A caucus tradition continues

By JoAnn R. Walter —

Village of Newark Valley residents gathered inside the Noble Room at the Village Municipal Building on Thursday evening, Jan. 22 for a village caucus. Two sessions took place, one for Republican voters and one for Democrat voters.

Enrolled members of the two parties participated in an open discussion and nominated individuals for three available positions in the Village, including that of Mayor and two trustees. Each position is a four-year term, and elections will be held in March.

Greeting residents at the sign-in desk were interim Mayor Joe Mooney and retired Mayor Jim Tornatore. Tornatore shared the caucus process rules prior to the 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. sessions.

According to the New York State Board of Elections, party nominations of candidates for elective office are made at either a party caucus or a primary election.

The Board of Elections describes a caucus as an open meeting of a town or village’s political party at which candidates are nominated for elective office. Only residents of the town or village who are enrolled members of the party may participate in the caucus.

The term caucus has a few theories about how it originated. There is a “Caulker’s Club” theory that refers to a club of ship caulkers from the eighteenth century and is tied to politics in Boston. Other sources trace the term to an Algonquin word that translates to “a meeting of chiefs and elders.”

Political parties in the United States used the caucus as the original method of choosing candidates. Most states have changed to the primary system since the beginning of the twentieth century. In New York State, the caucus system is still used in many towns and villages.

For the Village of Newark Valley, the caucus style has been utilized for decades. Tornatore recalls it was in place when he first ran for mayor, and he recently retired after 21 years of service.

Mooney and Tornatore believe that the Village of Newark Valley is the only town or village in Tioga County that utilizes the caucus system.

There are pros to using a caucus system, and one in particular, Tornatore noted, is, “It is more participatory.”

What is viewed as a neighborly type of gathering holds more meaning for some. The strength of a caucus is that individuals can be swayed to change their opinions, especially if many others in the group agree.  

Two village residents of Newark Valley were selected to be the administrators for their party prior to nominations being made. Vickie Bigelow was selected for the Republican caucus, and Christopher Cena was selected for the Democratic caucus. 

Bigelow and Cena announced the rules for each of their parties. Individuals then voiced their nominations for the three openings, followed by the seconding of the nominations. 

Lastly, the audience was asked one final time if there were any other nominations before the all-those-in-favor action ended the session.

The three nominees who came out of the session were Republicans Joseph Mooney for Mayor, and Katie Sack and William Foster for Trustee positions. The names were to be forwarded to the Clerk-Treasurer, who in turn sends out letters to the nominees. The nominees that arose from the caucus will now be included on the ballot in March. 

After the caucus sessions, Tornatore remarked, “Here we have democracy at its finest.”