Money where the mouth is
Editorial 0 comments below
No matter what side of the aisle serves as your vantage point to the local political scene, you have to like the Republicans' decision to run Tim Mazzei for town supervisor. We're glad to see the GOP is putting its money where its mouth is.
For the past year, Mr. Mazzei, as Town Board majority leader, has been the spokesman for the Republican/Conservative caucus. And with a lot of the changes his majority made to the structure of Brookhaven government, he's been the unofficial town supervisor.
Mr. Mazzei and the majority saw fit to remove the offices of public information and economic development from Democratic Town Supervisor Brian Foley's office. They replaced commissioners and eliminated positions within the supervisor's office. They shifted much control and responsibility to the entire Town Board, which they control by one vote.
They did this despite opposition from Democrats on the board and residents of the town. More importantly, these changes were made without ever having been discussed during election season.
Republicans say the restructuring of government offices was done not as a "power grab," as Mr. Foley and others have claimed, but in an effort to streamline government and cut spending. They say the changes are in the spirit of councilmanic districts. GOP chairman Jesse Garcia said voters gave a mandate for change by electing a Republican majority to the board, despite the re-election of Mr. Foley.
Well, now it's a new election season and the public again has a chance to speak.
Do you support this new town government that has redistributed resources to give more authority to whichever party controls the board? Or the system the town, and most every other town for that matter, had operated under until this year -- the one that empowers the supervisor to, well, supervise?
Your choice is made easy with the nomination of Mr. Mazzei, which is why it's so right that his party is putting its money behind its mouthpiece. Mr. Mazzei made it perfectly clear he stands by the actions of this current Town Board. And he was the one who led the charge to make changes that benefited his party and afforded it more control.
The question you need to ask yourself is this: Did those changes benefit you? Do you feel you live in a better town this year than you did last year?
If the answer is no, and if you feel the supervisor's office should be restored to its original structure, your answer will be easy this election season.
And if a majority of the voting public agrees with you, and a Democrat is elected to succeed Mr. Foley, that would constitute a mandate.
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