Anti-poverty Agency Votes to Postpone April Elections to July Does Not Automatically Exclude Electio

The Council Against Poverty, New York City’s central agency for its 26 anti-poverty agencies, has voted to cancel scheduled disputed elections for boards of those agencies on April 22, a Saturday, and voted also to recommend the elections be held in July. Scheduling of elections on that date by 24 of the 26 community corporations had led to introduction of bills to bar such Saturday elections in both the New York City Council and in the State Legislature. A bill in the Senate was approved yesterday by a vote of 52-4. The bill was approved by the Assembly on March 15 by a 127-9 vote.

Meanwhile, Justice Dominic S. Rinaldi of the State Supreme Court, Kings County, handed down a ruling, disclosed today, granting a permanent injunction against the holding of elections for anti-poverty boards on the Jewish Sabbath. A suit for such a ban was filed several months ago by Rabbi Shlomo Gorodetsky, chairman of the Crown Heights Community Corp.

Disclosure of the election postponement by the CAP was made by David J. Billings III, CAP chairman, at a meeting yesterday with representatives of seven major Jewish organizations comprising the Ad Hoc Committee on the Jewish Poor. They met with Billings and the CAP executive committee to discuss a number of issues of concern to the Jewish community and the Jewish poor. (See story Page 3) Billings said that the CAP had decided to postpone the April 22 elections and that the CAP executive council had considered alternate dates in July or September. He said the executive council had decided to recommend July elections to avoid conflict with the Jewish High Holy Days in September.

TIME TO SIGN LEGISLATION

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency confirmed the postponement and was told that the action was taken at a meeting of the CAP last Thursday. Major Owens, commissioner of the Community Development Association, Billings, and some members of the executive committee at the meeting, expressed concern about disregarding the wishes of local corporation councils to hold elections on a day of their own choosing.

They said several of the corporations had already selected Saturday, presumably a reference to April 22. Jewish critics of such scheduling contend that Sabbath elections disfranchise Orthodox Jews, who comprise most of the Jewish poor, because they cannot vote on the Jewish Sabbath, or even have their names on the ballots. They also may not serve as poll watchers.

Billings has strongly opposed a ban on Saturday elections, contending that poor Blacks and Puerto Ricans cannot take time off from work on weekdays. However, after the State Assembly approved the bill banning such elections, Billings said he would obey the law.

It was noted that the shift of elections to July would not automatically mean the cancellation of poverty board elections on the Jewish Sabbath. However, the postponement to July will provide ample time for Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller to sign the legislation and thus prevent Saturday elections whether held in July or any other time of the year. Presumably Justice Rinaldi’s ruling makes that issue moot, unless there is an appeal from his ruling.

BLACK LEGISLATOR OPPOSES BILL

During the Senate debate yesterday, prior to the vote on the measure banning Sabbath elections, Waldaba Stewart, a Senator from Brooklyn, opposed the bill and urged delay of a week to determine if a compromise could be worked out on the issue. Stewart, a Black Legislator, charged that the urgency for adoption was being “forced” by “Jewish politicians” who needed to “demonstrate their power” to their communities.

Black leaders have complained that banning of elections on Saturday would frustrate the goal of “maximum feasible participation” by the poor in the poverty programs. Similar charges were made by Black Assemblymen in the debate before Assembly approval.