ABSTRACT
The political field in which the Greenburgh district leaders are studied is one of dwindling concentric circles, from national politics inward to overlapping local political scenes. Governmental and political structures run parallel. For the Democrats, for example, Westchester County is tracked by the county committee of about 1,640 district leaders, made up of two people from each election district in the county, who are theoretically elected every odd-numbered year. Sometimes in New York minor parties have run their own candidates in order to make a political point by offering an alternative choice. This is a time-honored method of “third” parties, nationwide, to send political messages to the major parties and the people in general. New York State has usually been described geographically and politically as upstate and downstate, the latter including as part of the metropolitan area the suburban counties ringing New York City.
