Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy Lends Support to Huntington’s Councilmanic District Quest
Four Councilmanic Districts Would Lead to Better Representation of Entire Town
Hauppauge, NY – Advocates for councilmanic districts in the town of Huntington have found an ally in County Executive Steve Levy.
Advocates submitted petitions to the town clerk yesterday seeking to place a proposition on the ballot through referendum that would establish four councilmanic districts town-wide. Council members would be elected from those individuals residing only in the councilmanic districts as opposed to town-wide. Proponents of this measure believe that the process will lead to more competitive elections.
Levy, a Democrat, is supporting the creation of the councilmanic districts in the democratically dominated town despite the fact that many pundits believe that the party in power usually opposes the creation of councilmanic districts for fear it would give the opposition a greater opportunity to win seats.
“The decision as to whether to support councilmanic districts should not be based on one’s party registration,” Levy said. “Democrats shouldn’t speak in favor of councilmanic districts when they are out of power and then turn around and oppose the concept once they have gained power. The same holds true for Republicans. Though I am a registered Democrat, I support councilmanic districts in all towns, even if they are presently controlled by Democrats. The need to ensure the integrity of the democratic process is far more important than keeping any particular party in power.”
Levy added, “Councilmanic districts not only provide greater representation for a particular community but also allow lesser financed candidates to have a fighting chance. When one has to campaign town wide it is just too large an area to cover, either through door to door campaigning, or through having an effective advertising campaign for an underfinanced candidate to have a fighting chance. A councilmanic district is more along the lines of a legislative district in which a candidate can conceivably knock on a majority of doors in that district to become known. Additionally, the cost to send out mailings to the voting public is one-fourth the cost of what it would be in a town-wide race. Town wide elections lead to one party dominating and that is not healthy, whether it is the monopoly in the hands of Democrats or Republicans.”
