To the Editor:Sasquatch. Ten foot alligators living in the New York City sewer system.
Microsoft will send you $245 for each e-mail you forward. Urban legends
are the stuff that make e-mail fun and cocktail conversation interesting.
Here in Greenwich, we have our own set of election urban legends ... myths that have been passed down over time as fact. While some of these myths are harmless, others have stopped eminently qualified citizens from running for office. Let's run down some of the most important ...
It's Too Late to Run for Office
False ... Citizens have until ninety days prior to the election to file
any type of petition to be placed on the ballot. Petitions need to be
filed with the Town Clerk by Wednesday, August 12 at 4:00pm.
The Town Charter Says There Can Only Be Six Republicans and Six
Democrats Running for the Board of Estimate & Taxation.
False ... the Town Charter only states that any one political party can
nominate six candidates. (Section 39) If there are more than six
candidates from any one party, a primary would be held. The voters
then select six candidates (from all candidates) at the polls. So, if a
seventh party endorsed candidate met the requirements, a primary would
be held to allow the citizens registered with their respective party to
choose which six candidates would be on the ballot.
The Board of Education Chairman Must Be From the Majority Party.
False ... There is no charter section, state statute, or Town ordinance
that states this. The Chairman of the Board of Education is elected by
the members of the Board.
Only the Political Town Committees Can Endorse Party Candidates
False ... Any registered party member can run as a candidate for their
party. To do so, they must obtain signatures of 5% of registered voters
from their party to be placed on the ballot. (Connecticut General
Statutes §9-204a). There were 8,924 registered Democrats and 13,309
registered Republicans as of June 6, 2009.Petitions are available from
the Town Clerk's office.
Only Candidates from the Political Parties Can Be On the Ballot
False ... Any registered voter can run as an unaffiliated candidate.
This requires only signatures from registered voters of any party in the
Town. The number of signatures required is the lesser of 1% of the
number of voters who voted in the last election (for positions with
multiple candidates), or 7,500 (Connecticut General Statutes §9-453d).
According the Town Clerk's office, approximately 13,250 votes were cast
in the last election for the Boards. That would mean the petition
requirement is only 132 registered voters.
There must Always An Even Split Between Republicans and Democrats On The
Boards
False ... All elected Boards (and most appointed Boards) in Greenwich
must meet the State statute concerning minority representation
(Connecticut General Statutes §9-167a). Both the Board of Education and
the Board of Estimate & Taxation are covered under this statute. This
means the Board of Estimate & Taxation could have nine members from one
party and the Board of Education can have five members from one party
(Connecticut General Statutes §9-167a(a)(1)). However, as I've said, the
Town's charter limits the number of candidates from one political party
for the Board of Estimate and Taxation to six, so effectively the number
of candidates endorsed by any one party is limited.
The citizens of Greenwich will see that past practice has dictated who
is on the ballot for the Board of Education and the Board of Estimate
and Taxation. For example, in the last election, both major political
parties only nominated two (of a possible four) candidates each for the
Board of Education. While this is perfectly acceptable under the
statutes and charter, it has become a pervasive practice that has
perpetuated the myth that we, as citizens, can't have choices beyond
those candidates put forth by our political Town committees.
The authors of our Town charter made sure that no one political party
could have an unassailable majority vote on our finance board, the Board
of Estimate and Taxation. But, as with many things political here in
Greenwich, the unintended consequences of limiting citizen choice for
these extremely important Boards has become "the way things are done."
Both major parties are always seeking out qualified, interested
candidates for these offices, and yet we citizens may miss out on other
qualified candidates that would step up given the knowledge to do so.
The authors of the Declaration of Independence wrote: "That to secure
these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed." We, the citizens, are the
governed, and should exercise our rights to choose from those citizens
most qualified for these most important Boards. We citizens have the
ability to provide that choice, and we should.
Paul Curtis
8 Rex Street
Greenwich, CT
531-9071
====================================
Please send your comments and letters to the Editor to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment