Democracy inaction
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- February
- 17
Don’t get me wrong, I understand that the March village elections generally lack much drama. Often several are uncontested and with the staggered terms and several other villages holding their election contests in the fall, just a few villages hold an election each March.
But, really, this was a bit much: Of the six villages running elections next month, not a single seat is contested.
The filing deadline for candidates to get on the ballot was Wednesday.
And file the did, in Grand View, Hillburn, New Hempstead, South Nyack, Upper Nyack and Wesley Hills. Thing is, only one person filed for each open seat. Virtually all are incumbents, either having been elected previously or appointed to replace someone who left the seat early.
But not a single challenger signed up to get on the ballot in any of the six villages.
That doesn’t always guarantee success at the ballot box: A few years ago Brian Miele won a surprise write-in election in Hillburn to become the western Ramapo village’s mayor.
But those sorts of uncontested upsets are few and very far between.
Sure, these uncontested races will make my life a lot easier come March 18. But is this best for democracy?
Vote in the new poll in the right-hand sidebar to express your opinion, or jot down your thoughts in the comments section on this post.
This entry was posted
on Sunday, February 17th, 2008 at 2:55 pm by Amy Vernon.
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