In Officer Election
Mail Ballot at DC 37 Reactivates Retirees

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

The use of mail ballots in last month's District Council 37 Retirees' Association officer elections increased the number of members voting from 2 percent to 44 percent compared with three years earlier.

STU LEIBOWITZ: Increased participation.

In May 2004 the association required members to come to DC 37 headquarters in lower Manhattan to vote, and a total of 479 ballots were counted. After the low turn-out, the group voted to change its constitution to mandate mail ballots in all contested elections. Last month, 10,977 out of 25,081 retiree members cast votes in an election for two executive board positions.

'Were Disenfranchised'

"We drew the conclusion that the membership was being effectively disenfranchised," said the association's president, Stuart Leibowitz. "The retirees are much better off having membership participation."

About 75 percent of the membership still lives in New York City, but the vast majority didn't vote in the 2004 election even though it was the first time the presidential seat was contested.

The association voted to change its constitution in June 2006 to mandate mail ballots in all contested elections. The decision was approved by DC 37's parent union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, in November.

Mr. Leibowitz noted that the significant increase in voters came in an election where none of the top officers and only two of the 22 executive board seats were up for grabs. The mail ballot process cost the association $54,000, at a retiree rate of $2.08 per ballot.

'Fair Price for Democracy'

"That's 9 percent of our income," said the retirees' president, "but that's the price of democracy."

Cost has been cited as an obstacle in DC 37's largest local, 372, where more than 2,000 members have signed petitions requesting a mail ballot for officer elections. There were 547 votes cast from a pool of about 25,000 members in the local's 2005 election, which was held solely at DC 37 headquarters over a four-hour period.

The American Arbitration Association supervised the retirees' May election. Incumbent Vice President for Political Action Nancy J. Yost beat Josephina Johnson by a count of 7,646 to 2,719, and incumbent Associate Officer of Health Services Donald Eisenstein defeated Seymour Levine by a vote of 7,510 to 2,791.

"It's empowerment and it's democracy," said Mr. Leibowitz. "People have a right to vote."