Voting for Change

Decisions are gong to be made on Saturday morning. In the case of Highway Department Supervisor the impact of that decision is huge. Copake has suffered a succession of highway supervisors whose goal was never in doubt; to build an empire inside the town. The Supervisors were Republicans, so they hired only Republicans. They inflated the budget to a degree that their line item now constitutes half the cost of the entire town budget - that we sustain as taxpayers - and they have historically been arbiters of far more than road maintenance – they’re outsized influence was felt far and wide.


I’ve been here ten years and heard nothing from Democrats except, “We need to clean that place up”. “We need to look at the books” (Which we’ve never been able to do.) “We need new blood there.” “I’d do anything to get an independent Highway Supervisor.” Now, we have that chance and I see that instead of seizing our opportunity we are lining up to seat another Republican in the very place they have mismanaged for decades.

Bill Gregory seems like a nice man and competent, but exactly the same thing can be said of Bill Jamieson who also has decades of experience on the roads of our town and country. Both men enjoy good reputations as decent people and hard workers. The critical difference is that Bill Gregory is a Republican and Bill Jamieson is not. How then, can we squander our opportunity? How is it that we are losing our nerve at the critical moment? I remind all that this vote will put new leadership in the town’s most important office for exactly one year. If Bill Jamieson doesn’t please us in 52 weeks, the voters will get another chance to speak. How then, with this window of opportunity, can we not act in both our own interest and the interest of the town?

In case anyone’s forgotten, Bob and Linda can speak to all of you about the cost of missing an opportunity to exercise our power. They sat on a board for two years with a majority vote and instead of playing hardball, they played “nice.” They will be the first to tell you that was a huge mistake, one they won’t make again.

This isn’t personal for me. Nor should it be personal for Democrats. This is about strategy. It’s our moment to exercise our growing power. It’s our moment to make a statement to the good old boys and their dying mantra of anchoring our town to the past instead of the future. I call upon all Democrats to vote, and vote for our vision, our goals, because if anyone’s going to have a hell of a good laugh on Saturday, it will be the good old boys when they watch Democrats vote Republican.

Ian Jarvis – Voting for Change.