To The Editor:
My take on the request by the Majority Caucus asking for an increase from two-year terms to four-year terms.
“League of their own” most famous line is “Crying, are you crying? There is no crying in baseball.”
Well I say, “Are you whining? There is no whining in the legislature.”
That is all we have heard and read about for the past month or so.
News media – 7/2/19 “two-year terms don’t provide enough time for incoming lawmakers to fully grasp the inner workings of County Government before facing another election.” “The state recently adopted election laws, forcing legislators seeking re-election to start their campaigning roughly 13 months after taking office.”
Government and Courts committee meeting – 7/1/19 – “New election law is a hardship on the Candidates, 2 yrs isn’t enough time” ”If you’re not educated and up to speed you just rubber stamp stuff one way or another” “It was your Democratic Governor that caused this” ”To make a better educated legislature this the way to go” “A new legislator has a lot to learn”
News media – 7/16/19 – “It pretty much took about four years to really have a handle on all mechanizations of Oswego County Gov’t. and be as effective as possible.”
News media – 7/25/19 – “term extension has been discussed off and on for years and years, noting the latest call for it was born from Democrats asking for change.” “It reduced the cycle to 13 months, so that’s actually how it came to be” “The change in election law forced legislators to start seeking office in February, just 13 months after starting their terms, adding Republicans brought the measure forward directly as a result of the changes handed down form the state.” “Addition to the changes in election law, the county undertakes many projects and ventures that take years to see through to completion, and four-year terms would allow individuals to finish more of the work they start.” “A lot of projects are in-depth and can take years”
This is the big league and everything that has been quoted as a problem is what it takes to play in the big league.
It’s not T-ball.
Did the election laws that were changed by our state government (not “My Democratic Governor”) only affect Oswego County Legislative body?
I don’t think so; there are 18 other counties that have only two-year terms and they haven’t changed to a four-year term and don’t plan to.
We know there are no additional costs for the elections on a two-year term.
A true elected official never stops campaigning.
If he is doing his job correctly he is campaigning every day.
Going out and getting signatures every election season should not be a hardship. it should be considered an honor.
If these new election laws are too much for anyone to handle then I suggest you step down and let someone take the seat that knows what it will take to hold the seat and do the job.
Stop the whining in the legislature – there should be no whining in the legislature.
Just do your job.
Legislator Frank Castiglia Jr.
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