WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. June 7, 2005: A reader writes on the need for local control of decisions as opposed to state standards:

The need for local control

In several recent discussions with Assemblyman Adam Bradley he indicated his support for selecting a single statewide voting machine; a position shared by New York Common Cause and the League of Women Voters.  Claimed advantages are things such cost savings and avoiding potential equal representation suits.

In a recent letter to the Journal News, I expressed support for leaving the decision with the county election boards, but length limitations forced me to cut most of the discussion.  Also, it was not until listening to former Mayor Sy Schulman at a recent Citizens Plan Committee meeting that I solidified my real concern. 

Mayor Schulman said that without a plan -- a vision -- people will argue about the wrong things.  They will argue about the details instead of the goals.  They will approve projects which when considered in a vacuum are acceptable, but overall do not move the city forward.  He was talking about city planning, but it occurred to me that the same applies to legislation.

What are the visions, the first principles that we should consider when writing legislation.  In my option, one of the main considerations should be that no government body should regulate any activity that can be handled by a more local body.  Thus, the federal government handles defense and negotiates treaties, the state regulates the utilities, the county protects the watershed, and the city deals with schools and zoning.  At the federal level this is laid out in the Constitution which provides that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government are retained by the states.

Thus it is silly to waste time discussing the design of an office tower, if it is being proposed for a residential neighborhood.  Arguing that a 400 foot building should be approved because it is only little taller than a 380 foot building ignores the fact that both are too tall.  Likewise, before discussing the details of specific voting equipment, we need to ask whether the state should be running elections at all.  My feeling is that there is no compelling reason for the state to subsume this authority.

I like to believe that I have some control over my life.  That I can influence the character of my neighborhood, how my children are educated, the safety of myself and my possessions.  I believe that the best way to achieve this is to insure that the various levels of government only have the minimum authority necessary to carry out their functions.

D Hughes