Dobbs Ferry Mayor Hartley Connett appointed Greg Smith to fill the vacancy on the Village Board of Trustees. It was an odd selection in the following sense. One of the tenets of The Dobbs Ferry Party, the mayor’s party, is that village elections should be held on a day other than the national election day. They reason that only those who truly care about the village will vote on such a day. Whereas on the national election day, people who know little or nothing about village affairs, will come to the ballot booth to vote in national, state, or regional contests, and then cast an ill-informed votes in the local village races. Thus they have equated voting with caring.According to the Westchester County Board of Elections, Greg Smith did not vote in the November election in 2003 through 2008, which included two presidential elections. He also failed to vote in March 2003 and 2004, the last two years that village elections were held in March. He also failed to vote in the May 2007 special election to move the village election day to March. In all, Mr. Smith skipped nine consecutive elections (perhaps more but that’s the limit of my information).Mr. Smith seems like a very fine individual and it’s hoped that the village will benefit from his professional expertise in the insurance industry, but isn’t it odd that Mayor Connett, a leading voice in support of March village elections, would appoint someone who doesn’t vote at all.