. “It’s the first time we would allow the public into the CNC room for organizational meetings.”

According to Brodsky, if the amendment passes, it would require the CNC to submit mayoral and trustee candidates to local newspapers and make potential nominees public online. Meetings would be open to the public, and would be posted on the Internet for residents to see.

“We invite all residents to observe our organizational meetings,” he said. “There is a lot of misconception in the public. There’s questioning of candidates. We want to show the due diligence the CNC engages in. This is an opportunity for the public to hear our discussion.” 

The second amendment would allow voters an extra day to cast their mail-inballots. Instead of having to have them in the day before Election Day, residents would be given an extra day. For the first time, they would be able to mail votes in or submit them online. 

“This is a pretty significant change. The change in ballot is the first time in any Scarsdale election of the CNC,” Brodsky said. “With the new mail-in ballot procedure, we’re hopeful that the number of voters will be significantly increased.”

The third amendment, a technical change to the resolution,was not discussed.

Beverly Sved, chair of the Forum Non-Partisan Procedure Committee, expressed her support for the amendments. 

“I think the [proposed] CNC voting procedure is great,” she said. “I love opening up the process to the public. I think the public will get a better idea of how we work and it will generate more excitement for elections.” 

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