Petition Submitted to Move Pleasantville Elections to November

By Abby Luby

A referendum to change Pleasantville’s traditional local election day from March to November is likely to appear on the ballot in the upcoming general election.

A petition to place the referendum on the November ballot was signed by more than 520 village residents and submitted to the Pleasantville village clerk on Tuesday. After verifying all the signatures, the petition will be submitted to the Westchester Board of Elections for review.

Collecting signatures over the past few months was resident Francesca Hagadus, who has been publicly advocating for the election date change for more than a year. The contentious issue was raised last spring when both opposing and supporting views surfaced at a Village Board meeting.

Advocates say moving local elections to November will lead to higher voter turnout. Hagadus was motivated by consistently low turnout in March elections.

When Hagadus ran for Village Board trustee in March 2024 against Yemi Healy, only 641 residents voted out of 5,021 registered Pleasantville voters. (Hagadus finished 56 votes behind Healy.)

Consistently opposing the change are Pleasantville Mayor Peter Scherer and most Village Board trustees, who favor what they describe as the independent nature of village elections. Scherer contends that the March election gives more people the opportunity to get involved with the community.

“I think it’s the highest goal for all to sustain our nonpartisan elections,” Scherer said in an interview with The Examiner. “I’m very much concerned that it will be harder to do in November, which is when it will be wrapped up into the political maelstrom of the major, November elections.”

Village candidates who traditionally run independent of the two major parties have formed groups such as the New Pleasantville Party, the Village Party, the Pleasantville Voice Party, the Good Government Party and Villagers for Pleasantville.

How village candidates would appear on a general election ballot remains a concern. Some trustees have said voters might simply cast a party-line vote and overlook nonpartisan candidates.

Hagadus, however, believes voting in the general election would foster greater civic engagement.

“This will be an opportunity to open the candidate field and encourage people of all backgrounds in our village to run, instead of those known among the few,” she said.

Elected positions in Pleasantville include mayor, Village Board trustee and village justice. Candidates must gather 100 signatures by February to qualify for the March ballot. Some argue that leaves little time for residents to get to know candidates, their platforms and the issues. Running in November, they say, would allow time for public debates organized by the League of Women Voters.

However, running for village office in November would extend what’s traditionally a two-month campaign into a six-month effort, which could be costly. Potential candidates might not have the resources or time to sustain a longer campaign.

In last week’s episode of the Local Matters Westchester podcast, Scherer said that while a November election might be more convenient for voters, it would present significant challenges for local candidates.

“In the last two months you’re trying to gain attention,” he said. “You’re fighting to get attention against every other election that is going on at the federal, state and county level. Asking someone to become a six-month candidate every three years is a challenge that most would be off put by.”

Scherer added that a longer campaign could pressure candidates to align with a major party for fundraising and support, undermining Pleasantville’s tradition of independence.

“I feel very strongly that the greatest gift of Pleasantville politics has been that it isn’t in the grip of the partisan gridlock that exists everywhere else,” he said.

November Ballot Question

According to Section 15-104 of New York State Election Law, general village elections are held on the third Tuesday in March—unless a village adopts a proposition to elect officers on a different date.

To place such a referendum on the March 2026 ballot, a petition would need 200 signatures, based on Pleasantville’s population of roughly 7,300. To place it on the November 2025 ballot, the law requires double that amount—“as many as 400 signatures for a village of 5,000 or more.”

According to Hagadus, the petition with more than 520 signatures qualifies for the November ballot. “Fewer than a handful have objected,” she said.

Westchester Board of Elections (BOE) Democratic Commissioner Tajian Nelson said the village clerk must first verify the petition before it’s submitted to the BOE.

“The clerk will determine the validity of the petition,” Nelson explained. “If it is submitted in a timely manner to the Board of Elections and provides the documents required by the BOE by Aug. 4, then it will be on the Nov. 4 ballot.”

Candidates on the upcoming November ballot for Mount Pleasant offices include Town Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi (R), who is running unopposed; Town Council member and incumbent Tom Sialiano (R); retired Thornwood fire chief James Gedris (R); and Joe Bonanno, running on a new local political line, Taxpayers for Accountability. All Mount Pleasant town board seats are currently held by Republicans.

Town Hall Meeting

At a Village Board meeting last March, Scherer suggested holding a town hall for residents to share their views on moving the election date.

Hagadus said she followed up with Scherer on the idea.

“Even though it was mentioned by the mayor in March, I inquired about it and was told no decision had been made,” she said. “But at this point, with the petition, I think we are moving in the right direction.”

To date, a town hall has not been announced.

Scherer said that with the referendum now advancing, the board would discuss whether to hold a town hall.

“The Village Board is in a position to assess the issue of a town hall and whether we have a town hall meeting or not,” he said.

Village Board trustees up for re-election in 2026 are Nicole Asquith and Paul Alvarez. If the referendum passes and they run again, their terms would be extended by seven months, with their races moved to the November 2026 ballot. Terms expiring in 2027 include those of Scherer, David Vinjamuri and Yemi Healy.

In recent years, other Westchester villages have made similar changes. Last year, Sleepy Hollow residents approved moving their elections from March to November by a 3-to-1 margin. In 2022, Hastings-on-Hudson voters passed a similar measure with 88 percent support.