Government
Turnout Cut in Half From Last Election, but Pure Progress Still Managed Big Win
Campaign organization is put forth as a possible reason for ticket's large margin of victory.
All three candidates on the Pure Progress slate won a seat on the Board of Trustees in Tuesday's municipal election, but their margin of victory was a surprise to most observers.
Janine Bauer, Trustee Michael Goldberg and Nancy Gould led the vote count with 1,350, 1,331 and 1,265 votes respectively. The opposing Vision Action Balance slate had 827, 793 and 746 votes, won by Mary Washington-Nieves, former Trustee Stephen Steglitz and Dale Favors respectively.
According to Essex County Clerk Chris Durkin, 2,138 out of 12,043 registered voters cast ballots in the election—an 18 percent turnout, representing just half of the 36 percent of registered voters who turned out to vote for four Trustees and the Village President in 2007.
According to Pure Progress campaign manager Sheena Collum—who also led the campaign in 2007—mobilizing supporters from two years ago was critical to the ticket's success. The turnout in the last election was largely due to the number of offices at stake, but Collum also thinks voters are more easily engaged when they're dissatisfied, so Tuesday's lower turnout is an indicator that residents are supportive of the direction the municipal government has taken.
"The campaign didn't try to reinvent itself—it was basically execution that had been promised," Collum said.
Trustee Mark Rosner also characterized the election results as a referendum on the current government. (The following is an e-mailed statement:)
"First, it is clear most people are satisfied with the direction of the village under the current leadership. While I am sure some would like to see more visible results, most understand some things just take time.
Second, I think the election was a final referendum on the Calabrese era. Stacey Jennings had been his hand-picked choice in the 2005 election and she had been his most vocal supporter in recent years. Although she was not a candidate in this election, she was the only trustee to endorse and campaign for the Vision Action Balance ticket.
I think it has become clear that residents understand that although being a trustee is a volunteer position, it is also one where it requires a large commitment of time and energy. Two of the candidates on the Vision Action Balance ticket were virtual unknowns (politically) and their resumes were thin when it came to volunteering for the village. Steve Steglitz had been virtually invisible to the local political scene since he left office in 2005. Most people want confidence that their candidate is prepared to serve from day one. Ms. Bauer and Ms. Gould were both active including serving on a board or committee."
According to Collum, fundraising in the current economic climate was challenging, and the campaign raised roughly $10,000 for three candidates, compared to $30,000 for five candidates in 2007. Belt-tightening required less reliance on mailings—just one mass mailing went out, compared to five two years ago—and more emphasis on "pounding the pavement" and going door-to-door.
"We saved money on postage by taking our mail pieces and literally delivering them to everyone's home," she said.
Other Pure Progress supporters have touted the campaign's organization, under Collum, as key to its success. While Vision Action Balance had a dedicated group of volunteers, each candidate technically ran separately without an overall campaign manager for the ticket. (Pure Progress also filed with the state Election Law Enforcement Committee as a joint candidates' committee, while Vision Action Balance filed as individuals.)
Pure Progress also had volunteers in specific roles, including events coordinator Tracey Randinelli, who managed a database to track candidates' availability during the campaign and sent out thank-you notes to residents who showed up at events.
"I think we were cohesive, and we were more organized," said Trustee Deborah Davis Ford, who was on Pure Progress's ticket in 2007 and referred to the core of volunteers given specific instructions and timelines.
Tom Morris, a Vision Action Balance volunteer, said he expected the race to be much tighter since he thought long-time voters who had supported former Village President Bill Calabrese and were disillusioned with the governing style of the current Board would show up en masse to vote. He also thinks that Vision Action Balance—and Steglitz, in particular—took a hit from only having one public debate.
"I didn't think Pure Progress was going to pull out all the voters they had the last time," said Morris.
He also believes that Bauer—who ran for Trustee on Calabrese's ticket two years ago—was a major asset to the slate.
"Those of us in town know Janine for a long time, and she has a long history," said Morris.
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