Responsibilities Of

A Representative Government

To the Editor:

As the Legislative Council is the representative body for the town, and since it has the power to make, alter and repeal ordinances as granted by the town’s charter, would it not be within its purview (and does it not have a responsibility to the people it represents) to propose a true referendum and challenge a motion made by the Board of Selectmen?

Of course, this is in reference to the construction of a new town hall.

Knowing that a large random survey would have been more accurate in assessing the opinions of the town’s citizens, I was still surprised (and perhaps a little disappointed) to discover that only 35 e-mails were received in response to my last letter to the editor (including my vote and that of my wife). While fraught with confounding factors too numerous to mention, this small but vocal group unanimously requested a review of the town’s needs, priorities, and the fiscal implications associated with building a new town hall. Not a single citizen felt strongly enough — perhaps due to the inherent lack of need — to vote to move forward with the construction project.

Our last election — while providing elected officials no more of a mandate than my own results — demonstrates that, at the very least, this town is ambivalent about the course its government is pursuing. The Legislative Council has the responsibility to act. Is there any reason not to put this single specific issue, unfettered by other factors, to a binding referendum? I voted for my current representatives. To them, as one of my mentors frequently implored, I simply state: “Make it happen.”

Richard Auerbach

19 Canterbury Lane, Sandy Hook                       December 26, 2007