The Gentlemen's Agreement

What is your view and your understanding of the gentlemen's agreement in the Valhalla School District? Is it meant to ensure equal or proportional representation among the three towns? Is it meant to limit the number of representatives from each of the towns? By law, any resident can from any town can run for any seat. Perhaps long ago it was a way for the founders of the district to get three different towns and three different interest groups to be comfortable with each other. Now, however, it serves only to perpetuate the election of special interest candidates, it is meant to personalize any campaign to be an attack on the incumbent. It is meant to discourage participation.

The Greenburgh section selects candidates that primarily run unopposed for two seats. There is only a choice of candidates if there is a problem with in the two groups that do the pre-election selection. Most years, the Parkway Homes Civic Assosiation and the Mayfair Knowlwood Civic Assosiation annoint one person to run unopposed. As a result those candidates never talk to residents of North White Plains or Valhalla, they never have to campaign. The areas along Virginia Road and in Valimar have no such representation or access to the annointing process. Even if you do live in Parkway Home or Mayfair Knollwood, you must wait until your incumbent steps down before running. Why can't you run for another seat? Well there is that Gentlement's Agreement after all.

Candidates from North White Plains have historically voted against the will and wishes of their own town. That is because they can easily be elected and relected by the special interests in the other two towns.

There have been elections with multiple candidates running for one seat while another runs unopposed taking the seat with less votes than the losers of the other race. Is this fair, equitable or democratic? Are we one district or a series of mini Balkan states?