Voters expressed strong support for legislators in one-issue election

Editor:

I would like to thank Mr. Al Capurso for pointing out a flaw in the plan presented to concerned citizens outlining the purchase of the county nursing home.  I neglected to capitalize properly. To quote the Confiteor, an ancient prayer in Catholicism “mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.” (Click here for earlier letter from this writer.)

The plan should have been presented to the Concerned (upper case c) citizens. The concerned (lower case c) citizens, aka the voters in Orleans County, had already expressed their desire to sell the nursing home.

This desire was expressed in an election, years ago, in which they chose a responsible group of legislators who realized that in order to continue to provide essential care to our elderly residents in the future, difficult decisions had to be made. They made those decisions. The decision was challenged in court not once but twice by Concerned (upper case c) citizens at a cost to all citizens (Not case sensitive).

Then, in the most recent election, the concerned (lower case c) citizens re-elected the same responsible legislators. My sure-fire business plan should have been suggested to the Concerned (upper case c) citizens.

And speaking of concerned (not case sensitive) citizens, I read with interest Mr. Kent’s analysis of the election results. It would seem that the Concerned (upper case c) citizens lost the election, not due to a flawed concept, or poor presentation. The election was lost, if I am reading this correctly, because the voters were not bright enough to differentiate between national, state and local issues. These same voters were also compared to an ill-informed fungus.

At the risk of sounding contrary, I beg to differ. Unfortunately, the election was reduced to one issue. There were a number of issues that should have been highlighted in this election cycle that were not discussed. It seems to me that the concerned (lower case c) citizens weighed the information provided, considered the manner in which it was provided and made a decision based upon these factors. I cannot think of a better definition of  “endorsement by the public” than the results of this particular election.

And finally, Mr. Kent made a reference to the iconic front man for Mad magazine. I had to think about how this fit into the political theme of his letter. Then I remembered that Alfred E Neuman runs in the presidential race every cycle. I am still somewhat confused. I am trying to think of a local candidate who, like Mr. Neuman, runs in every election cycle, presents questionable proposals and loses every time. I will have to give that a little more thought.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all citizens, upper and lower case c, a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Joyous Kwanza or simply to enjoy family and friends at this special time of the year.

May the new year be both happy and prosperous for every one in Orleans County, the state of New York and the most amazing country in the history of the world, The United States of America.

Paul J Blajszczak
Medina