I hope you had a restful and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family.

The League of Women Voters of Scarsdale had a very active fall. In November, we started Consensus Season, starting with the SBNC Information Session and Consensus (SBNC Resolution Amendments) meeting. Additionally we presented our annual civics education programming  at Scarsdale Middle School, as well as our Food For Thought panel discussion on the housing shortage in Westchester. Details of these events are presented in this newsletter.

Now in December, our Village Election Portfolio chair is busy preparing for the Village Election Information Session and Consensus meeting on Monday, December 9. Please join us to learn about our local political process and to ask questions regarding the CNC Election. Please join us at Village Hall for this important meeting!

I welcome everyone in the Scarsdale community to join the LWVS and support our work. I encourage all of you to stand up, speak up, and stay informed. Thank you for your continued support of the LWVS.

I wish you a happy and healthy holiday season!

Warmest wishes,

Heedan Chung

School Board Nominating Committee Election

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

(Snow date: Thursday, December 5, 2024)

7 - 10 a.m. and 2 - 9 p.m.

Scarsdale Middle School Auditorium Lobby

OR

Vote by Mail-In Ballot

The SBNC is the body of 30 residents serving staggered 3-year terms that vets applicants and nominates the proposed non-partisan slate for the Scarsdale Board of Education. Each year, voters elect new representatives from their neighborhood to fill spots vacated by those who have completed their SBNC service. The SBNC Resolution is the document that governs the school non-partisan election system. Proposed amendments are subject to voter ratification.

For more information, visit the Scarsdale SBNC website.

The deadline for Administrative Committee receipt of mail-in ballots at P.O. Box 172H in the Heathcote Golden Horseshoe Post Office is 4 p.m. on Tuesday, December 3, 2024. Please visit the SBNC website to download and print the mail-in ballots and for the instructions on how to complete them. 

As a voter service reminder, please remember that each ballot must be contained within its own mailing envelope bearing the voter’s full name and address, and with the voter’s signature across the seal. Multiple ballots within a single envelope will render all such ballots invalid.

LWVS Issues Consensus Statement on the

2024 Proposed SBNC Resolution Amendments

On Monday, November 18, 2024, LWVS held an information session and membership consensus meeting regarding the 2024 Proposed SBNC Resolution Amendments. Resolution Committee Chairs Sarah Bell, Jonathan Lemle, and Valerie Phillips attended and answered questions.

Below is the video of the meeting.

The resulting LWVS Consensus Statement is posted on the Local Programs and Positions page of the LWVS website, where additional current and historical folders containing annual and topical LWVS Consensus and Board Statements are also housed.



LWVS thanks the SBNC AC for its undertaking and encourages all currently qualified voters to exercise their rights to cast a ballot in the upcoming SBNC election/SBNC Resolution Amendment Referendum scheduled for Wednesday, December 4, 2024, from 7am to 10am and from 2pm to 9pm at the Scarsdale Middle School Auditorium Lobby.

November General Election Results 

On November 5, 2024, voters in Scarsdale and throughout New York voted on one proposal to amend the New York State Constitution: An Amendment to Protect Against Unequal Treatment.  The proposal was approved.

Voters in Scarsdale and throughout Westchester County voted on one (1) Westchester County Proposal to change County Legislator terms from 2 years to 4 years. The proposal was not approved.

The Scarsdale League thanks all of our sister Leagues around the State for coordinating efforts to produce this year’s Vote411 Guide, which went live online in October.

We also thank our sister Leagues in Westchester County for collaborating to sponsor candidate forums for a number of races: U.S. Congressional District 16; New York State Senate District 37; and New York State Assembly District 88.

Scarsdale Citizens Nominating Committee (CNC) Election Results

On November 12, 2024, voters in Scarsdale voted for candidates to serve on the Citizens Nominating Committee (CNC). The results of that election are available on the Scarsdale Procedure Committee website.

December 2024

• 12/4, Wednesday:
• Scarsdale SBNC Election
• 12/9, Monday:
• 9:15 a.m. Board Meeting, Village Hall
• 10:00 a.m. Gen Membership/Consensus Meeting (CNC Election), Village Hall

January 2025

• 1/6, Monday:
• 9:15 a.m. Board Meeting, Scarsdale Public Library
• 1/25, Saturday:
• 5:00 p.m. LWVS Winter Social, Private Home
• 1/27, Monday:
• 10:00 a.m. Gen Membership/Consensus Meeting (SBNC Election), Scarsdale Public Library

February 2025

• 2/10, Monday:
• 9:15 a.m. Board Meeting, Scarsdale Public Library
• 11:15 a.m. Gen Membership/Consensus Meeting (Local, County, and State Programs), Scarsdale Public Library

LWVS General Membership Information Session

and Consensus Meeting 

on the Village Election System

Monday, December 9, 2024

10:00 a.m. at Scarsdale Village Hall, 3rd Floor Conference Room

or via Zoom

LWVS welcomes all members of the public to its annual general membership information session regarding this year's Citizens Nominating Committee (CNC) election. Procedure Committee Chair Heath Sroka and Vice Chair Ralph Geer will be presenting and answering questions.

The Procedure Committee is the body that solicits candidates for CNC, proposes amendments to the Resolution, and runs the CNC election and referendum on the amendments. The CNC is the body that vets applicants and nominates the proposed slate for the Village Board of Trustees, including Mayor. The Non-Partisan Resolution is the document that governs the Village's nonpartisan election system.

A consensus discussion will immediately follow the information session for purposes of making recommendations to the Procedure Committee. Only League members may be present for the consensus discussion. Those who have not yet paid annual dues are welcome to renew/join at the event.

Follow these links to the Information Session Agenda and the Consensus Questions. The PC’s report will be posted to the LWVS website when available. For purposes of discussion, attendees are encouraged to review these materials in advance.

For more information, please contact Diane Baylor and Beth Cukier, LWVS Village Election System Chairs, at LWVS.ves@gmail.com.

Youth Programs and Civics Education at Scarsdale Middle School

Continuing on the League’s long-standing tradition of bringing civics education to Scarsdale Middle School, together with SMS co-chairs and teachers Steven Goodman and Meghan Lahey and the 8th-grade Social Studies department, our Youth Programs committee relaunched a brand-new version of the LWVS SMS Civics Jeopardy Game! This effort was intended to help students expand their voting and civic responsibility knowledge while having tons of fun. Nothing like a healthy dose of team competition to make students feel more engaged and learn while playing.

After a week of facilitating the Civics Jeopardy Game series, League volunteers set up polling stations for each of the houses on Election Day Eve. These polling stations gave each student a hands-on voting experience - many of them their first. The energy in the Great Hall was palpable and makes all our time prepping for the event worthwhile!

Thank you to all our amazing League volunteers who gave up time to come support this critical youth program at SMS. Our hats go off to the entire SMS team: the administrative, security, and facilities staff, and of course, our teachers - not all heroes wear capes. For those who we missed this year, we hope you will join us in the future and help us keep this amazing youth program tradition alive.

For more information about these programs, please visit the Youth Programs, Civics Education section on our LWVS website.

Fall Food for Thought Event:

The Housing Shortage in Westchester County

On November 18, we had a robust and comprehensive panel discussion about the housing shortage in Westchester County and its effects on seniors, young adults, and workers hoping to live near their jobs. Moderator Tiffany Zezula, Esq. is the Deputy Director for the Land Use Law Center at Pace University School of Law in White Plains. The panelists were Terry Fleischman, the Director of Housing for the Westchester County Department of Planning, and Rose Noonan, Executive Director of Housing Action Council.

According to county estimates, there is a shortage of 16,007 household units, and more workers commute into the county than live near their place of employment. The discussion included an overview of the housing shortage in the county at large, as well as examples of how individual municipalities are aiming to address this need. It was noted Scarsdale has a comprehensive plan which requires an inclusion of an affordable unit in multifamily projects of 5 -9 units and subdivisions of 10 or more homes. In Scarsdale, there are 4 units. Two units are located at the Ambassador, a senior living facility, one is located at The Heathcote, and one is a house owned by the Village.  

Below is the video of the event.

Membership Renewal Reminder

It's a new membership year! Rejoin the League today!  

It’s time to renew or join the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale (LWVS)! Whether you are new to our distinguished organization or have been involved for years, the LWVS invites you to become a member for the 2024-2025 year. Your membership in the LWVS automatically grants you membership in the county, state and national leagues. 

Follow the link below to learn about the benefits of membership or simply to rejoin. If you have any questions, please contact LWVS Membership Chair Diksha Mudbhary at LWVSmembership@gmail.com. 

LWVS Nominating Committee 2024-25

The LWVS Nominating Committee 2024-25 is calling for nominations to fill League Board Officer and Director positions for the 2025-26 year. The LWVS Nominating Committee will also fill off-board member positions on the Nominating Committee 2025-26.

If you would like to nominate yourself or a friend to be considered for the League Board or the LWVS Nominating Committee 2025-26, kindly contact Nominating Committee Chair Amber Yusuf at amber.yusuf@gmail.com. 

Here is a list of our 2024-25 Nominating Committee members, all of whom are able to receive nominations for discussion and consideration:

Amber Yusuf (Chair)

Jeannie Rosenthal (Off-Board)

Erika Rublin (Off-Board)

Shilpa Spencer

Debbie Bhatt

Thank you

I would like to thank League volunteers who contributed significant time and energy during the month of November to ensure our community was informed and engaged.

Thank you to Advocacy Chair Abbi Ruane for all of her efforts in outreach for the New York State Equal Rights Amendment (Proposal 1).

Thanks to Susan Lee for all of her work planning and staffing the Mock Election at Scarsdale Middle School and for all of her work in the development of the Food for Thought event.

Thank you Anne Lyons, Diane Baylor, and Seema Jaggi for all of their work on the SBNC Information Session and Consensus Meeting.

Thanks to Diane Baylor, our Village Election Portfolio Chair, Recording Secretary, and Website Administrator, for keeping the Board and the community informed and engaged.

Thanks to Dalya Khan and Nan Eileen Mead for all of their work as School Budget Portfolio chairs, including the presentation of questions on behalf of the League at the community budget forum. 

Thanks to Jenny Simon Tabak and Beth Cukier for their guidance and their work as Membership Statisticians.

Thanks to Dana Matsushita, our Corresponding Secretary for her detailed and thorough work editing the LWVS Bulletin, coordinating our e-blasts, and press.

Thanks to Trish Chen for her precise work as Treasurer as well as her assistance with our fall membership renewal.

Thanks to Kitt Rosenthal for being our LWVW Liaison.

I look forward to all of the positive work that lies before us!

Warmly, 

Heedan Chung

Village of Scarsdale

As of November 30, 2024

Board of Trustees

Justin Arest, Mayor

  Term ends April 2025

Dara Gruenberg, Deputy Mayor

  1st term ends April 2025

Sameer Ahuja

  2nd term ends April 2025

Karen Brew

  2nd term ends April 2025

Jeremy Gans

  2nd term ends April 2026

Ken Mazer

 2nd term ends April 2026

Jeremy Wise

1st term ends April 2026

Board of Education

Suzie Hahn, President

  1st term ends June 2025

Jim Dugan, Vice President

  2nd term ends June 2027

Colleen Brown

  1st term ends June 2025

Leah Dembitzer

1st term ends June 2027

Robert Klein

  2nd term ends June 2026

Ronald Schulhof

  2nd term ends June 2025

Amber Yusuf

   2nd term ends June 2026

League of Women Voters of Scarsdale

2024-25

Officers

President: Heedan Chung

LWVSpresident@gmail.com

First Vice President: Susan Lee

Second Vice President: Diksha Mudbhary

Recording Secretary: Diane Baylor

LWVSrecsecretary@gmail.com

Corresponding Secretary: Dana Matsushita

LWVScommunications@gmail.com

Treasurer: Trish Chen

LWVStreasury@gmail.com

2024-25 Elected Board Members

Deborah Bhatt

Kathy Gray

Lauren Grossberg

Rokaya Hassaballa

Dalya Khan

Nan Eileen Mead

Abigail Ruane

Shilpa Spencer

2024-25 Appointed Board Members

May Cowan

Beth Cukier

Anne Lyons

Kitt Rosenthal

Jenny Simon Tabak

Committee Chairs

Advocacy: Abigail Ruane

Audit: Tracy Tang (Off-Board)

Book Group: Dalya Khan

Budget: Nancy Michaels (Off-Board) 

Bylaws, Policies, and Procedures: Diane Baylor

Communications:

• Bulletin Editor: Dana Matsushita 
• Eblast: Dana Matsushita  
• Publicity: Dana Matsushita 
• Social Media: Dana Matsushita 
• Website: Diane Baylor 

Development/Finance Drive: Anne Lyons

Environment/Sustainability: Lauren Grossberg

Hospitality: Kitt Rosenthal

Local Budgets:

• School Budget: Dalya Khan and Nan Eileen Mead
• Village Budget: Deborah Bhatt

Local Election Systems:

• School Election: Seema Jaggi
• Village Election: Diane Baylor and Beth Cukier



Luncheons: Anne Lyons

LWVW Liaison: Kitt Rosenthal

Membership: Diksha Mudbhary 

• Membership Statistician: Beth Cukier

Nominating Chair: Amber Yusuf (Off-Board) 

Planning and Zoning: Deborah Bhatt

Program/Education: Diksha Mudbhary 

Voter Service: Kathy Gray and Lauren Grossberg

• Candidate Forum(s)
• Naturalization Court
• Voter Registration Drive(s)

Youth Engagement:

• Civics Jeopardy: Susan Lee
• Mock Election: Susan Lee
• Students Inside Albany: Nan Eileen Mead

Democracy is Not a Spectator Sport – Get Involved!

The League of Women Voters

Creating A More Perfect Democracy 

For Over 100 Years

The League of Women Voters of Scarsdale (LWVS) is a volunteer nonpartisan political organization which promotes political responsibility through informed and active participation of citizens in government. The League is nonpartisan in that it does not support or oppose any candidate for public office; it is political in that it takes positions on selected governmental issues after serious member study and consensus.