Mayoral Challenger: Judge Wrong in Portchester Voting Rights Case

By Theresa Juva The Journal News (March 15, 2009)

PORT CHESTER, NY - Republican mayoral candidate Bill Villanova believes a federal judge was wrong in ruling that the village needs a new voting system and says, as mayor, he would lead trustees to fight the U.S. Justice Department if cumulative voting isn't approved.

"Judges are not always right," the Rye town deputy supervisor said. "It's the judge's interpretation of the law."

Trustee elections have been halted since 2006 after the Justice Department and one-time trustee candidate Cesar Ruiz sued Port Chester for violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965. U.S. District Judge Stephen C. Robinson ruled against the village last year and found that Hispanics had consistently backed certain candidates but failed to elect them in Port Chester's at-large voting system.

The Justice Department has pushed for a voting-district system, with six districts each represented by a trustee. Village officials have advocated cumulative voting, which would allow each voter to cast the same number of votes as open board seats, allowing them to vote multiple times for the same candidate.

Mayor Dennis Pilla and Villanova both support cumulative voting, but differ on how to handle the case if Robinson orders the village to create districts. Legal fees are reaching close to $1 million.

Villanova has said he would use private money to appeal both the remedy order and the original ruling.

"If you don't fight, you don't know if you are going to win," he said, adding that he doesn't think the village's at-large voting system violates the law.

Villanova argued that the political process has always been open to everyone, but that "political hacks" and "a few bad apples" corrupted it.

He also disagrees with how the village has been portrayed.

"The village of Port Chester is not a racist community," he said. "For the Department of Justice to think that the village of Port Chester is a racist community, that we don't embrace different cultures and religions ... the village of Port Chester is the snapshot of America."

Pilla said he respects the judge's original decision and doesn't favor appealing it. He accused Villanova of trying to attract "bigoted" voters to the polls.

"Basically, everybody who is an expert in the field agrees at this point that it is unwise to fight on liability," he said. "That's not to say I don't want to fight for the people of Port Chester. I think we deserve the remedy of our choice. I think we need to see how the judge rules."

Pilla also emphasized that elections need to resume as soon as possible.

"I'd rather avoid the six-district plan, but I don't want to hold up elections for three more years, and I don't want to drain the village coffers," he said.

The mayoral election is Wednesday.