Westchester County Board of Legislators
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The Westchester County Board of Legislators is the legislative, policy-making branch of Westchester County. The powers of the Board are enumerated in the County’s charter. A key power of the Board concerns finances: appropriating funds, approving the budget and levying taxes. It also approves appointments by the County Excutive and passes local laws, acts and resolutions.
The Board has seventeen members, known as Legislators, each representing a district approximately 50,000 residents and is elected every two years. (See below Board members)
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[edit] History
The history of the board can be dated back to 1682 when the Governor of the Province called for election of a “general assembly of freeholders with legislative powers.” Westchester County is one of the ten original counties created in 1683 by an act of the General Assembly. The county had extremely limited self-governing powers, vested in a Board of Justices, consisting of five or more justices of the peace.
In 1703, the title of supervisor was given to the office formerly known as town treasurer. The supervisor constituted the origin County Board of Supervisors, the predecessor Board to the current Board of Legislators. The Board of Supervisors has few powers until the abolishment of the Board of Justices; their limited powers of legislation were conferred on the Board of Supervisors.
In 1846 and 1892, the state constitution was amended to expand the role of county government and the authority of the state’s county boards was significantly expanded.
In the 1937 general election, the Westchester County Charter was approved, defining and expanding the powers and duties of the Board of Supervisors and establishing the office of County Executive.
By the 60s, the population patterns in the County varied greatly, from heavily populated southern to more sparsely settled northern Westchester. In 1966, the State Supreme Court ruled the Board of Supervisors violated the “one man, one vote” principle established by the United States Supreme Court in a previous decision. Board of Supervisors was abolished by court order and replaced in 1970 with our current legislative body, the County Board of Legislators.
[edit] Board members
The County Board has seventeen members, each representing a district approximately 50,000 residents. As of January 2008, thirteen of them are Democrats and four are Republicans.[3]
| District | Legislator | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| District 1 | George Oros (R) | Minority Leader |
| District 2 | Peter Harckham (D) | |
| District 3 | John Nonna (D) | |
| District 4 | Michael B. Kaplowitz (D) | Vice Chair |
| District 5 | William J. Ryan (D) | Board Chair |
| District 6 | Martin Rogowsky (D) | Majority Leader |
| District 7 | Judith A. Myers (D) | Majority Whip |
| District 8 | Lois T. Bronz (D) | |
| District 9 | William Burton (D) | |
| District 10 | Vito J. Pinto (D) | |
| District 11 | James Maisano (R) | Minority Whip |
| District 12 | Thomas J. Abinanti (D) | |
| District 13 | Lyndon Williams (D) | |
| District 14 | Bernice Spreckman (R) | |
| District 15 | Gordon A. Burrows (R) | |
| District 16 | Kenneth W. Jenkins (D) | |
| District 17 | José I. Alvarado (D) |
[edit] Committees
The Board of Legislators operates under a committee system. Currently, there are nine committees, each of which is charged with overseeing a particular policy area.
The following table reflect Committee chair of 2007.
| Committee | Chair |
|---|---|
| Budget and Appropriations | Michael Kaplowitz |
| Legislation | Vito Pinto |
| Family, Health and Human Services | Judith Myers |
| Public Safety and Security | William Burton |
| Housing, Planning and Gov't Operations | Lois Bronz |
| Public Works, Trans., Labor & Parks | Ken Jenkins |
| Environment & Energy | Thomas Abinanti |
| Generational, Cultural & Ethnic Diversity | Bernice Spreckman |
| Appointments |
[edit] References
- ^ A Brief History of the County Board of Legislators, <http://www.westchesterlegislators.com/History/index.htm>
- ^ HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF LEGISLATORS, <http://www.watpa.org/wcbol/history/history.htm>
- ^ Westchester County Board of Legislators, <http://www.westchesterlegislators.com/>. Retrieved on 9 January 2008
