VOTE YOUR INTEREST!

Tuesday Nov. 6 - Today is Election Day - Do not forget to VOTE!

Polling Places are open from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm

Election District 1 - Accord Fire Company, Main Street, Accord

Election District 2 - Town of Rochester Court House, 140 Samsonville Road

Election District 3 – Rochester Fire Company, Samsonville Road

Election District 4 – Alligerville Fire Company, Creek Road & Co. Route 6

Election District 5 - Accord Fire Company, Main Street, Accord

If you don’t know where to vote, call the Ulster County Board of Elections at 334-5470

The basic principle behind capitalism and its political corollary - democracy, is that people are generally rational. Taken further, it states that the mostly rational decisions which individuals make translates to a generally rational group decision. However, such is not always the case.

We teach our children to be strong and not follow the crowd and we discourage ‘group thinking’ in our institutions. However, perhaps more often than we would like to admit, we are influenced to support issues and ideas which are not in our best interest. This usually occurs because people have both a reason and a knack for writing and delivering great sales pitches or speeches or, in the case of advertising, entire ad campaigns, want to get us to do things, buy things or support ideas that do not enhance our lives and, in some cases, actually hurt us.

With the privilege of freedom comes responsibility. As citizens in a democratic nation, we choose from a wide variety of options available to us. We must make decisions that are hopefully, wise ones. Balance is a lovely word and a nice concept but what does it mean when choosing between the best interest of a group, our personal best interest or an extremely narrow selfish interest. Wisdom is not as prevalent as we would like to think so we must be circumspect when we are asked to vote for someone because it is in ‘our’ best interest. What does that really mean?

Those attempting to influence your vote or support for ‘your’ best interest can and often are interested in ‘their’ best interest. Their interest may be general, individual, or a very selfish interest. How can you tell if what they are advocating is actually good for you or is it just something that sounds good and it either doesn’t effect you or, perhaps, it is good for them and maybe, after thinking about it, it is really not so good for you.

So here on the local level in the Town of Rochester how do we know if something really is in your best interest and are there selfish interests trying to get you to vote for ‘their’ best interest by telling you it is in ‘your’ best interest?

Let us revisit our three fellows from a previous posting; Rural Character(s).

First we have Mike who works in construction. He is in his mid twenties, still single, paying off a loan on his pick-up truck and saving to build a modular house on the land his grandfather left him, that is, when he isn’t hunting, fishing or snowmobiling. On the surface, it would appear that it is in Mike’s best interest to back whichever party can provide for easy, free of government influence, fast track development of land because Mike really needs to get more work setting houses and clearing land. The more houses that are built, the more money Mike will make, its as simple as that! However, wait a second, what about hunting? Maybe it is not that simple. Where will he hunt? What will Mike's town be like in the future; with all those new houses? Will there still be small town, his small town? Mike doesn’t know the answers but he does know that someday he wants to be able to take his son hunting up near his grandpa’s place, the same place his dad took him. With uncontrolled development, he may get lots of work, but is it worth giving up someday taking his son hunting where his own grandfather used to hunt as a boy. He wonders, maybe we need a couple of good laws to stop them from building everywhere.

Next, we have Robert, his friends call him Bob. Married with grandkids, in his early 70’s. Bob is in good shape and very involved with community activities. Bob wasn’t born here, he was born in tiny little farm town in what is now suburban Chicago. He fondly remembers growing up in a place where everyone knew each other and farm trucks and tractors were more plentiful than cars. After retiring from IBM, Bob and his wife decided to stay right here because it is so beautiful and safe, he has become used to life around Accord. Bob thinks of himself as a God-fearing country boy and is proud of his NRA sticker on his Subaru. His favorite president is Ronald Reagan and he has voted Republican his entire life. Bob has been hearing a lot lately about how if you do not support a certain political party you are unpatriotic and even worse, somehow the implication is that if you do not support the right folks you are not right with God as well. He scratches his head and remembers the days when folks accepted a few laws as a way to grow nicer towns. He also recalled visiting his hometown while on a trip to Chicago. When he was a teenager, new subdivisions, separated by the remaining farms began to sprout up everywhere. It used to look nice in that shiny 1950’s way. Even his folks moved into a split level and they loved how modern everything was. Nowadays, the entire town has been built up and strip malls, mostly empty since the Sears offices closed, litter the roadsides like grave markers. The modern look seems shabby and cheap now. Bob resents being questioned if he is a real Republican. As he told me “Those guys may fool some of these nice folks but I know a fast talking salesman when I see one. If they really gave a hoot about this town they would line up to pass regulations to control growth – I should show them pictures of what happened to my home town. I wish people would realize that same ones who are saying that zoning laws are un-American and bad for business are the same folks who own hundreds of acres they hope to cash in soon. I know what is really in my interest – to see that my investment in this home is not destroyed by trailer parks and trashy growth.”

Last but not least, is our friend Brad. Not only does he look like Tom Selleck but he knows it too. I think the local term for Brad is a citiot. He has certainly earned it. Brad tosses himself around town as easily as he tosses his cashmere sweater over his shoulders. Truly, Brad is a narcissistic peacock of a man. Single, childless and well manicured. What can we say; he has not yet had his new Mohonk sticker put on his car because it is still too new. Brad is both the dream and a nightmare for local environmentalists and conservationists. He seems silly when he speaks at parties about preservation because he gutted his stone farmhouse and made it like a museum inside, complete with real art. The consolation is that when asked, Brad opens up his checkbook and gives generously to community causes. Essentially Brad is a net gain for our town. He uses no services and spends or gives easily. However, some say it is unfair that Brad even votes up here. Recently Brad addressed this, “The first reason I registered to vote upstate because I pay more in property taxes in Accord than in NYC. The second reason is that I got good and mad a few years ago when everyone started going nuts up there. Here’s the deal; a group of developers, guys who own industrial sites, miners, loggers and folks who benefit from relaxed environmental standards were trying to keep the laws as easy as possible. These guys are tough guys and they have always had the upper hand in this town. All the normal people, regular folks, folks just like my parents, can’t get a break because these other guys are on all the boards and make all the decisions. A couple of years ago some weekenders, guys just like me, started to get involved and all hell broke loose because these local guys felt were didn't deserve to have a say so in our town. They love to take our money, its just not fair. If I can help folks who are like my parents and, at the same time, protect my own interest, then life is good. To me, it’s a no brainer to do what ever I can to help keep it beautiful up there.”

Stopping a moment and questioning if those who claim to be looking out for ‘your’ best interest aren't instead really looking out for their of their cronies best interest is sometimes hard to do, but it starts at an individual level. As citizens of a community, we are responsible for how our votes affect us. We cannot blame big government or anyone but ourselves if we vote for leaders who act in their or their pal’s own best interest instead of yours. We need to be conscious not only of what we individually, stand to gain, but also what we and our entire community stands to lose if we vote for those who have selfish interests in mind, such as developers and those who benefit from weak environmental standards. Acknowledging selfishness is hard to do, but it is the only rational way to approach our community’s issues. For us to be better citizens and voters, it needs to be done.

Think Rationally

Vote Your Interests

Protect Your Community

Links:
When did Candidates Stop Answering Questions?
The Good Ole Days
What We Got Here is a Failure to Communicate
Presenting - The Candidates
Bill Moyers Journal This Evening
Rural Character(s)
Subdivision Law Poll Results
Dear Rev. Moon
Neighbors and Local Government
Lets Talk About Tourism
What is Important to YOU and Why?
The Birth of a Blog


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