About the Village of Mamaroneck Democratic Committee and District Leaders
The Village of Mamaroneck Democratic Committee (“Village Committee”) is a sub-committee of the Westchester County Democratic Committee comprised of 30 District Leaders. Democratic District Leaders are members of the Democratic Party and the Westchester County Democratic Committee. District Leaders are elected, typically uncontested, through a bi-annual petition process. For each two-year term, a District Leader candidate must file a nominating petition containing sufficient, valid signatures of registered Democrats living in the Electoral District the candidate seeks to serve. The term starts after the primary election for each even year.
Two District Leaders are assigned to each Electoral District, which may or may not be the District in which they live. District Leaders are required to live in the State Assembly District in which they serve, but not necessarily their Election District. Check out your district leaders here.
Together, 18 District Leaders from the Town of Mamaroneck and 12 District Leaders from the Town of Rye represent the 15 Electoral Districts in the Village Committee. The Town Committees fill vacancies.
District Leader positions do not come up for a vote on the ballot unless there is a primary challenge within an Electoral District. Any registered Democrat can seek the position of District Leader by also collecting sufficient valid signatures on a petition in an Electoral District. If nominating petitions are certified for more than two people within the same Electoral District, the winner is decided on the ballot of the New York State primary election in June.
Elected officials may serve as District Leaders. District Leaders are unpaid positions.
The Village Committee elects an Executive Committee at the start of each term. The Executive Committee works in accordance with the mandate established by a majority of the Village Committee. Officers for the current term are: Gretta Heaney (Chair), Richard Litman (Vice Chair), Robert Stark (Secretary) and Cindy Goldstein (Treasurer). They may be contacted here.
What Do District Leaders Do?
District Leaders have five main functions:
Collect signatures for candidates to get on the ballot
District Leaders are essential to helping our endorsed candidates qualify for the ballot. In New York State, most candidates get on the ballot by filing petitions with a legally required number of signatures from eligible voters. This is done within a strict filing window and in compliance with detailed rules under New York State Election Law. Trained in the petition process and using publicly available voter lists, District Leaders go door-to-door every year from late February through early April to collect petition signatures in the Electoral Districts they represent.
Endorse candidates for local village office and other local offices.
Starting in December, the Village Committee advertises for and meets potential candidates for open positions for Village Trustee, Village Justice, and Mayor. The Village Committee tries to recruit people who have been active in community affairs, even if not in the Democratic Party, for these offices.
The Village Committee decides whether to endorse a specific candidate or referendum. Often the Village Committee will work with endorsed candidates to assist them in the petition process and the campaign.
Campaign for endorsed candidates.
In advance of the June primary, November general election, special election, or referendum vote, District Leaders engage in various activities to reach out to voters. We host meetings and events, knock on doors with campaign literature, make phone calls, send emails, put up signs, and talk to people about the candidates and issues of interest.
The Village Committee works to keep the community informed about its activities and elections through this website and its Facebook page.
Each of us is primarily responsible for reaching the voters in our own district but we all work together on community-wide efforts to get voters to the polls.
Participate in our respective Town Committees as well as the Westchester County Democratic Committee.
District Leaders all have a vote on certain decisions made at conventions of the Westchester County Democratic Committee, such as selecting candidates for County judgeships and delegates to the State Democratic Convention. These votes are public and part of the record of each committee.
We believe it is important that the Village’s views are represented in Town, County, and State Democratic Party decisions about candidates, and that the Democratic Party platform and candidates give appropriate attention to issues important to the Village of Mamaroneck. We invite elected officials to our meetings to listen and report on issues of import.
Build and maintain the Democratic Party in our village.
The Village Committee welcomes interested residents to join us in helping maintain strong Democratic representation in our community.
How Do I Contact My District Leaders?
You should never hesitate to contact any District Leader, not only with questions about where or when to register or vote, but with thoughts about topics that you believe are important or questions about candidates' qualifications and positions on issues. We are also happy to field questions about community resources and needs. Please reach out here.
