Huntington Residents Vote for the At-Large System
Reject Council Districts
Yesterday (December 22), the residents of Huntington went to the polls and voted overwhelmingly to maintain the current at-large structure of Huntington’s Town Council. In doing so, voters rejected the proposal to change to a council district system. Council districts may be a good idea and they do work well in other large Towns, but the voters of Huntington said not here, not now. You can see the official results here.
Council districts were a good idea to bring to the ballot, supported by the largest petition drive in Town history and by many elected and community leaders. The ballot proposal engendered much discussion among residents and made people think about how we are governed and how we want to be governed. The turnout of 16 percent, while low in absolute terms, was high for a special election and demonstrated the engagement of many citizens with this issue. A good idea alone is not enough to warrant change. Voters said they preferred the status quo.
The campaign raised important issues about representation, fairness, accountability, openness in Town government and the influence of money in our local politics. The debates and discussions around Town asked which government structure best addressed these concerns and had more people paying attention to our Town affairs. We hope the attention paid to these issues continues.
The proponents of council districts – the non-partisan Concerned Citizens of Huntington – worked hard to educate residents about this issue. We conducted dozens of community meetings, dozens of house parties and more than 100 supermarket events over the past 12 months. The number of volunteers and that effort was unprecedented and those who worked so hard did a service to their neighbors and the Town with their engagement. Could we have done more? Yes, because one could always do more. We could have done more outreach and education. We could have sharpened our arguments. We should have raised more money to support our outreach efforts. But this vote was not lost due to a lack of campaign support. Enough people knew the issues and voted to demonstrate the clear preference of the residents.
For their part, the Residents for Representative Town Government worked very hard and ran a focused and well organized campaign that connected with residents. They should be congratulated for their effort and success.
Council Districts add no layers and no costs to government. No new staff, no new offices, no new taxes. Since Brookhaven established Council Districts, there has been no tax increase in the general fund.
Click here to read our blog: Huntington Council Districts Blog
Endorsements include: Newsday, News12 Long Island, the Times of Huntington, the Times of Northport, County Executive Steve Levy, County Legislator Jon Cooper, Assemblyman Jim Conte , Highway Superintendent William Naughton and hundreds of your neighbors.
It is Time to Vote
A vote will take place on December 22, 2009.
Click here for polling places and an absentee ballot.
Click here to learn why a vote on December 22 (we wanted it on Election Day).
Our Proposal: Create 4 Town Council Districts We currently elect our four Town Council members on an-at-large basis. We propose to create four Town Council Districts with one Town Council member representing each district. This proposal adds no new cost to the Town government, but for the first time it ensures that our communities and our school districts have a representative speaking for them and accountable to them.
Check our Endorsements Page to See Who Supports Town Council Districts
Newsday has written another endorsement of Council Districts for Huntington.
Read the Newsday endorsement for Council Districts in Huntington
To read recent news artilces, including endorsements, click here.
Town Council Districts Will Make Huntington Better
Better Representation: Currently, our four Town Council members represent the whole Town, but no one represents your community. With Council Districts, you will have a Town Council member accountable to your community.
Takes the Big Money Out of Town Politics: Town Council members raise over $225,000 in each election cycle. That is legal and necessary, but they rely on big donors while challengers and “citizen legislators” cannot raise those funds. With Town Council Districts, community ties matter more than money. Candidates win on shoe leather (knocking on doors), handshakes (attending community meetings) and what they do for your community.
More Openness: In 2008, the Town Board took 729 votes and 99 percent were unanimous. So far in 2009, 100 percent of the 598 votes have been unanimous. This block voting does not represent the diverse communities and interests of our Town. With Council Districts, we will have more public input, more debate and decisions that reflect all our communities. Democracy will flourish and we will have better ideas and better government.
It’s What We Do at Every Other Level of Government: We use districts at the County, State and Federal levels; shouldn’t we bring Huntington in line with the rest of the Country?
To download a flyer, click here.
Council Districts vs. At-Large Districts
The current Huntington Town Council has four members who are elected at-large, meaning the whole Town votes for them and each member represents the whole Town. In reality, that means that each Council Member represents 200,000 residents over 100 square miles. By comparison, each Suffolk County Legislator represents 81,000 residents and each State Assembly person represents 130,000 people.
Under our proposal, the Town would continue to have four council members; however the town would be divided into four districts. Each Town Council District would elect one Town Council Member who would represent the communities and voters in that district. Each Town Council member would represent approximately 50,000 residents. This change adds NO COST to the government, but makes it more representative and responsive.
Interested in learning more?
Please fill out the form below or email info@ConcernedCitizensofHuntington.com: You can download an overview of the propsal here: overview attachment - general.pdf
To make this campaign a success, we need your help. There is no one else who can make this change happen, who can make our Town government more representative, more responsive, more open and transparent. It is up to us. You can help in many ways: speak to your neighbors, volunteer your time and make a contribution. Won’t you contribute now?
