WE’RE HALFWAY HOME

When I set out on my visits to every city, town, and village in Erie County, I thought I could use my local government study to teach folks about the relationship between broken government and struggling community.

Instead, I’ve learned much more than I ever dreamed of imparting.

I’ve learned that:

• Our local government system is not broken. It’s obsolete.
• No matter how hard our supervisors, mayors, council members, and trustees work, their efforts are undermined by a structure that costs too much.
• All citizens want from local government is a chance. A chance at a successful life, decent job, safe environment, and most important, an economy that’s strong enough to provide opportunity for their children.
• Local politicians perform work that is better and more cheaply done by staff employees in more successful American regions. As a result, the services that residents receive in our towns and villages can be equally well administered by fewer politicians.

Too many local public servants have lost sight of their purpose. In response to our dying economy, they feel pressure to prove that they are “creating jobs” or achieving “economic development.” But they lack the capacity to perform those functions. Their true role is to create a nurturing public environment for private investment. And that means fostering an educated, healthy, safe, and culturally-rich people.

Since beginning the tour, I’ve attended 23 government board meetings, and spoken to 34 community groups. Some 7,000 citizens have heard my presentation. Most important, I’ve had the privilege of meeting and listening to citizens, whose intelligence and experience have taught me the most.

And I’m only half way through the journey.

Local government is the most intimate level of public service. It offers vast opportunity to improve other peoples’ lives. But in Erie County, our local government structure has not been changed or reformed in over 100 years.

Psychologists believe that the professions we choose as adults reflect a frozen moment from childhood: scientists are forever four years old, wide-eyed and self-centered; writers are forever eight, over-aware and indignant. If their theory is true, then politicians are forever teenagers – self-absorbed, obsessed with appearance, a bit insecure, but in the end, aspiring to be helpful in the world.

We citizens must now design a new system in which they can fulfill their dream.

With friendship,

Kevin Gaughan

P.S. If you come out to see one of our presentations, kindly say hello to my student assistants from UB Law School. Neither my study nor this tour would be possible without them. Elizabeth Pascal, Lauren Fitzgerald, Meghan Barnett, Adam O’Brian, Adrian Dayton, Nic Chamberlain, Robert Quinn, Peter Brown, and Patrick Craig assisted in the study. And Bethany Mazur, Heather Neu, Lindsey Heckler, Heather Anderson, Joshua Pennel, and Dan Lesniewski oversee the tour.

My father, who served three American presidents, devised a rotating system in which he took two of his seven children on virtually all his travels. In so doing, he gave us the gift of wanting to contribute to our community and country. As I have no children of my own, I try to involve students in each of my civic projects. Their grace and intellect have enriched every effort.

Finally, my gratitude and esteem to Dan Gigante of clevermethod, our brilliant producer and internet expert.

Hope to see you at our next presentation this Wednesday, April 16th, in the Town of Elma.  My next post will be a report on that meeting.