George Washington viewed the emergence of political parties as an unintended, and unwelcome, consequence of the republic he founded. Thomas Jefferson reveled in the viciousness of party politics and started the Democratic Party to cement his political ambitions. John Adams, the sober champion of the rule of law, tried to muzzle free speech because he was appalled at the scurrilous and subversive lies published in the popular press. Or so we are told by the unelected scholars who write about such things.
If you want to start a political party – even a non-partisan party for that matter – in the little Village of Dobbs Ferry, it is very easy. All you need to do is type up a petition and get 178 good citizens to sign it. Armed with this mandate, you are guaranteed a place on the ballot and a seat at the Candidates Debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the statistics, in 2000, the Village of Dobbs Ferry was the home to 10,622 souls living in 3,792 households on the banks of the Hudson River, 17 miles north of mid-town Manhattan. 26% of the population was under 18 years of age which means that there are a potential 7,650 voters. In the election of 2006 about 3,738 people voted or about 49% of the maximum. Apparently, these 3,738 persons represent more than 50% of the registered voters, though that figure could not be confirmed by a five-minute Internet search.
To its credit, the American political system is extremely open. To get on the ballot for Mayor or Village Trustee in Dobbs Ferry all you need is two and a third percent (2.3%) of the voting age population. This makes it possible for all kinds of odd little parties to make it on the ballot, like the very sensible Common Sense Party, the nautical Hudson River Party, and the quintessential Dobbs Ferry Party. In fact, the political system is a bit harder to crack if you are a ‘constituted party’ like the Republican and Democratic Parties. In a ‘constituted party’ which is made up of people who acknowledge at party affiliation (register) in order to gain the privilege to vote in that party’s primary, you have to get the signatures of 5% of the party faithful – in the case of the Dobbs Ferry Democratic Party that means a whopping 146 signatures.
But constituted parties have other drawbacks that ad hoc parties do not have (I apologize for using the phrase ‘sham parties’ in an earlier article). For example, real parties must hold primaries if too many candidates show up with 146 signatures. That means that anyone – Democrat or Republican — who can garner 146 signatures from registered Democrats can run in the Democratic primary.
Some people are fooled by the ‘convention’ process of the major politcal parties, but trust me it is a ‘head fake’ at the Village level. The convention process only serves to morally obligate the District Leaders of a ‘constituted committee’ to carry petitions for the candidates endorsed by the convention. This generally assures such candidates a place in the primary, but as the most recent election of Paul Feiner proved a popularist candidate can end-run the party apparatus and win a primary and the general election. ‘Chapeau’ or ‘hats off’ to Mr. Feiner.
One problem with ad hoc parties like the Dobbs Ferry Party is that they do not have primaries. They are not open like real parties. So there is no way to run on the Dobbs Ferry Party ticket unless you are invited by the folks who invented it and control it. If the inner circle does not like you, you can’t end-run the system. A curious thing about the Dobbs Ferry Party is that they considered their closed selection process as a virtue – as a safeguard against letting the wrong elements into the body politic.
But a closer look at these sham, I mean, ad hoc parties is that they are fronts for the real parties. For example, the Common Sense Party is a creation of the Democratic Committee, as is the nautical Hudson River Party. A look at the DFP volunteers and donors list indicates a very heavy Republican footprint. In past elections, most DFP candidates also ran on the Republican line. In the 2006 campaign, it appears that a Republican affiliation was viewed as a liability so only Mr. Farrington had the conviction to run at the top of the ballot on Row A, the Republican line — and he still lost on Row A. To protect people’s privacy (apparently these articles Google like crazy, though in all fairness all contributions above $100 are freely available on the Internet) a list of the elected Republican officials who contributed to the DFP will suffice to make the point — Lyle Miller,Trustee – $750, Steven Grant, Village Judge — $400, Frank Farrington, former Trustee — $100, and Nick Spano, former State Senator via the Republican Committee — $1,000. In fact, one to-be-unnamed individual who received special treatment in the past from the DFP gave 27% of all the funds raised by the DFP in 2006. Hardly the attributes of a populist non-partisan, independent party.
So as the voters of Dobbs Ferry approach the special referendum sponsored by the Dobbs Ferry party to move the election back to March, it should be remembered that March elections have (1) low voter participation, (2) take place in bad weather that disadvantages the elderly and infirmed and (2) tend to legitimize small, ad hoc parties with wealthy donors by giving them a position on the ballot out of proportion with their true constituency.
The next time someone asks you to sign a petition, don’t be embarrassed, read it carefully and ask yourself if you really want to put that person or party on the ballot, even if it is only on Row H.