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IRVINGTON, N.Y. Irvington residents will decide in November whether or not they want to move the date of the village elections from March to November.
The move would mean residents would elect the mayor and trustees on the same day as state and federal representatives. Village officials would take office in December. The change in election dates would occur in 2013.
Irvington trustees unanimously voted during a recent village board meeting to put a special referendum on the ballot in the upcoming November elections. Mayor Brian Smith noted the Presidential elections would help draw the highest number of Irvington voters possible.
March elections have some serious downsides, Trustee Constance Kehoe said.
One has to do with the fact that the minute you become elected, you must in about a week make the most important vote you have to make, which is the budget, and you haven't really had the preparation you probably want to make that vote, she said.
Trustee Mark Gilliland agreed. Gilliland was elected last March and said the budget process doesn't give new trustees the opportunity to ask questions or really make an impact on that year's budget.
It's not quite the same, he said.
Some residents may overlook village elections if they're also voting on national elections, Smith said, but he felt the budget issue was more important. Kehoe also noted fewer voters come out to the polls in March and a move to November elections would make elections more efficient.
Nearby villages Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, Briarcliff Manor and Hastings hold March elections. Ardsley and Dobbs Ferry hold elections in November. The towns of Ossining and Greenburgh also vote in November.
Irvington has not heard of problems with other villages' decisions to switch to November elections, Smith said.
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