IF I HAD MORE THAN TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK

Rochester, N.Y.--  This is what I would say if I had more than two minutes to speak at the public forum before the monthly full session meetings of the Monroe County Legislature.  It would go something like this:

Greetings, and please put down your ESPN magazines and blackberries for a moment and at least pretend to pay attention to the people you are supposed to be representing-- and I would like to overtly extend an open invitation to the County Executive to come out of the back room she is hiding in right now to hear what the heck is on the public's mind.  Her absence at this portion of these full session meetings speaks volumes about her governing concept of "accessibility" and "transparency."

In any event, to prevent one branch of County government from becoming supreme and autocratic, and to protect the "opulent minority" from the majority of average folk, and to induce the legislative chamber to cooperate, governance systems are set up to employ a separation of powers needed to balance each other out.  It's called democracy.  That's not what is going on here.  What is going on in our own County government is just a microcosm of a much bigger national problem.   

At the first sign of disagreement, more often than not, out come the accusations and name-calling. The Republican majority leader of the Legislature immediately comes to mind-- seems he can't keep from putting his foot in his mouth. 

Anyway, the  citizens of our great nation are not merely divided today, they have been divided deliberately.  The GOP would rather have the American people focus on what makes us different and divide us-- rather than accentuating our commonalities as a people.

 Now here is one more division. Not only do we have Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, rich and poor, black and white, gay and straight, rational and irrational, white collar and blue collar, three social classes with the middle disappearing, and all the subdivisions that go with it, such as poor white Democrats as well as poor black Republicans, now we also have the "polite" versus the "rude."

Politics and policy should be debated, vigorously and often. Being able to reasonably discuss the political issues of the day was considered a vital and essential part of a functioning government.  It's also part of being a well-rounded, informed public servant.  But not in here and certainly not in this chamber.  Indeed, one of the expressed purposes of educating ourselves on the issues of the day is to equip men and women to be able to hold their own in a political forum and share their knowledge.

These days rousing, yet respectful, meaningful political debate is practically non-existent-- especially in the 112th Congress and certainly in the Monroe County Legislature. The majority in the Legislature has become a rubber stamp for the County Executive’s office-- consistently regurgitating manufactured rationale of political spite, personal gain and one party rule. Civil debates between our lawmakers has been reduced to indignant shouting matches, where personal insults are substituted for rational arguments. Frankly my friends, I am extremely embarrassed to witness this body of government in action.

That’s not to say that the politicians before us were the paragons of respectful debating. They too would often let their passions get away from them and unleash holy hell on their opponent.  It occasionally happens to the best of us-- but our problem here is that there is no room to actually debate on any issue-- ever.  You object over rules of order  and never exchange workable ideas to bring us to a heightened sense of understanding on any given policy issue. I can’t remember the last time I heard a robust policy debate on the merits of what is in the best interest of the majority of people who live in Monroe County.

Unlike elected officials from the past, this body has become so unapologetic about your undisciplined, discourteous personal and political rants. And, none of it has any bearing on quality of life decisions that benefit the people of Monroe County.  I would like you to think about that for a moment. 

We need to learn how to bring back vigorous, yet civil political discourse to move the body politic forward and create a robust system of governance.  By one party simply rubber stamping every initiative of the County administration, you have removed democracy from governing.  You have also removed the citizens from participating in the process too-- the very citizens you were elected to serve and to protect.

In my recent travels and frequent conversations with my neighbors, friends and co-workers, there seems to be a local movement afoot.  One thing is for certain--  Americans from all political stripes and especially our very own Monroe County residents are fed up with lawmakers who behave like you.  Take my advice-- reach out to the other side of the aisle and think about the greater good once in a while before you lose your seat in this chamber.  All 29 seats are up this year.  Please put good government before petty party politics.  After all, we are the ones that put you into office and we are the ones that can take you out. 

How many minutes was that? 

-Ove Overmyer
This commentary does not reflect or express the views of CSEA as an organization.