Chronicle Editorial: A contested election should be a contest of positions and ideas, and an encounter with the voters. [Sept 26: See important update at the bottom.]
Update: While the League of Women Voters cannot directly sponsor a Candidate Forum featuring write-in candidates, it could provide a moderator if we organize it locally here in Croton.
Seven years ago, a slate of Croton Democrats led by now mayor Brian Pugh swept into office, taking over the Board of Trustees. Our village has not seen a contested election since, outside of a few sporadic write-in protest votes. There is widespread agreement here and elsewhere that uncontested elections are bad for democracy, since voters deserve a full airing of the issues, and of the views of the candidates they are being asked to vote for.
After yet another uncontested election last year, trustee Nora Nicholson commented on local social media that it might have been good for the candidates to have held a Town Hall to explain their positions to voters, even if they were running unopposed. But of course by then it was too late; and to be honest, there is little inducement for candidates who are sure to win to try to convince voters that they deserve to be elected.
(For some history and background of Croton political campaigns, for those newly arrived in the village or those who need a refresher, please see here, here, and here.)
This year, as we hope a growing number of Crotonites are realizing, we do have a contested election. Gary Eisinger and Nigel Ravelo, under the banner of Voice of Croton, are running for seats on the Board of Trustees. Their opponents are incumbent trustee and deputy mayor Len Simon, along with Maria Slippen, who was a trustee about a decade ago.
Eisinger and Ravelo are not Republicans; they are running for local office as independent candidates. They and others have created a new local organization focusing on the housing development issues. In this village where a strong majority of voters are Democrats, that might help focus more attention on local issues, even if the November 5 ballot will include state and national candidates including of course presidential contenders Kamala Harris and Donald Trump (Democrats are normally named on Row A of the ballot, and Republicans on Row B. )
If so, that could be good news. At a time when the village is deeply divided over housing development policy and concerns about alleged rapid “urbanization” of Croton, we could get the public debate we badly need about these issues.
(We are not counting public hearings and public comments, in which speakers are limited to five minutes and the Board of Trustees control the forum and decide their responses to questions, although those too are important public forums and many villagers are taking advantage of them.)
Now the not so good news. Eisinger and Ravelo are not on the ballot, but are running as write-in candidates. Of course, under New York state law, as well as basic democratic principles, their candidacies are just as valid as those of Simon and Slippen. But they obviously face an uphill battle to get their views across and convince villagers to vote for them, as all write-in candidates do. Not only that, but voters will have to spell their names right if they want to make sure their write-in votes count, although New York State law does allow some latitude if the voter’s intentions are considered to be clear by those counting the ballots.
More possible good news, depending on one’s views: We see signs that Eisinger and Ravelo, building upon a petition campaign against so-called “urbanization” and the energy of a movement against overdevelopment that has brought 80 or more residents to Board of Trustees meetings (and a considerable number to the Planning Board), have forced the Democratic Party candidates to at least tacitly acknowledge this electoral challenge, and take it seriously to some extent.
That impression has received some confirmation in email and in-person conversations the Chronicle has had with Len Simon (Maria Slippen has not yet responded to our attempts to communicate with her, but we expect that she will in due course.) And it seems that the contested election has led to more public engagement with voters, including two upcoming events being held by Croton Dems and Voice of Croton:
Obviously, anyone can show up to these events, as well as others that the competing candidates are likely to hold. And while both venues are fairly small, the two-hour time slots should allow a fair number of villagers to attend and get enough time to engage the candidates in discussion about the village’s pressing issues.
(Eisinger and Ravelo have also pursued a strategy of showing up at already organized events and talking with villagers on the spot, an effective way of introducing themselves to voters; we are told that they plan to do that at upcoming events such as the Rotary car show, Oktoberfest, and the Harry Chapin run.)
But really, it’s not good enough. Small, informal events do not allow the kind of focused debate and challenges from voters necessary to really scope out the views of the candidates and pose sharp and probing questions to them. Thus, for example, Eisinger and Ravelo, at least so far, are running a one-issue campaign, on the question of housing development policy in the village. What are their views on other issues, and what are their qualifications to be trustees rather than just activists organizing around a pressing village issue? These are questions best asked during a debate, where the candidates can challenge each other, or a Town Hall, where voters can show up and do the same.
And while the pro-housing views of Len Simon (and Croton Democrats) are fairly well known, we are just beginning to get a better idea of Maria Slippen’s views. For example, after making some fairly vague statements about housing policy in her online candidate statement for the Croton Dems and in a Letter to the Editor in the September 12-18 issue of the Gazette, Slippen, at the September 18 Board of Trustees public hearing on the Lot A project, came out strongly in favor of the development. Arguing that developing Lot A was consistent with a long line of planning decisions, housing task force recommendations, and regional discussions, Slippen nevertheless remarked that “a hundred units feels like a lot” before concluding that she was looking forward to seeing more children added to the Croton-Harmon district and “excited about what’s coming next.”
So does “Vote Row A All the Way” really mean “Build Lot A All the Way,” or not? Villagers might want to closely question Simon and Slippen about just where they might draw the line when it comes to large housing developments in the village. And while it might seem cynical to suggest that the Board’s decision to put a pause on the 1 Half Moon Bay Drive approval process was influenced at least in part by electoral considerations, Mayor Pugh and the trustees did acknowledge that the strong community feelings about that project had a bearing on their decision—as of course it should. Thus all the more reason that the candidates should be debating and engaging with the public.
Voters might want to pin Simon and Slippen down more precisely on what they have in mind not only for currently proposed housing projects, but a host of other issues, including how to improve telecommunications service in the village.
And what are Eisinger’s and Ravelo’s qualifications for serving as trustees outside of their views on housing issues?
Len Simon has worked for municipal governments for many years and has been a trustee for four years; Maria Slippen is a former trustee, a PR and communications consultant, and current chair of the village’s Recreation Advisory Committee.
Do the write-in candidates have the experience and skills required to run a municipality and deal with its complex finances, as well as make decisions about the future of its numerous departments, including critical police and fire services?
The challengers might argue that Eisinger’s experience as an educator, including as a school principal, and Ravelo’s experience as a retail manager and head of his own start-up company, qualify them to run a village. But if they want voters to elect them, they have to make the case that they are up to the whole job, not just a selected part of it.
We asked Eisinger and Ravelo for comments on both the debate/Town Hall questions as well as criticisms we have heard in the village that they are running a one-issue campaign. They responded with the following statement, which we quote in full:
“If there is a reasonable opportunity to hold a public forum and engage in an open discussion with those who oppose our views, we will gladly consider and participate in it. We believe that constructive dialogue is essential for addressing concerns, finding common ground, and ensuring that all perspectives are heard and respected. Engaging with the opposition in a respectful and transparent manner is an important part of fostering a healthy and inclusive community conversation.
The main issue in this election is the current administration’s push for high-density development. How we resolve this issue will have a lasting impact on various critical concerns, such as infrastructure, fire safety, school enrollment, taxes, traffic and more. This moment will shape the future of Croton for decades.
Our primary goal is to restore transparency to local government and amplify the voice of the community. The people we have met with have been focused on the need to address this development issue, which they believe will significantly impact our village.”
In our communications with Len Simon, he told us that “the League of Women Voters has traditionally sponsored candidate debates, so I’ll look forward to their invitation to participate.”
The League of Women Voters is standing by. Are we ready?
We spoke today to Rene Artale, President of the League of Women Voters of Northwest Westchester, our local chapter. What she told us was extremely interesting.
— Anyone in the village can ask the League to sponsor a candidates’ forum, as these events are called. The League can also invite the candidates to participate on its own initiative.
— There is still time to do it in Croton if a request comes in quickly. The local chapter is still organizing some forums at the moment. The event would have to be sometime in October.
— Once the League receives a request, it will send invitations to all the candidates.
— At least one candidate from each side must agree to participate (no “empty chairs.”)
— The League would need to be assured there was a space available (the Ottinger Room at the Croton Free Library? The Georgianna Grant meeting room in the municipal building?)
— Our local chapter president would then go to the Westchester County League and ask them to assign a moderator, who would have to be from outside the Croton voting district.
— The League would solicit questions from the community to be posed to the candidates, probably using a Google blast.
— A committee would go over the questions and curate 12-15 it thought are most relevant and not duplicative.
— The moderator would get the questions the night before the forum. The candidates would not get them ahead of time.
So what about it, Croton? Do we want to exercise maximum democracy and have all four candidates together in a public forum? We think so, and we hope one or more villagers, or some of the candidates themselves, will take the initiative—quickly.
Here is the email address for our local League chapter: lwvnww@gmail.com
We will keep you posted on what happens next.
Update September 26:
Yesterday we published an Editorial calling upon the candidates for village trustee this November to engage in at least one face-to-face debate as well as other engagements with voters.
We spoke at length with Rene Artale, President of the League of Women Voters of Northwest Westchester, our local chapter. During that conversation, we made it clear that the Voice of Croton candidates, Gary Eisinger and Nigel Ravelo, were running an organized write-in campaign. She told us that if the League received a request from anyone in Croton, it could sponsor a Candidate Forum and would send out invitations to all the candidates.
After our Editorial ran, and having already received one request from a villager almost immediately after the Editorial posted, Rene Artale spoke with the Westchester County League and was informed that the organization could not directly sponsor a Candidate Forum featuring write-in candidates. She has apologized for the misunderstanding and explained that the local chapter is new and that this fall is the first time it has organized Candidate Forums. We certainly consider that she was acting in good faith.
However—and this is the good news—if a local Croton organization was willing to sponsor the Forum, the League could still provide a moderator. To quote Rene Artale directly so there will be no further confusion:
“If another organization is interested in organizing and hosting a debate for this race, they are welcome to request a moderator from the League. However, we are unable to host the event ourselves. If another organization organizes and hosts the event with a moderator from the League, the League still expects our Candidate Forum guidelines to be upheld.”
This means that a formal debate among the candidates here in Croton is still possible, and with the participation of the League although without its direct sponsorship. We hope that villagers will find a way to make this happen (it would not be appropriate for the Chronicle to organize the event itself.)
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Comments policy: Please be polite and respectful at all times.
As a fourth generation here, my family been here since the late 1800s , and starting to think to myself I should run in this village and I’ll tell you one thing I’ll reinvent this whole town and make it thrive again like it once did, and not doing it with apartments.
Thank you for this informative write up! I would like to add, I personally don’t feel the need for a debate. It’s clear where the candidates stand on the issue. Gary Eisinger and Nigel Ravelo want to listen and respond to their constituents. The other two won’t do that. It’s actually a stark difference.