Diversity of thought needed
On Tuesday, voters in West Haven and throughout the state will travel to the polls – if they have not already voted early – and determine the biennial municipal elections. Tip O’Neill, late Speaker of the House in the 1980s once said, “All politics is local.” It gets no more local than who will run our city over the next two years.
For the second time in two decades, the incumbent is running unopposed. Dorinda Borer, who is completing her first term, is not facing a Republican or Independent. The Republican Party was unable to find a candidate to lead the ticket, and opted, instead to run an under-ticket in eight of the city’s 10 municipal districts (two unopposed) and other municipal offices.
In a sense, no one can blame a GOP member for deciding to “sit this one out.” Only twice have first-term mayors been ousted in the city’s history, and in the case of Dorinda Borer, the political headwinds are at her back. She has been a dynamic leader who was able to cobble together quite a series of first term successes. In the process she was able to bid the Municipal Accountability Review Board adieu and seems to have cured much of the dysfunction that has plagued operations in City Hall for quite a while.
The city, meanwhile, has taken on a lighter air. People are happy with the way things are running, and much of the dissatisfaction that has been seen over the last several years seems to have ebbed. Borer, with her cheerful outlook and no-nonsense approach to problems has struck a nerve for the average resident, and they see the city’s future as brighter than before.
If we have concerns for this election cycle, it is the coattails of the mayor will sweep into office her entire team. While that might send chills of satisfaction up the legs of rank partisans, one-party rule is never good for representative democracy. In West Haven it is even worse because of the rules governing minority representation, particularly on the City Council.
Ironically, the rules for the Board of Education dictate that three of the nine voting members must be minority representatives. This has worked well over the years, giving the minority a voice in the operations of the city’s school system. The City Council, however, is another matter.
Under the charter, only one minority candidate is required of the 13 seats, and that is the top minority vote-getter among the at-large candidates. Over the city’s history there are several instances where the Republicans had the lone minority seat, and could not get a second for any motion, nor force any discussion on controversial topics.
The last few years have seen more minority candidates elected to the council, but with a popular candidate like Mayor Borer, the possibility exists for the city’s non-Democrats to be underrepresented as in bygone days.
This year the GOP has put up candidates, and we have an independent running for the at-large seat. It is our hope more than one of those on the minority ballot finds their way onto the council.
More politically diverse voices are the best way for West Haven’s legislative body to truly represent all residents.