The Rise and Risk of Uncontested Elections

With 98% of New York State municipal incumbents winning in November, what are the risks, and where is opportunity? Deerpark, Warwick and Milford, PA reflect vulnerabilities and efforts.

In November elections, 95% of all incumbents for all offices in the U.S. were re-elected in last month's elections, said Steve Rolandi, adjunct professor of Public Administration at Pace University, who also served in various roles under four New York City mayors. In New York State, 94% of incumbents won, 88% for all federal positions in New York and 98% for all state legislative elections in NY. But incumbents did not necessarily win because of constituent enthusiasm.

Steve Rolandi, adjunct professor of Public Administration at Pace University (contributed photo)

In some areas, one party is strong, while other parties are weak or nonexistent. Often Democrats prevail in urban areas while Republicans dominate in rural areas. In Deerpark, for instance, town government is run by Republicans, who face little or no opposition in elections, and the council lineup changes minimally. When a council member retires or dies, the others often appoint a crony as replacement until an election, when the replacement is supported by crony council members to run and keep the seat. With this pattern, Deerpark shows the consequences of the complacency that can result.

Deerpark has no Democratic party, so while a group of residents has long been concerned about council ethics, they have not put forth their own candidate. When a new Republican council member, Christa Hoovler, was elected without support from the other council members, she attempted to update the ethics code but was impeded by her cohorts. Meanwhile, council members have been profiting from doing business with the town and appointing their relatives to town positions.

“New York makes it difficult for insurgents to get on the ballot,” Rolandi said. The expense and time needed to meet requirements discourages efforts. “They need to be well known, maybe an attorney who knows the arcane rules.”

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo increased the number of signatures needed to get on the ballot, and because of the risk of signatures being challenged, Rolandi said, two or three times the required number of signatures should be gathered.

Also, he said, “Campaigns are expensive, with signature gathering, printing costs and paying staff. Party structures are weak. They get orders from above and only put resources toward a few races. Judge races are often uncontested. But you want to grow the party at all levels.”

In Milford, PA, parties recruit candidates even for obscure positions to give them a place to start. But in Warwick, NY, Democrats say that potential candidates are often hesitant to run for town offices because of the smear tactics used by their Republican opponents, which can be problematic for candidates’ families and businesses.

Given the challenges of getting on the ballot and running, the number of active parties has declined from eight to four, Rolandi said. However, he notes the ascendance of Forward party members Christine Whitman, former New Jersey governor, and Andrew Yang, U.S. presidential and New York City mayoral candidate.

For someone with the means and knowhow, avenues are open. Dana Peterson won a Rhinebeck town board seat as a write-in candidate, starting her campaign in September by knocking on doors and attending numerous events where she talked to people. Rolandi points to a Stamford, Connecticut mayor who lost a primary and then created a third party. While presidential third party candidates have not succeeded, like Ross Perot and George Wallace, Rolandi said, “They do better at the state and local level, like Bernie Sanders, Independent Vermont senator, and Jesse Ventura, former Reform Party governor of Minnesota.”

“The weaker party needs strong candidates backed up by a good legal team, good treasurer, and an effective campaign manager,” Rolandi said. “In New York, ballot access laws are stringent, and a candidate needs good organization and ample funds. And leadership.”

Rolandi sees a path for broadening candidate opportunities with ranked choice voting, in which voters rank candidates by preference. If none of the first choice candidates win a majority, the one with least votes is eliminated and the second choice candidates of voters whose first choice is eliminated moves up, until a candidate gets the majority. New York State has ranked choice voting in primaries and special elections, while several California municipalities use ranked choice voting in their local elections.

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