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.

Please vote YES for Council Districts (also known as the “ward system”).

This vote will determine if we continue a government run by political insiders for the benefit of the few or an open government that benefits all residents and all communities. Do we want a government responding to the special interests and the big money donors or will we change to Council districts and a system of government that benefits all our residents and all our communities. Ask yourself why the opposition is spending so much money – most of which comes from out of town and companies doing business with the Town – to oppose this change?

Newsday has endorsed Council Districts as have News12 Long Island, the Times of Huntington and the Times of Northport. County Executive Steve Levy has come out strongly for Council Districts as have County Legislator Jon Cooper, Highway Superintendent William Naughton, Assemblyman James Conte, and thousands of residents who signed petitions to put this issue on the ballot.

Your vote is very important, so please make sure to vote. If you need information on where to vote, click here.

Why Voting Yes will benefit all of Huntington

If we approve this change, we will create four election districts in Town and each election district will elect a Town Council member. No new layers of government, no new positions and no new costs, just better and fairer representation, more accountability and less money in Town politics. Here are the benefits of Town Council Districts:

• Voting for one person who lives near you, represents you and is accountable to you is better than voting for four people none of whom may live near you, represent you or be accountable to you. Electing a representative is the American form of government.
• Council Districts ensure that all parts of Town have equal representation at Town Hall. No longer will some parts of Town have more say while others go neglected. How can we know what’s in the best interest of the whole Town if we do not hear from all parts of Town?
• Council Districts create more accountability. You will know who represents you and your part of Town. You will know who should answer your questions and address your local issues.
• Council Districts reduce the influence of big money and political insiders. With Council Districts, candidates can run by knocking on doors and attending local events. Council Members get elected based on how well they serve their districts. They do not need the money needed to wage a Townwide campaign. Under the current system, incumbents raise an average of $250,000 that comes from large contributors doing business with the Town. Council Districts make our Council Members more responsive to residents and not the special interests and big donors.
• By introducing more fairness and reducing the influence of money, Council Districts will open the Town government for all. This year, the Town Council has taken 598 votes and all 598 have been unanimous.  We want a Town Council that openly debates issues and takes votes that reflect the needs and interest of the whole Town. 

The current at-large system was put in place in the 1920’s when Huntington had fewer than 30,000 people and we had a Justice of the Peace on the Town Council. Times change and the Town has grown up. We now have over 200,000 people – more than Salt Lake City, Des Moines and Little Rock, more than any city in New England except Boston and the Justice of The Peace went away years ago.   

Council Districts are needed in large Towns. Huntington is one of seven Towns in New York that have over 150,000 people. Three of those Towns (Brookhaven, Hempstead and North Hempstead) have moved to Council Districts and the support for this change in those Towns has been unanimous. You can read comments from leaders in the other Towns here.

Know the Facts:  Council Districts Bring the Town Together

The other side says that Council Districts will break up Huntington, but that is not true. Creating Council Districts does not affect our school districts, fire districts or any other lines. Council Districts will bring the Town together since for the first time all parts of Town will have equal representation at Town Hall. Ask yourself, why does the opposition draw maps with seven or eight districts when there will only be four? They are trying to confuse and scare.

Know the Facts: Council Districts Do Not Raise Costs or Taxes

The other side says that Council Districts will raise costs, but that is not true. There will be no new positions, no new staff and no new offices. The opposition takes one line out of a budget that runs hundreds of pages and show that it has gone up. They don’t show that the increase in that one line item resulted from accounting changes and that other line items went down. Here are the facts: none of the Towns have raised costs because of Council Districts. In fact, Brookhaven has not had an increase in their general tax fund since introducing Council Districts. Listen to what the elected officials in those Towns say:

Hempstead Councilwoman Goosby said, “Costs have not risen because of Council Districts. If anything, Council Districts have held down costs because we need to report back to our districts on spending.”

Brookhaven Councilman Fiore-Rosenfeld says, “Council Districts have not raised government costs. We have absolutely not raised taxes because of Council Districts. Anyone making that claim is spreading misinformation.”

The Opposition Is Trying to Buy this Election with Money from Political Insiders

The opposition has waged a very expensive campaign to stop Council Districts. Where did they get the money? You need to know that 62 percent of their funding comes from out of town and companies doing business with the Town. Much of the rest came from people on the Town payroll. Why are these people spending so much money to maintain the current system? They want to maintain a system that benefits of the political insiders and the big money donors. We want a system that benefits all residents and all parts of Town.

The Concerned Citizens of Huntington, a non-partisan group, has formed to promote Council Districts in Huntington. To learn more, you can check our web site (http://concernedcitizensofhuntington.com) or our blog (http://huntingtoncouncildistricts.wordpress.com/).

Thank you for your time and please vote YES tomorrow, Tuesday, December 22.

I found it intriguing when I checked websites for both sides and learned that the Keep Huntington Whole group has not a single current elected official from anywhere on Long Island endorsing them.  On the Concerned Citizens of Huntington ‘s website there is a fair-size list of current elected officials from Huntington and elsewhere on the Island that are in support:

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy

Huntington Highway Superintendent William Naughton 

Suffolk County Legislator and Majority Leader Jon Cooper

NY State Assemblyman James Conte

Brookhaven Councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld

North Hempstead Councilwoman Maria-Christina Poons

Hempstead Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby

So far the only elected officials opposing council districts are the four town board members currently in office.  What do you think they are afraid of?  Accountability can be a frightening prospect for those who have the luxury of defining performance with their own press releases.  The new guy, Mark Mayoka, who will begin serving his term next year, is in full support of districting.

The venomous reaction aroused by this simple motion to allow voters to decide if we need a better way of representing our town seems out of proportion to the limited scope of the proposal. What is it that opponents have at stake?  Are they protecting something more than a system that could stand improvement?

When issues become this emotional, it is usually interesting to have a look at the finances involved.  Checking the New York State website dedicated to tracking the finances of candidates and issues in the state I found that just since November 9th districting opponents have raised $26,782.  You’d think this group would be proud of their organizational prowess and would submit this successful fundraising effort to the community as evidence of their broad support.  But instead they have tried to conceal their finances.  Rather than filing their financial info as Keep Huntington Whole, the brand they use for themselves in meetings, on lawn signs and in the press, they have taken a far less transparent route filing as The Residents for Representative Town Government.  They didn’t even use the word Huntington in their name when filing.  What the heck?  Why be so obscure?  If you’re a Ronnie Reagan “trust but verify” sort of person, you’ll see what I’m talking about here:

http://www.elections.state.ny.us/recipientstext.html

Want to find the details on who has donated to each side and how much?  Enter “Huntington” into the search box on the site and Concerned Citizens of Huntington is one of the options returned by the search.  To find the finances for the other camp, copy and paste their obscure official name “Residents for Representative Town Government” into the search box.

Now that you have the finance data on your screen, you’ll likely wonder just who each group is representing. Districting opponents who claim to want to Keep Huntington Whole have raised 62% of their money from out-of-town contributors or businesses.  20 of the 107 donations itemized on their page came from addresses outside Huntington Township.  Contributions of $500 or more account for 41% of their total contributions and 86% of those large contributions have come from out of town or businesses. Why are out-of-towners and businesses so interested in the election process for the Huntington Town board?

Concerned Citizens of Huntington fundraising effort sure hasn’t set the world on fire.  Since March they’ve raised a measly $5,683.  Three of the 65 donations itemized on their page came from an address outside Huntington.  To me these contributions are more meaningful since they are almost entirely made up of small donations from local individuals with only three coming from a resident of a different town.

I confess that I don’t know why the opposition is so rabid about protecting their territory but they are using misinformation and scare tactics to manipulate the citizens of Huntington. I have always believed that a person can do anything in this great country and people most often rise to the top based on merit. Electing an official to be accountable to one district is what we currently do at all levels of government in America and Huntington deserves the same. The Keep Huntington Whole Group is very politically sophisticated.  They are projecting their own deceptiveness and cunning as the traits of their opponents.  I am deeply offended that the Keep Huntington Whole supporters think that they can scare and buy their way into our town government.  Look and listen to current legislators who support this change as well as those officials from districts that have already undergone the change to districting. Some of these officials such as John Jay Lavalle who was the town supervisor for Brookhaven were originally against switching to districting but having seen the results now whole-heartedly endorse it.

I’m not the only one who is offended.  This is what our Superintendent of Highways, Bill Naughton thinks of the opposition and their tactics:

As a longtime Democratic committeeman and a former party zone leader, I am deeply saddened by the way in which some other Democratic elected officials in the town I love so well have resorted to spreading misinformation and employing deceptive scare tactics in an effort to crush a broad-based, multi-partisan town-wide movement for change and preserve the status quo that is bankrupting our town.  They didn’t even want to afford our residents and taxpayers the right to decide on their own form of government. And yet some of these very same people went into Brookhaven a few years ago to campaign for the creation of councilmanic districts there — where it’s been a huge success.

North Hempstead Councilwoman Maria-Christina Poons says, “No doubt about it, Council Districts work better.” She was appointed in April 2007 and elected in November 2007, and observes that with Councilmanic Districts, constituents have told her that they find their respective Town Board representatives are far more responsive. As a result, she says, “Taxpayers have much better access to the government.”

Keep Huntington Whole says a ward system would increase government cost and raise taxes.  Where they got this information, I don’t know.  Of the towns on Long Island that have switched to council districts none have seen a tax increase because of council districts.

Brookhaven councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld specifically refutes many of the opposition claims.  “Council Districts have not raised government costs. We have absolutely not raised taxes because of Council Districts. Anyone making that claim is spreading misinformation.  Our only “no tax” collection years on our general fund line (where we funded our general operating expenses via our surplus…) occurred under council districts in Brookhaven.

Keep Huntington Whole claims districting will cause taxation without representation because you would only vote for the councilperson that is representing your area.  This is untrue and the exact opposite of what is being proposed with council districts. If we elect someone who is looking out for a smaller group’s best interest, we have the power to vote that person out if the job is not getting done.  This is how the U.S senate operates, one hundred senators and two point people for New York. 

Hempstead Council Woman, Dorothy Goosby cites the very core of the American political system supporting Council Districts. “Isn’t that what it’s about: government by the people and for the people?” Ms. Goosby further says, “Costs have not risen because of Council Districts. If anything, Council Districts have held down costs because we need to report back to our districts on spending.

Keep Huntington Whole says “The process of drawing ward boundary lines would split communities, school districts and other geographically-based groups.”  Suffolk County legislator Jon Cooper said, “I believe the introduction of Council Districts will bring government closer to the people and will make it easier for residents to know their representatives.”

Jim Conte, Member of the Assembly 10th District said “Districts are how we ensure proper representation in America, and council districts are key to strengthening town government and making it more accountable to the people it servers, it is the American way of governing.”

And when asked about pitting board members against each other he responded, “I was the lone Democrat for two years, yet the Town Council never dumped on my district…don’t believe this scare tactic…all members of the town board need to work collectively and will need each other member’s vote for some reason into the future for their own district’s community needs.”

Brookhaven councilwoman Jane Bonner’s experience as a local representative demonstrates how Council Districts reduce the influence of money in Town politics. In her first run for office, her opponent raised well over $150,000, over five times what she raised, but Ms. Bonner won because she walked the district, attended community meetings and demonstrated her connection and ability to deliver for her district. “In two campaigns, I have knocked on over 20,000 doors.” She won re-election with even less money because she represented her district well. “With Council Districts, your election does not depend on how much money you raise, but on the job you do for your district. It makes elected officials accountable to their districts, not large donors.”

“The decision to support council districts should not be based on one’s party registration,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, a Democrat. “Democrats shouldn’t speak in favor of council 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.”

Please make an informed vote on December 22nd it is important for Huntington’s future.

Look around at towns that have scrapped the at-large system of electing their boards and created council districts. There’s no evidence of sharply increased costs or higher taxes in towns such as Brookhaven or North Hempstead. Still, now that the issue is coming to a vote in Huntington tomorrow, opponents are putting on a full-court press.

One argument against districts in Huntington is that they’ll stand in the way of regional thinking and increase NIMBYism. If there was regional thinking going on by past boards, not much of it translated into regional action – just look at the still-unrealized promise of redeveloping Route 110. One of the real obstacles to regional economic development is competing town industrial development agencies, not council districts within towns. As for NIMBY thinking, some of its leading centers are towns without council districts, such as Oyster Bay and Smithtown.

Incumbents tend to oppose council districts, because at-large voting makes challenging them more difficult; newcomers must run expensive townwide races. With districts, challengers run in a smaller area. That means more opportunity for new thinking and new blood, and more access to power by ethnic and political minorities, not the alarmist claims that different sections of the town will be pitted against one another.

With council districts you know who represents your community and you can hold him or her accountable. Opponents say the at-large system gives you a choice of several council members to ask for help. But it also gives all of them the chance to dodge your request, leaving no one with the direct responsibility to advocate to the county or state for solutions to problems such as crime or drainage. With districts, every part of town has a fair seat at the table of power. It will have no impact on schools, fire department or other services.

Sure, it would be better if this vote were taking place at a general election, when more citizens could have a say. The town board had several chances to put it on the ballot in a general election before, but didn’t. So it bears more blame than proponents for the special-election timing. A yes vote tomorrow is the start to a more responsive town government.

 No new Council positions; we will still have four Town Council members plus the supervisor.

• No new positions, staff, offices or any new expenses
• No new government expenses and no new taxes.

The opposition claims that cost went up in Brookhaven. Here are the facts. There has been no general fund tax increase in Brookhaven since the introduction of Council Districts. Opposition spokesperson Ken Christensen admitted that fact at the League of Women Voters debate and in the current issue of the Long Islander.  The opposition sent out a mailer falsely claiming there were tax increases. The opposition sent out a mailer claiming that one line item in the Brookhaven budget went up. They don’t tell you that it went up because they moved budget lines from one department to another, but there was no overall increase. The opposition claims that Council members got staff; true, because they re-allocated existing staff. There was no new staff. The opposition knows the truth, but they bend the stats to suit their purpose.

Here’s what the actual leaders in other Towns say:

• Hempstead Councilwoman Goosby said, “Costs have not risen because of Council Districts. If anything, Council Districts have held down costs because we need to report back to our districts on spending.”
• Brookhaven Councilman Fiore-Rosenfeld says, “Council Districts have not raised government costs. We have absolutely not raised taxes because of Council Districts. Anyone making that claim is spreading misinformation.

The Conservative Party (along with the LI Progressive Coalition, and many Democratic leaders including Steve Levy, Jon Cooper and Bill Naughton) endorse Council Districts for Huntington.  Would the Conservatives endorse a measure that would raise taxes?

Hempstead Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby said, “Council Districts have worked well in Hempstead.” They “have led to a more open, more responsive and better Town government.”  

Brookhaven Councilwoman Connie Kepert says “Brookhaven is better off with Council Districts.”  She adds, “You have to be accountable to your district. If something happens in my community, I have to answer for it whether a road needs to be paved or it’s a more serious issue. “

North Hempstead Councilwoman Maria-Christina Poons says, “No doubt about it, Council Districts work better.” “Taxpayers have much better access to the government” and “work gets done much faster.” 

Brookhaven Councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld “Council Districts have made dramatic improvements in Brookhaven. They have created accountability for elected officials and have brought the government closer to the people.  Brookhaven citizens are better off because they know who their council person is.”

Former North Hempstead Supervisor John Kiernan said, “People relate to a district and having a person who is their person, someone they can go to.” He found that Council Districts “lead to more bi-partisanship on Town Boards.”

Council Districts Do Not Increase Government Expenses

Hempstead Councilwoman Goosby said, “Costs have not risen because of Council Districts. If anything, Council Districts have held down costs because we need to report back to our districts on spending.”

Brookhaven Councilman Fiore-Rosenfeld says, “Council Districts have not raised government costs. We have absolutely not raised taxes because of Council Districts. Anyone making that claim is spreading misinformation.”

The Problem: In late 2008, a Town study revealed that the beach structure at Crab Meadow had deteriorated to the point that it might present a danger to residents using the beach.

What the Town Council Did:  The Town faced several options to address the deteriorating structure, including repairing it, demolishing it, or rebuilding it. The Town Council decided to demolish the structure; however, they did so without seeking input from Town residents or any community groups.

The Result: Hearing about the Town’s decision, community leaders filed a lawsuit to stop the demolition. The Town proceeded anyway and knocked down half the beach structure. The Town ultimately settled the lawsuit by agreeing to do the following:

• Pay the legal fees incurred in suing the Town
• Creating a community advisory group to advise the Town on the project

Ultimately, the Town has now decided to rebuild the structure. This approach angered residents, led to a lawsuit and thousands of dollars of unnecessary expenses. It took a lawsuit for the Town Council to seek local input.

How Council Districts Would Have Made a Difference

After concluding the engineering study and before making any decisions, the Town Council would have consulted with the Councilmember representing that area. With direct representation and accountability, that Town Council would know how the community valued the Crab Meadow Beach structure. That Councilmember would have consulted with local community groups over the choices. If need be, that Councilmember would have called for the convening of a local advisory group before any decision had been made. The results:

• A better decision that would have met the interests of the community and the Town
• No lawsuit
• Saving thousands of tax dollars

 Ask yourself, why would people who do not live in Huntington contribute so much to try to stop Council Districts? Why are certain businesses – mainly lawyers and developers – spending so much to stop Council Districts?

The opposition has filed as The Residents for Representative Town Government. (You can find their contributors online at http://www.elections.state.ny.us/recipientstext.html). Who are they representing?  

Because the opposition lacks popular support, they are relying on the politically connected and special interests to fund a campaign that seeks to scare and confuse residents. They have sent out expensive mailings, gotten union workers from New York City to hand out flyers and hired telemarketers to make calls to stop Council Districts. So the people that tired t block the vote and tried to keep it off the ballot, are now trying to buy the election.

Their mailers come from fictitious organizations with different addresses, only one of which has filed with the State Board of Elections. Why the subterfuge? And what do they say in these flyers? It is one thing to disagree on principal. It is one thing to present facts. But they twist facts and misrepresent information in an effort to scare and confuse voters.  

Consider their false claims:

1. They claim that Council Districts will Raise Taxes: Not True.  It has no raised taxes in other Towns that have adopted Council Districts. They show false numbers pulled out of large budgets to claim Council Districts have raised cost in Brookhaven. Not true, Brookhaven added two council members through a referendum and moved items around their budget. These were accounting moves, not cost increases. Brookhaven has not raised its general taxes. Brookhaven Councilman Fiore-Rosenfeld says, “Council Districts have not raised government costs. We have absolutely not raised taxes because of Council Districts. Anyone making that claim is spreading misinformation.”

2. They scare people about drawing the district lines. This has not been a problem in other Towns. We redraw all our election districts every ten years, do they want to stop that too? And how can the Town Board members who lead the opposition object to drawing the lines since they passed a home rule bill giving them the power to draw the lines?

3. They claim that few Towns have made this switch. Council Districts do not work in Towns with small populations (or in Villages). There are seven Towns with 175,000 or more people, all on Long Island. Three have adopted Council Districts and people are organizing in Huntington, Oyster Bay and Islip to bring Council Districts there. That means that six out of seven large Towns either have Council Districts or are working towards them.

The change to Council Districts will open the Town government to all communities and all residents. By enabling candidates to run in small districts, candidates will not need to raise large sums of money. They will win based n what they do for their districts. Council Districts will put residents ahead of big donors and special interests. With Council Districts all parts of Huntington will have an equal and fair say at Town Hall.

The Concerned Citizens of Huntington, a non-partisan group, has formed to promote Council Districts in Huntington. To learn more, you can check their web site (http://concernedcitizensofhuntington.com) or their blog (http://huntingtoncouncildistricts.wordpress.com/).

We do not know the identity of the individual or individuals illegally removing these signs. The Concerned Citizens of Huntington condemns any such behavior and would report an individual – either a supporter or an opponent – to the police if caught vandalizing or stealing a sign.

This behavior often occurs in political campaigns and is taken to be “politics as usual.” During the recent November election, many of the challengers running in Huntington had their signs systematically stolen and a Town employee supporting the incumbents was arrested for stealing many of those signs. Our organization stands against “politics as usual.” We encourage all people to learn about the issue of Council Districts and to voice their opinion freely.

Do you know how the district lines will be drawn? No. According to State Law, the district lines will not be drawn until after the referendum passes.

Who would draw the council district lines? State law provides that the bi-partisan County Board of Elections draw the district lines; however, the Town Board in Huntington has passed a home rule that gives the Town Board the authority to draw the district lines. Therefore, the Town Board will draw the council district lines. 

Are there guidelines that the Town Council must follow in drawing the district lines? Yes. The four districts must be substantially equal in populations. They also must be “composed of convenient and contiguous territory in as compact form as practicable.” Election law says that the lines should not split communities.

Is it unusual to draw district lines? No. Every ten years we conduct a national census and as a result of that census we redraw all of our election district lines at every level of government. This does not create a problem and no one fears drawing new lines.

Will this affect school districts, villages, fire districts or any existing lines? No. Huntington remains whole. We will merely draw district lines to elect our Town Council. IT does not affect school board, village, fire district or any other lines.  

Has this worked in other Towns? Yes. Hempstead, North Hempstead and Brookhaven all drew their district lines after the referendum passed and without difficulty. There were no legal challenges to the lines in any Town that has made this switch.

What if the lines are not drawn in a fair or equitable manner? If the lines are not fair and equitable or fail to meet the legal standard, they can be challenged in court.

Can the Town Council draw lines in such a way as to protect the incumbents? They can do so as long as the meet the legal requirements for drawing the council district lines.

Why do the opponents say that drawing the district lines will divide the Town? They are trying to sow fear and confusion. The district lines will not divide the Town. They do not break up anything and do not create any new layers of government. The district lines will simply enable us to elect a Town Council member who represents and is accountable to people in that district.

How often will the district lines change? The district lines will be adjusted every ten years after the Town receives the results of the latest census, just as we redraw all election district lines every ten years.