Voter Van Drives Pace Students to the Local Election Polls
Students on the Voter Van run by the Center for Community Action and Research last year, 2018, on their way to the polls.
November 2, 2019
Once again, Pace will provide voter vans on Tuesday, November 5, to drive students who are registered to vote in Pleasantville to their polling place. This year, there will be a variety of local and regional positions up for election.
While the federal and state governments have the majority of power over many hot button issues like immigration, climate change, and gun control, local governments have the majority of power in issues that affect people’s everyday life including streets, sewers, snow removal, emergency medical services, and police and fire departments. Even though local governments rarely get public attention, they can have a bigger impact on people’s daily lives then federal or state governments.
The Mount Pleasant Town Supervisor, Carl Fulgenzi Jr., is up for reelection. Fulgenzi is running unopposed for his third term as Supervisor. The Supervisor is the main administrator for the town. The position involves budget preparation and treasury management as well as serving as a member and Chairperson of the Town Board.
Besides the supervisor, there are four members on the Town Board, which makes town legislation and policy. There are four people running for Town Board and voters have the option to vote for two people for this position. Three of the candidates, Laura Divenere, Jerome S. Schulman Jr. and Danielle Zaino, would be new to the Town Board while one, Francesca Hagadus-McHale, is running for reelection.
This Town Board election is highly competitive because even though there are more registered Democrats than Republicans, the Republicans have a three to one majority on the Town Board. Trends are showing that Westchester is getting more Democratic and less Republican, so Republicans want to protect their majority in local government. There are two candidates who are running for the Democrat Party and two candidates for the Republican Party.
The candidates for Mount Pleasant Town Clerk and the Mount Pleasant Superintendent of Highways are both running unopposed. The race for Mount Pleasant Town Judge is between Robert J. Ponzini and Elizabeth W. Smith.
Councilwoman Francesca Magadus-McHale passed out flyers at the Pleasantville train station Thursday morning supporting her reelection campaign along with Laura Divenere’s campaign for councilwoman and Elizabeth Smith’s campaign for Town Justice.
When students, faculty, and staff vote in Pleasantville on Tuesday, they will also vote on a ballot proposition. Voters will get to decide whether the position of Superintendent of Highways should be appointed or continue in its current form of being an elected position.
At the county level, voters will have the chance to vote for two County Court Judges out of the four candidates running along with two family court judges.
At the regional level, four Supreme Court Justices will be elected out of the five candidates. Also, the incumbent for County Legislator for District Three, which Pace is part of, is up for reelection, but she is running unopposed.
At Pace, the Center for Community Action and Research (CCAR) will be running the Voter Van as they have in the past. The van will be running from noon to 5 p.m. every half hour from the front of Choate House. CCAR Program Coordinator Erin Mysogland said that the van will be have patriotic decorations and signs on it.
While many people are already focused on the presidential elections next year, there are still elections this year that can possibly impact Pace students’ daily lives more than a president could.
