Voters Crush Ward System Propositions in North Castle
North Castle voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposition Thursday by a more than five-to-one margin to establish a ward system of representation in town.
The public crushed the proposition 2,181-398, according to unofficial tallies at about 10 p.m. A second proposition asking residents whether they wanted to increase the number of council seats from four to six was also dismissed by a similarly lopsided percentage (2,133-446).
“I think our town was united and I think that the people spoke that they’re more than satisfied with our form of government and I’m very pleased by the results,” Councilwoman Barbara DiGiacinto said shortly after the votes were tabulated.
The drive to get the propositions on the ballot was led by lifelong North White Plains resident Anthony Futia, who repeatedly stressed that the hamlet hasn’t received adequate representation because for nearly a decade the town board has been comprised exclusively of Armonk residents. He also argued that the town’s political parties have been dominated by those in Armonk, making the smaller and less affluent North White Plains “feel like a stepchild.”
While the propositions were badly defeated townwide, Futia said he was encouraged that North White Plains voters came out in favor of them by a two-to-one margin. Proposition 1 to establish the ward system was supported 258-127 and Proposition 2 was favored 261-119 in the hamlet.
“I think it shows the feeling of the community,” Futia said.
However, Proposition 1 failed 1,700-90 in Armonk. In Banksville, a hamlet that Futia hoped would show some support for the ward system, overwhelmingly rejected the first proposition 354-50.
He said while DiGiacinto has made a good effort in North White Plains with her monthly Saturday morning meetings at the community center, it isn’t the same as the hamlet having its own representative.
“We need somebody from the area that can at least talk to us,” he added.
Supervisor Michael Schiliro said the current board has listened intently to all of the town’s citizens, including the issues of North White Plains residents. During some of his conversations with North White Plains residents, he’s received positive feedback, saying that some of them have told him they’ve never had better representation.
“We’ll just keep doing what we’re doing,” Schiliro said. “Barbara’s working hard down there. I’ve got a list of things that they told me last year that we’ve been working through, so we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing. I don’t know what else for us to do.”
Despite the results, Futia promised to continue making the case for a ward system for North Castle. He said he plans on another petition drive next year in hopes of having a proposition on next year’s general election ballot.
“This is just another step in the process,” he said. “Like I said, (it’s been) 12 years with Ramapo, this is only the first year (here).”
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
