Today’s Hour led with the squabble heard around the green at the Democratic town committee meeting, which was bolstered by the squabble heard at the Superior court about the house that the Norwalk Inn wants to remove topped with the fuzzy report from Forbes that the Bridgeport-Norwalk-Stamford corridor ranks 9th in the country as the areas “smartest“.

Smart, as evidenced about all these stories, is a matter of perception. The Forbes article speaks to the high number of college educated residents in the area. Somehow the conclusion is drawn that because there are a high number of financial industry corporations, that somehow this translates into key fact that financial industry requires college education. The reality is more mundane. In order to afford to live in the area, a person has to earn a high income, and since the beginning of statistical time, higher incomes ran in lock step with higher education, regardless of industry. Norwalk mayor Moccia was quick to point out that there were plenty of non college degreed individuals that contribute to the “smartness” of the area too. He was on the right track, but it’s not the area’s intellect that he was subtly referencing, it was the area’s economy. Norwalk, and by extension the corridor needs a diverse workforce to keep Connecticut economically viable. All work and no play makes high income college degree workers seek the more favorable cities that manage the mix better. And play, does not come from the productivity output of your typical cube dweller. Really smart areas of the country get this, and they work hard at creating the live, work, play environments that people want. In many ways, since the 60’s, the northeast has forgotten that the small neighborhoods, and small stores, restaurants and vibrant music, arts and sports communities are places that people want to live in. The strip mall culture stripped away the sense of scale that allows people to connect to each other, and each time people drive and park to the next thing perpetuates that cocoon.

Meanwhile the cocoon keeps building over in the Norwalk Democratic party. While the rest of the country has figured out that electing political candidates that have a chance at winning offers a good way to change the direction of governing, the Norwalk Dems act as if governing is a bad thing. The Dems hold the majority on the common council, but the Republicans hold the mayor’s office. Split governments, historically, work better because it forces people to talk to each other and legislate with an eye on preserving the core strengths of divergent political philosophies. So you get strong fiscal conservatives picking apart the financial details and compassionate liberals injecting manageable objectives. The public is served well. Many, apparently, the Norwalk-outer council members don’t see the opportunity to legislate from strength and instead choose to myopically focus on pet non issues or previous battles to the detriment of the group. For example, only a few weeks ago the Common Council held a public meeting to encourage residents to volunteer to serve on board and commissions. There is a lack of qualified volunteers that have sought these appointments. Yet, this is one of the issues cited by sparring Democrats as a rallying movement.

It’s not surprising to discover that it’s the same people sparring with the Norwalk Inn over the demolition of a house that sits adjacent to the Inn. The Norwalk Inn bought the house and property 5 years ago because they wanted to expand the Inn. They have offered to give the house to preservationists, but they need to land it occupies for the expansion. The preservationists instead have tied up the demolition in legal battles, instead of working with the historical communities to relocate the house. But maybe this is not such a bad tactical strategy since they already have another historical house stored in trailers that they’ve failed to rebuild. Other communities have managed to combine the preservation of historic properties with commerce and tourism successfully. Even here in Norwalk it occasionally happens, as it did in SoNo and as it might happen in the Wall Street area. But not everything needs to resemble the revolutionary scorched earth battle of Norwalk. Compromise was what fostered the Constitution after all.