To the Readers' Forum:
Since coming to WNY I have wondered why the voters do not take back the governments and return sanity and reason to the process. After June 5 when the voters in Wisconscin said no to government unions raiding the treasury I thought, could it happen here? The answer is clearly no!
While I don't how or when it happened, the power of the voter is clearly gone from NY politics. The parties choose the candidates and they are vetted by the party to see that they will maintain the status quo as all politicians' primary focus is to maintain things the way they are.
Candidates do not get elected regardless of party without the unions'[ approval.
I have often wondered why there are so many lines on a ballot and noticed, with all those parties yet only one or two candidates. I recently heard a statement by a U.B. political science professor, ''New York: a state of numerous parties but no choices." This statement was made in interview concerning the Republican Party endorsing the incumbent Democrat prosecuting attorney for re-election in Erie County.
However, in all cases the party chosen are then placed on the ballot and the electorate pick between the two more often than not there is only one and that is not an election.
I first thought that voter apathy was to blame for this loss of power of the ballot but then realized that the apathy comes from so many voters knowing there vote is meaningless. Since I have been here all candidate have run to reform Albany. Our current governor did the same and shortly after elected declared that he had indeed reformed Albany and was now ready to move on. Now all candidates are running to create jobs. They can no more do this than they can reform themselves. Has any one noticed a difference in Albany, in Mayville? We seem to be pleased that our budget is timely and discount the fact that it is still bloated, wasteful, and done in secret.
Did anyone know we were giving a 10 percent increase to welfare recipents until after the budget passed. I never heard it from my senator or assemblymen.
A final depressing note - the media is already announcing that New york is a sure thing for the president's re-election.
My hope is that the power of the vote was stolen from you and that you did not willingly or knowingly give it away.
Jim Walker
Falconer