Clarification on Candidate Forums sponsored by the League of Women Voters

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.)