We Want Mount Vernon Voters to Decide
The proposed reforms of professional city management and qualified financial oversight, expanded voter choice, and district-based representation – are not isolated ideas. They are designed to work together as a coherent system of good government.
That is why these reforms are consistently recommended by the National Civic League, a nonpartisan organization that has studied municipal governance for more than a century and publishes the widely respected Model City Charter. The League’s guidance emphasizes:
Professional Administrative and Financial Management
District representation to strengthen accountability
Nonpartisan primaries for city offices – one ballot for all voters
These proposals did not emerge in a vacuum. A subcommittee of Mount Vernon’s Charter Review Commission spent more than a year studying the City’s governance structure and researching best practices nationwide. It reached the same conclusions reflected here: the need for neighborhood representation, professional management, and qualified financial oversight.
However, political interference halted the process before these reforms could reach the ballot, denying Mount Vernon residents the opportunity to vote on them.
We are working to return that opportunity to the voters, where it belongs – with these three referendums.
Proposal #1 – Professional Management & Finances
This proposal creates a Council-Manager Form of Government, where the City Council sets policy and a professionally qualified City Manager oversees daily operations. It also requires a credentialed, expert Commissioner of Finance to oversee the City’s Finances.
Under this model, the Mayor serves as a voting member of the Council, providing leadership and ceremonial representation. Administrative power is placed in professional hands, not political hands. The Commissioner of Finance is appointed by the City Manager based on expertise and does not have to put energy into election cycles. In well-governed cities, the chief financial officer is appointed based on expertise – not elected based on popularity.
Why this proposal matters:
- The City Manager is a nonpartisan professional, hired through a national search based on qualifications and experience.
- This administrator is responsible for day-to-day city operations and service delivery, and can be terminated for poor performance.
- The Commissioner of Finance is a credentialed finance professional providing responsible budgeting and accounting and accurate financial reporting, and can also be terminated for poor performance.
Professional City Management And Professional Financial Oversight are two halves of the same system. Together, they create a modern structure that ensures efficiency, professional expertise, reduced political pressure, stability, accountability, and public confidence.
Proposal #2 – Neighborhood Representation
Council Election Using a Hybrid District System
Different cities have different population patterns: economic, geographic, racial, and ethnic. The method of electing council members should be chosen to assure equitable representation of the community.
This proposal adopts a hybrid system: four district-based councilmembers and one at-large member. The at-large member would always be the Mayor, who would serve as part of the Council in all respects, including salary.
Why a Hybrid District System is Important:
- Stronger accountability: Councilmembers answer directly to their neighborhoods
- Amplified community voice: Local issues are less likely to be lost in citywide politics
- Lower barriers to public service: Residents can run for office in their own neighborhood, making service on the council more accessible and reflective of the city’s diversity
- More equitable representation: Neighborhoods gain a real seat at the table
Proposal #3 – Letting All Voters Decide
Nonpartisan Primaries
All voters, regardless of party registration – would be able to vote for the candidates who will govern Mount Vernon. No one would be shut out of the decision because of party affiliation. Candidates would run to serve the whole city, not just a party base, giving residents more voice, more choice, and elections focused on local issues instead of political labels.
In a nonpartisan primary:
- Every voter receives the same ballot, regardless of party registration.
- Candidates appear without party labels on the ballot.
- Voters choose among all candidates in June, and the top candidates advance to November.
This replaces closed party primaries with a system that treats all residents equally, reduces machine control, and encourages candidates to serve the whole city – not just a party base.
New York law allows cities to adopt nonpartisan primaries for local offices through a charter change approved by voters in a referendum. New York courts have repeatedly affirmed that cities have broad home-rule authority to redesign their election methods for municipal offices.
Two New York cities — Watertown and Sherrill — already use nonpartisan local elections, and many similarly sized U.S. cities outside New York do the same.