I was hoping that somehow the elections had settled things for the majority of the political flunkies in town, but apparently not. Today’s Hour has a Robert Koch story about the outgoing council and contained this gem tucked at the end:
“Going forward, I hope that we have a united group of Democrats on the council that can pass constructive legislation and also be an effective opposition to the Moccia administration when the Moccia administration takes positions that the Democratic Party does not endorse,” Wells said. “Looking forward, we can look to constructive, united Democratic action.”
The problem with Wells’ statement is the part I conveniently highlighted in bold. The Moccia administration in the construct of Norwalk’s charter, is divided government. This is not parliamentary government where the sole purpose of the other side is to lump out doles of “opposition.” In fact, 90% of what Norwalk’s government does is provide the checks and balances of where our tax dollars get spent. And checks and balances seems to be what Norwalk voters expressed very clearly. There are 9 Democrats and 6 Republicans that make up the council.
The second problem I have with this statement is the idea that any political party has a seat at the table of policy making. We do not elect political parties to office, we elect people. And we trust the judgment of those people we elect to do what is best for Norwalk and all of the people who live in Norwalk. Political party affiliations are often indicators of political philosophy, but are hardly the only indicator. And not all legislative problems can be attributed to a philosophical litmus test.
Famously, LaGuardia pointed this out in describing the fundamental problems of city governments. There are no Democratic or Republican ways to park cars, haul garbage or fill pot holes. How many, how much and how fast is what residents want to know. Good government gets the job done with little fuss, great government manages to do so while reinvesting in the local economy and bad government fails to get the job done.
The sheer arrogance in suggesting that the Democratic party of Norwalk will somehow meet and somehow endorse or not endorse actions by our government is outrageous. This type of thinking might have been popular back in the days of the Soviet Union and its infamous politburo, but hardly the way things work in a democracy. It is, to borrow another Russian term, so very poshlost of Wells.
