As Manor Democrats hold 628 margin in registered voters, campaigns craft strategies for changing village
Registered Democrats overtook Republicans in the Village of Pelham Manor four years ago, with the Democratic Party holding a 628-voter advantage as of November, according to data from the New York State Board of Elections.
In November, 1,854 Democrats and 1,226 Republicans were registered in the village, according to the BOE data. In 2010, Republicans led by 80 registered voters.
However, the upcoming village election appears to be in the hands of independent and third party voters. The 1,114 people who are not registered Democrats or Republicans could easily decide which three candidates are elected on March 16. That number has remained relatively stable during a period of change for Pelham Manor, with independents and third party voters totalling 1,015 in 2010.
For all of it, Pelham Manor is politically Republican at the top. Candidates who ran on the GOP line hold all five seats on the board of trustees. The Democrats did not field candidates in the last two elections.
On the ballot March 16, Republican Mayor Jennifer Monachino Lapey and Republican trustees Angela Michele DeLillo and Joseph Senerchia are seeking reelection. They face Democratic mayoral candidate Ramsey McGrory and trustee candidates Lance Koonce and Andrea Ziegelman.
“When I speak to neighbors, I hear over and over again how important it is to think in terms of non-partisan leadership,” said Cindy Courtien, campaign manager for the Republican Party. “That’s one of the reasons we’re running on the Neighborhood Party line along with the Republican Party line.”
In order to appeal to independent voters, Courtien said the campaign has reached out to residents through fliers, newspaper ads, social media, interviews and conversations.
It is not the goal of the Republicans to keep Pelham Manor a Republican village, Courtien said. Instead, the party prioritizes reaching all groups of people and helping voters in Pelham Manor feel confident about their candidates.
“We’re not running on a platform to ‘keep Pelham Manor Republican,'” she said. “If that happens, it will be because our neighbors trust us to continue accelerating the modernization of the place they call home. Pelham Manor residents can have confidence that these professionals, who are volunteers in these roles, care as much about the community as they do.”
Pelham Manor is still considered a Republican village by many of its residents. Because of their longstanding hold on public office, the Republican candidates have had time to build strong connections with members of the community.
Election day in Pelham Manor is March 16 with polls at the firehouse open from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m.
“Most importantly, Mayor Lapey, Deputy Mayor DeLillo and Trustee Senerchia are an effective leadership team, along with Police Commissioner Breta Bennett and Trustee Maurice Owen-Michaane,” Courtien said. “Together, they field dozens of calls and emails a week from neighbors with questions, comments and requests.”
With the longstanding precedent, the Democratic candidates have an opportunity to make history in the March 16 election. “Flipping Pelham Manor blue would be historic—the first time in 130 years—but it’s a byproduct rather than the goal,” said Katherine Pringle, a campaign manager for the Democratic Party.
“We want to make it easier to get involved, easier to vote, easier to know what’s going on and easier to get a response on local issues,” she said. “Local government should be the best government because it’s a close-knit community, and your neighbors are your leaders.”
It is a top priority of the Democrats to keep voters in Pelham Manor aware of the upcoming election and of the fact that the party has a chance of emerging victorious. The candidates are also running on the Pelham Manor Forward line.
“The Pelham Manor Forward campaign efforts have focused on engaging all residents to ensure they know there is a local election,” Pringle said. “Our forward-looking priorities are in response to voters who expect more transparency, engagement and action on fiscal, sustainability and community priorities.”
In addition to campaigning door-to-door and on open Zoom meetings, Pringle said the party has been holding “small-group conversation on specific topics and engaging on social media.”
“We are also talking with leaders of nonprofits, businesses, schools and civic organizations to understand their priorities and issues,” she said. “We expect to govern this way as well.”
The candidates “are listening to what voters want, drawing people into conversations and getting people excited about the ways that our village can thrive. We can do this, and that should be attractive to all voters, including independents.”
Election day in Pelham Manor is March 16 with polls at the firehouse open from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m.
For an absentee ballot application, use the links on this page or call village hall at 914-738-8820. “If you are concerned about Covid-19, you may vote by absentee ballot,” the village website said. “Just check the box in the application referencing illness.”
“The absentee ballot application must either be personally delivered to Pelham Manor Village Hall, 4 Penfield Place, Pelham Manor, New York, 10803 no later than 5 p.m. on March 15, 2021 or, if the applicant would like a ballot mailed to them, the application must be received not later than March 9, 2021. The absentee ballot itself must be received at Pelham Manor Village Hall, 4 Penfield Place, Pelham Manor, New York, 10803 no later than the close of polls on election day, March 16, 2021.”
Bella is a senior at Pelham Memorial High School. She plays field hockey and golf, is on the Pelican Yearbook Staff and is the President of the Pelham...
Armen Benson • Mar 12, 2021 at 11:19 pm
My family lived in the Manor for 18 years, in the heady 1950’s and 60’s. It was, assuredly, a different time. My father was what was referred to as an Eisenhower Republican. In fact, I didn’t know there was any other animal, in the sense of the word ‘politics’. In that period, it was the Village, Pelham Manor, as well as the other two Villages, that was pre-eminent in a voter’s calculation. And, suffice it to say, the government didn’t much shift out of Republican control. And even if it had, nothing much would have changed.
Then Kennedy came along, and the political world in America shifted gears. Or, at least, realized there were other gears besides 1st and 2nd.
As to the topic above, and more broadly at hand, it is easy to understand why Washington, that is, the person called George not the place called D.C., was not fond of political parties. Almost to the same degree he distrusted foreign powers….as to their abilities to unduly influence, detrimentally, our nation’s politics.
In a similar vein, I ask here, what does it matter a person’s “party”. Why is it not, simply, what is the civic good, or non-good, an elected official proposes, or has already accomplished, that sets the criteria for a prospective person’s vote. But, as I say, we are living in a different time and place. Politics and not Civics is the one and only priority today.
Kathryn Soderberg • Mar 10, 2021 at 8:44 pm
Bella- Great job writing such an informative article!
Jayson Reynolds • Mar 10, 2021 at 1:17 am
“The neighborhood party”. Good lord. Simply can’t compete in an election if the letter R is next to your name nowadays. Saw it with Dechairo and now poor Lapey. A true shame.
Marin Zielinski • Mar 9, 2021 at 6:57 pm
No matter what happens with this election, the Manor will not turn “blue.” There will remain on the Board two Trustees who ran on the Republican line. At most, the Manor may turn purple–like its voters.
Regarding the unbroken 130-history of the Manor Village Board being run by Republicans: If I were a Republican, I would argue that party doesn’t matter, too. That’s what groups holding power always say. But that conveniently ignores the question of WHY only four Dems have been elected since 1891. Are Democrats simply less civic-minded? Are they not as competent? Is it a coincidence?
Or is that what happens when power is able to self-perpetuate? When insiders can quietly recruit from among like-minded friends, making sure information about the system is shared? When Village resources can be used to broadcast flattering, self-congratulating communications to the entire population, at taxpayer expense? When some public comment at Board meetings can simply be turned off, right before an election, so that critical input is muted (as happened last night)?
The hill that Democrats have to climb, to learn from the OUTSIDE everything necessary to run a Village, and to reach all voters, is simply steeper. It’s taken the Dems a while to find candidates with the determination and ability to invest months learning the ropes, not from the same people explaining the existing system, but from a range of professionals with new ideas. Those candidates are the better for their effort. The Manor will be stronger for electing them.