Good
Government
One
of the basic principles of representative democracy is that the
closer our elected officials are to their constituents, the better
those constituents will be served. The Neighborhood Network has
been working to bring town council members on Long Island closer
to the people they represent. Our primary focus in town government
reform has been in promoting the system of council
districts, in which each board member is elected from a specific
district in which he or she lives.
Islip
The right of Islip voters to reform the way Town Board
members are elected has been challenged, and the question of whether
a referundum on council districts will be on the ballot this is
now before the court. The Neighborhood Network, working with local
citizen organizations, submitted petitions containing 7,788 signatures
to place the referendum on the ballot, and will continue working
to ensure that this important reform goes to the voters of Islip
Township. To help fund this effort there will be a Gala on Wednesday,
October 13, at the Riverview in Oakdale. Click
here for more details about the petition effort, the court case
and the gala.
North
Hempstead
The question of establishing council districts in the Town of
North hempstead will be decided in a special election to be held
on April 29, 2003. The Neighborhood Network is urging its members
and all North Hempstead residents to vote "Yes". We
are distributing informational flyers in that town explaining
the benefits of council districts.
Brookhaven
The Neighborhood Network, in partnership with a local Brookhaven
civic organization, helped to organize a campaign to change an
"at-large" system of electing Town Board members to
one of council districts. Together, the two groups collected more
than 20,000 signatures to put the question on a referendum. After
considerable legal wrangling on the part of the Town Board, the
residents of the town were given the opportunity to vote on this
important reform, and chose to adopt
council districts.
East
Hampton
Currently we are working with a coalition of civic activists and
community leaders in the Town of East Hampton to put the question
of adopting council districts before the voters in that town.
If you are registered to vote in East Hampton Township, find
out how you can help.
Petition efforts
are also underway the Towns of Babylon and Huntington.
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