Local Elections Stolen From The People
The year 2023 ended with two politicians completely failing their constituents miserably by stealing local elections away from the people. Governor Kathy Hochul and Senator James Skoufis pushed through a new law forcing local elections to occur only in even years, which will result in local races being overshadowed by State and Federal elections.
It is incredibly insulting that Governor Hochul and Senator Skoufis made such a drastic decision, impacting local elections statewide, without any formal input from those they’re elected to serve and who this change will impact.
This now means anyone the people elect in odd years after January 1, 2025, will magically have that term reduced a year for this new law to take effect, as elections need to shift to even years, in essence illegally taking away the will of the people. This is bare-faced partisanship and Gov. Hochul and Senator James Skoufis should be ashamed of themselves for pushing this bill through and not allowing voters to weigh in on such a major and abrupt change to their elections.
To add insult to injury, they brag the move will save money which is the biggest lie as this will not save a penny because regardless, elections must run every year. The irony is the State of New York has been spending our local tax dollars to the tune of $50 a vote for early voting! Do you think that is the best use of taxpayer money? We certainly don’t.
Senator Skoufis, most famously known for allegedly hiding in a bathroom during a critical vote in the senate, is telling Rockland County residents how to run their elections just because he can. We the people decide to have local elections and it should not be up to Albany to change it and if they are then I think the Governor of New York or Senator James Skoufis should lose a year of their term as well.
The Rockland County Charter delineates elections and when they should occur. This law is an attempt to override that charter and local control in a home rule state and the oath I took is to that charter and the people of Rockland County not Governor Hochul. And we must ask ourselves why? Why make this sudden and drastic change?
Local governments are the most responsive and responsible to the everyday person and play a vital governance role for drinking water, social services, sewage, zoning, schools, roads, parks, police, courts, jails, trash disposal — and more.
The local elections were setup by the people of Rockland via the charter that this now attempts to override. The County believes this law pits local elections against the highly charged State and Federal elections which will drown the public discourse on local elections out of existence.
So as we embark on 2024, let us all remember the two politicians who kicked off the new year by stealing local elections from the people.
