New York Politics: I Don't Get It!


I've been a voter in New York for 15 years now, and let me tell you, I still don't understand New York politics!

I have been a voter in three states now: California, Iowa, and New York. I've lived in Rochester for 15 years.

Let me tell you, New York politics are nuttier than California's.

I don't get this. Yesterday the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle had a story about City Court candidate Debra Crowder, who announced she was withdrawing from the Democratic race "in the interest of party unity."

The article also says that Monroe County Democratic Party Chair Joe Morelle plans to ask mayoral candidates Bob Duffy and Tim Mains to withdraw their candidacies, also "in the interest of party unity."

One thing I need to clarify for non-Rochesterians -- whoever wins the Democratic primary has about a 99.9% chance of becoming Rochester's next mayor.

Also I need to clarify: the Monroe County Democratic Party has anointed City Council member Wade Norwood as its candidate for Rochester mayor. Understand -- this anointing was done without any input from voters. I guess the party faithful (exactly how they get chosen is a mystery to me), rather than the voters, are supposed to get to decide who will be our next mayor.

Don't get me wrong. Wade Norwood may in fact be the best candidate for mayor. I don't know. I don't know enough about his ideas for the City. I don't know enough about any of the candidates' ideas for the City. I have a completely open mind at this point and I am ready to allow the candidates to define themselves through a primary campaign.

That's what primary campaigns are for: to help members of the party to decide who among them is best suited for the office for which they are running.

It's not about divisiveness -- unless the candidates make it so in the their campaigns. We do not need to end up with a divided party just because we have a three-way primary.

Joe Morelle may think he is doing the best for the Monroe County Democratic Party, but quite frankly this effort to take choice away from the voters gives him a black mark in my book. It upsets me that he would rather not give me a chance to decide which candidate is the best.

Having the party -- as opposed to the voters -- choose who will be the next Rochester mayor is undemocratic.

Instead of asking the non-anointed candidates to drop out, he should expend his energies making sure they run positive campaigns rather than smearing each other.

That's how you accomplish party unity. Not by eliminating choice.

Posted: Sat - June 11, 2005 at 02:05 PM          

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