Lack of Candidates’ Public Outreach Explains Poor Voter Turnout in March
The proposal to move the Pleasantville village elections to November to increase voter participation is a very bad idea.
The problem is not voter apathy. The problem is the election campaign or, better said, the lack of an election campaign. Candidates don’t take positions on local issues. In my opinion, many don’t take the position seriously. Many have had no previous experience in village government, they don’t debate each other and they consider an interview by The Examiner as fulfilling their obligation to inform the voters of their candidacy.
No door-to-door campaigning except, I assume, to their friends. Virtually no campaign literature sent village-wide discussing the candidate’s position, for or against, issues facing the village, such as the closing of the slip lane; the proposed park in the Memorial Plaza parking lot; the increased development in the village and its impact on village infrastructure and traffic; the proposed apartment development at the old Chase building at Bedford Road and Wheeler Avenue; the budget and taxes; long-range municipal planning; and the renovation of the village pool.
Also, during extensive campaigning, candidates will learn residents’ concerns about these matters and other neighborhood issues. How many candidates campaigned in southeast Pleasantville, also known as The Flats? What are the unique issues facing their neighborhood? If no one campaigns there, why do you expect them to vote? How many village neighborhoods felt abandoned during the recent election cycles?
Bottom line, there appears to be little effort to interest the public in the village election, no publicized campaign events, no lawn signs, no posters. There are also no organized local parties to help organize and fund the campaigns, to discuss village issues and to support a list of candidates. No phone banks and other efforts to get out the vote. If candidates don’t do many or all of the above, why expect a decent voter turnout?
It’s not when you vote that matters; it’s the efforts to generate interest in the election and the candidates. The election campaign should be the opportunity for a village-wide debate of important local issues. Residents then will be motivated to cast their vote based on a candidate’s views and visions for the future. In my opinion, that’s the only way to maintain village self-government.
Moving the village election to November will only worsen the problem.
Bernard S. Gordon
Mayor 2003-2009
Trustee 1990-1999
Chairman, Planning Commission 1985-1990
Member, Planning Commission 1983-1990
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