07/27/08 Where's The Democracy? A Greenwich Democrat hasn't won a trip to the Legislature from Greenwich since 1930

Greenwich Time Editors Has A Message For
Political Party Leaders
It's Time To Poop Or Get Off The Pot

Voter's Deserve A Choice!!!

The democratic process is hurting

Greenwich Time Editorial

"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried."

- Sir Winston Churchill

Few can match Sir Winston in the pithy quote department. But we can only imagine what he might say about a democracy where only half the candidates show up. We suspect it'd be a some bon mot about it being no democracy at all.

While it's certainly a stretch to say we're no democracy, the elections coming up are far from ideal.

As of this writing, 11 of the 20 races in lower Fairfield County for the state General Assembly are uncontested.

That means thousands of voters in Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk and other towns will be able to choose who runs their country on Election Day, but not who represents their neighborhoods. A sad state of the state, indeed. And the fact that many residents won't notice, because they'll be nowhere near a voting booth that day (Sir Winston's cynicism can be contagious), is no cause for relief. This is a particularly bad year to have uncontested races because turnout should be relatively large, given the high-octane presidential contest.

Most of us care much more about who is president, but our local and state representatives in many ways have a greater impact on our lives. Not only do uncontested races mean citizens have no choice as to who gets that power, they allow incumbents to sail through the very phase of our governing process designed to hold their feet to the fire. Without an opponent to debate, they really have no one to answer to. That doesn't necessarily mean they will act in bad faith while in office, but it's a lousy way to run a government "by the people."

We're used to a smattering of empty races in our cities and towns, but this is a particularly bad year. Who's to blame? Hard to say. Perhaps circumstance as much as anything.

It's the political party leaderships who are responsible for enticing new candidates. But in our communities in particular, it can be a really hard sell.

Take Greenwich, for example, where incumbent state Reps. Livvy Floren and Lile Gibbons, both Republicans, are unopposed. A Democrat hasn't won a trip to the Legislature from Greenwich since 1930. With that kind of history, it can be awfully hard to convince someone to spend the time and energy to mount a race.

In Stamford, the situation is reversed: The city GOP has one candidate nominated among six legislative districts, now that Democratic state Sen. Andrew McDonald's Republican competitor has dropped out.

In Norwalk, state Rep. Bruce Morris, a Democrat, remains unopposed in his heavily Democratic 140th District. As does House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero Jr., despite the fact that he retained his seat by less than 600 votes in 2006. Many believe this will be a tough year for Republicans, which could make Mr. Cafero, an eight-term Republican, even more vulnerable, although that might be countered by the high visibility he enjoyed this term with his newly acquired leadership position. Either way, it doesn't matter. Looks like he gets a free ride this year.

Party leaders in our towns and cities also face a significant challenge that those in other communities don't: Hartford is far, far away from here. It's understandable why many wouldn't relish the prospect of that commute, but even that deterrent hasn't had this kind of impact in the past.

As sorry and serious as this situation is, there are many reasons why it is difficult to get people to run. That said, we are not sure how to regard a head-spinning excuse that rose out of Weston, where the Democratic Town Committee has been unable to field a challenger to 14-year Republican incumbent John Stripp.

"It is perceived as just plain bad manners (to challenge a long-standing incumbent), and the social repercussions loom large," the DTC leader told reporter Brian Lockhart. "How to navigate the sideline at soccer or church on Sunday?"

We don't even want to think what Sir Winston would have to say about that one.

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