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RFH 2010, To the Editor

Are Political Parties Important in Local Elections?

Thu, Jun 09, 2011

Arguments that political parties are not relevant to Town and Village elections are not new; currently, however, this view has seized attention in Hamilton because three candidates decided to run for the open village positions as a slate before the party caucuses were held, pledging to one another that they would not accept endorsement by their own parties.

Without denying the sincerity of these “independent” candidates, I would like to point out the constructive roles that political parties can play on the local level. First, in New York, information about upcoming elections and the various legal issues in running for office is sent to party chairs who then disseminate it and encourage potential leaders to consider nomination.  Seldom do candidates emerge without this kind of recruitment.  The candidates on the current independent slate benefited from such party encouragement in the past.  

Next, it is noteworthy that established political committees publish by-laws that make the process for gaining nomination transparent. In the case of Village Democrats, a nominating committee is elected at each year’s caucus that the next year goes over lists of registered voters to seek good candidates. For Town offices, the Executive Committee of the Town Democratic Committee carries out the same kind of process, trying to identify and recruit leaders.  Nominating committees bring their decisions to a caucus, which must be publicly announced. At the caucus any member of the party can nominate as well as vote. Additional transparency is guaranteed since local political committees are required by the state to report on campaign finances. 

In addition, while it may be true that there is not a Democratic, Republican, or independent way to fill a pothole or determine policies for a farmer’s market, party affiliation can indicate attitudes toward government and toward the kind of society we want to achieve, whether on the local or national level.

Multiple-party competition is one of the ways government is kept honest as well as more representative of a variety of citizens.  We all know the dangers of single-party, self-perpetuating governments. These can encourage a lack of self-criticism on the part of those in power if they are elected and re-elected without challenge.  

The Villages of Hamilton and Cazenovia should celebrate the fact that multiple parties have presented voters with some choices in their upcoming elections.  In villages without such competition, voter turn-out usually is very low; often officers are selected by a handful of votes or even by a few casual write-ins. So welcome the lawn signs blooming along our streets; they remind us to vote on June 21.

 Wanda Warren Berry,

Chair, Town of Hamilton Democratic Committee

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Comments(1):

  1. Political Parties are Essential to give Voters a Choice

    Thursday, June 09, 2011 Charlie

    Two or more political parties are not just valuable and important, they are essential. In a functioning democracy political parties have the responsibility to select and nominate a candidate for each elective office. This is equally true at the level of local government. Hamilton village voters did not have a choice at each of the last four mayoral elections, because the local Republican Party did not nominate their own candidate. Unfortunately this year the local Democratic Party that could not find a candidate for mayor. Long before the local Republcian and Democratic parties held their caucuses, this prospect led to the formation of the Bullthistle ticket headed by Margaret Miller. She is a qualified and well known candidate but without opposition she will not have a true popular mandate. Well intentioned citizens who argue against the participation of the established political parties in local elections argue that voters may simply vote the party line without informing themselves about each candidate, perhaps without even glancing at their names. This is least likely to happen in a local community like Hamilton, especially when Radio Free Hamilton and the Mid-York Weekly offer all candidates the opportunity to present themselves and citizens to write in their support. Charlie Naef, Professor Emeritus of Political Science