Coming to Grips with the Presidential Election Results

Many locals I spoke to in recent days were expecting to celebrate the election of America's first female president on Election Day. Our neighborhood leans left and some residents spent the last few weeks making phone calls for Hillary or travelling to Pennsylvania or Florida to canvass and poll watch. With pollsters predicting a Clinton victory, supporters in Scarsdale were optimistic that the former NYS Senator and Westchester resident would triumph at the polls.

And at least in Westchester County, Secretary Clinton was a big winner, taking 65% of the vote to Trump's 32%. According to the Westchester County Board of Elections website, Democrats fared well down the line, with Senator Chuck Schumer winning 71% of the vote and Congressman Eliot Engel, State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin and State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins all re-elected by wide majorities.

But as we all know by now, the vote in Westchester did not mirror the country and almost everyone we spoke to here is completely shocked by the outcome.

In an effort to come to grips with the news, we asked some local leaders and residents to comment. Here is what they shared:

State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin said:

"The election results were an upset by everyone's calculation and I admit I was extremely disappointed. However, it is time to now come together and find common ground. We live in the greatest country in the world. Throughout our history we have been successful because we respect the peaceful transfer of power. We need to wish our new president well at the start of his new term, while at same time know that we will not always agree and need to keep discussing issues and listen to each other."

Congressman Eliot Engel offered this comment: "As with any election, the American people have spoken and now it is up to us to figure out how to come together and move forward. As your Congressman, I will continue to champion policies that safe-guard women's reproductive rights, strengthen the middle-class, preserve our environment for future generations and protect the civil rights of every American. I thank the people of the 16th District for once again renewing my two-year contract by an overwhelming margin."

Rabbi Jonathan Blake of Westchester Reform Temple sent the following in an email to his congregtation:

"The election is over and the American people have voted. The results have stunned the world and revealed once and for all the deep and alarming schisms in American society.

American Jews have long expressed their patriotism through civic engagement, advocacy for social justice, and steadfast acts of Tikkun Olam. The coming weeks, months, and years will be no different. Indeed, our principled and passionate engagement in a hurting and divided America is needed now more than ever.

In 1790, George Washington wrote a now-celebrated letter to the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island, home of the country's oldest Jewish house of worship (Touro Synagogue, 1763). In it he pledged that the "Government of the United States... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance."

Westchester Reform Temple will work vigilantly to hold our American government to Washington's founding promise as we prepare for and inaugurate the Presidency of Donald J. Trump. His rhetoric on the campaign trail and his record of public opinion have exposed a willingness to indulge in hateful speech and incitement toward minorities, women, and people with disabilities. His campaign attracted the vociferous support of some of America's most hate-filled voters: citizens who openly espouse White supremacy, the embrace of violence against the vulnerable, and Anti-Semitic lies made familiar throughout centuries of discrimination against Jewish people.

Today is November 9th, which Jewish history commemorates as Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass. On the night of November 9th-10th, 1938, the Nazis carried out an organized pogrom against Germany's Jews, claiming the lives of at least 91 Jews, destroying 267 synagogues and 7,500 Jewish-owned businesses, and arresting 30,000 Jewish citizens. Our People does not forget the lessons that history teaches about what happens when hate is wedded to power."

The following is a join statement from Rabbi Jeffrey Brown and Cantor Chanin Becker, of Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El.

"By definition, being part of a community means being in relationship with those who see our country and the world differently. During an election season, we understandably advocate for the candidate and worldview that most resonates with our own. Now that the election is over, our job is to come back together, as we continue to work for the good of our communities. To that end, our clergy and staff at Scarsdale Synagogue remain available for our membership to reflect on the events of this week, and to come together as a community and as a nation in the days ahead."

In an email from Cantor Becker she quoted Rabbi Zoe Klein who said,

"When God offered King Solomon anything he wished in I Kings 3:9, King Solomon asked for one thing only: "Give me a listening heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?" He didn't ask for might. He didn't ask for wealth. He didn't even ask for wisdom. He asked for a listening heart.

May the new Leader of the Free World be blessed with a listening heart. A heart that listens to the pain of a divided people. A heart that listens for commonalities. A heart that listens to those whose voices are tiny and soft. A heart that listens for the weeping at the margins. A heart that listens to the dreams of the poor, the hopes of the young, and the faint prayer of the dying. A heart that listens to the call of the earth and the haunting song of the sea. A heart that listens past language, dialects and differences to the very pulse of humanity. A heart that listens to the resounding message of history. A heart that listens to the spirits of our ancestors and the hum of the future. A heart that listens to you and listens to me and hears the mysterious harmonies that are so often hidden from us."

Rabbi Shira Milgrom of Congregation Kol Ami shared this: "When someone close to us dies, even with the shock and the disbelief and the grief, we begin to see with sharper focus the things that really matter to us, what is most important to us. I deeply hope that even in this time, especially in this time, that we will have greater clarity about our values - and that we promise ourselves and one another that we will be true to them, that we will find the courage to act on them."

We also asked Scarsdale resident and former chair of the New York Regional Board of the Anti Defamation League John Harris for his thoughts. Here is what he shared:

"Woke up feeling empty on so many levels ... A thoughtful, nuanced, experienced and compassionate candidate was rejected in favor of a candidate who has shown none of those qualities...

A strategy based on the grim premise that America is being "bled dry" by the "political establishment" and "global elites" actually resonated across the country...

Hoping (but having no confidence) that the intolerance of immigrants and other minorities that Trump used to energize the base gives way to a more inclusive spirit when he has to govern everyone...

Hoping that he realizes that, unchecked, his campaign message emboldens those who would deny basic civil rights to religious and ethnic minorities (and that it has already unleashed a flood of anti-Semitism against Trump's critics in the press and elsewhere)...

Hoping that he is reflective enough to know that civil liberties are fragile and that what you choose to say to get elected is very different than what you must say and do to govern a diverse country."

Former Scarsdale Trustees Richard Toder offered these reflections on the election results of 2016:

"While Mr. Trump was not my choice for the Presidency, I have always tried to be an optimist about our country's future. Indeed, in the past we have had Presidents who were not originally well-thought of by a significant portion of our citizens –think Harry Truman- yet subsequently became extremely well-regarded by almost all. So I would encourage our populace to give him a chance, for if there is one thing that is clear, it is that legislative accomplishments are hard to come by in our current highly fractured political climate.

In that regard, since the Republicans will now have control of both the Executive Branch and both house of the Legislature, there will be no credible excuse for continued stalemate. As such, they will be judged by what is, or is not, accomplished, starting in January of next year."

Do you have thoughts on the election? Please share them in the comments box below -- include your first and last names.