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Letter to the Community: What Does the Data Say About “Nonpartisan”?

By Rob Deichert
 
Oct. 15, 2026: Friends of Bronxville Elections calls its campaign to move Village elections from March to November “non-partisan.” I was curious whether the people behind the effort reflected the political makeup of Bronxville, so I looked at the contribution records and the 2026 petitions.
 
The numbers caught my attention.
 
The same political party accounts for ~41% of registered voters in Bronxville, but ~96% of the group's identified donors and ~97% of the petition witnesses.
 
Ten of that party's 13 local district leaders donated, and 12 of the 13 helped collect signatures.
 
Here is how I arrived at those numbers.
 
The village voter file I used includes 4,714 voters. About ~41% are enrolled in one political party, ~25% in the other major party, ~31% are unaffiliated and ~4% belong to other parties.
 
The contribution records show 23 individual donors to Friends of Bronxville Elections. Twenty-two are registered with the same political party. The other donor is unaffiliated. I did not find a donor registered with another party.
 
Of the 13 district leaders for that party in Bronxville, 10 donated to the effort. That is ~77% of its local district leadership, and those 10 people account for ~43% of the group's identified donors.
 
I also reviewed the 2026 petition. They list 34 people as witnesses to the signatures. Thirty-three are registered with that same political party, and one is unaffiliated. Of the 119 petition pages, 117 were witnessed by members of that party. Twelve of its 13 local district leaders also appear among the witnesses.
 

~41% of Bronxville voters belong to that party.

~96% of the identified donors belong to that party.

10 of 13 district leaders donated.

~97% of the 2026 petition witnesses belong to that party.

12 of 13 district leaders helped collect signatures.

To summarize:

I am not suggesting that a person's party registration tells us why they donated or volunteered. Nor does the involvement of district leaders establish that their party formally sponsored the campaign. People can support changing the election date for reasons that have nothing to do with party politics.
 
Still, when a group describes itself as nonpartisan, I think it is reasonable to ask who is funding the effort and who is doing the work. This data gives Bronxville residents something concrete to consider.
 
I'll leave it to voters to decide what the numbers mean.

Robert Deichert Jr.

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Bronxville Overview

Bronxville is a quaint village (one square mile) located just 16 miles north of midtown Manhattan (roughly 30 minutes on the train) and has a population of approximately 6,500. It is known as a premier community with an excellent public school (K-12) and easy access to Manhattan. Bronxville offers many amenities including an attractive business district, a hospital (Lawrence Hospital), public paddle and tennis courts, fine dining at local restaurants, two private country clubs and a community library.

While the earliest settlers of Bronxville date back to the first half of the 18th century, the history of the modern suburb of Bronxville began in 1890 when William Van Duzer Lawrence purchased a farm and commissioned the architect, William A. Bates, to design a planned community of houses for well-known artists and professionals that became a thriving art colony. This community, now called Lawrence Park, is listed on the National register of Historic Places and many of the homes still have artists’ studios. A neighborhood association within Lawrence Park called “The Hilltop Association” keeps this heritage alive with art shows and other events for neighbors.

Bronxville offers many charming neighborhoods as well as a variety of living options for residents including single family homes, town houses, cooperatives and condominiums. One of the chief benefits of living in “the village” is that your children can attend the Bronxville School.

The Bronxville postal zone (10708, known as “Bronxville PO”) includes the village of Bronxville as well as the Chester Heights section of Eastchester, parts of Tuckahoe and the Lawrence Park West, Cedar Knolls, Armour Villa and Longvale sections of Yonkers. Many of these areas have their own distinct character. For instance, the Armour Villa section has many historic homes and even has its own newsletter called “The Villa Voice” which reports on neighborhood news.

Bronxville Village Government Directory

Village of Bronxville Administrative Offices
337-6500
Open 9:00am - 4pm excluding holidays and weekends

Bronxville Police Department
337-0500
Open 24 hours

Bronxville Parking Violations
337-2024
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Bronxville Fire Deparment
793-6400

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