My words are not the story

My recent emails to the county manager and county chairman regarding their attempts to lure legislator Leni Binder out of her elected seat and into a full-time appointed county position have stirred a great deal of concern. My angry, intemperate and personal remarks were not meant for publication. In hindsight, I realize I should have used language more fitting to my elected position and apologize if I have offended the voters of Sullivan County. My comments, however, express my deep and ongoing frustration with the way the business of the county is being conducted by the legislative majority, often in conjunction with the county manager, who is himself a political appointee.

I am aware that one must generally play nicely with others and move through the world in a way that acknowledges negotiation as a valuable and politically wise tool. For good and for bad, this is life and government as we know it. However, government and civic functioning cease to be good, fair, effective and negotiable when the people running it ignore basic rules of ethical behavior. The end result is a form of moral corruption where government exists but no longer serves the interests of the voters who claim government as their own.

My objections have nothing to do with Ms. Binder. I have tremendous respect for her dedication, competence, concern and strong knowledge of government. I am making my stand here to say that enough is enough. Discussions about and with Ms. Binder for a full-time county job have been going on for months. This is a known fact. I simply cannot decide which is worse, for Mr. Fanslau, Mr. Rouis or the majority leader to deny their involvement in this discussion or for them to be having this discussion in the first place as a way to ensure a two-thirds Democratic majority in the legislature. Either way, such discussions are highly inappropriate.

I ran for public office as a reformer, pledging to conduct myself and the business of the county in the most straightforward and ethical way possible. Voters throughout the county are fed up. I know this because my phone is constantly ringing and because I can’t go for a cup of coffee in public without someone coming up to me and expressing their frustration with how the county government is run and for whom. How much longer will the county continue to be run like a private club? How much longer will Sullivan County government and its politicos continue to make excuses for the bad judgment and unethical behavior of their colleagues?

I am confident in the assertions I have made regarding these back-room discussions, so much so, that I have spoken hyperbolically about having all involved parties (including myself) submit to lie detector tests to get to the real truth. I fully understand that this may not be the best or most practical solution to resolve the issues I have raised. However, I now ask that my combativeness and the reactions of my political adversaries to it not be the central focus of reporting. Instead, I strongly encourage the citizens of Sullivan County and the press, in particular, to go about the business of asking some tough and probing questions about this issue and others—questions, in the case of the press, that amount to genuine investigative reporting that demands clarity and honest, straightforward answers. It is essential to our democracy and vital to positive change in Sullivan County. I willingly rest my political fate in the hands of an informed electorate and the court of public opinion.

(David Sager is Sullivan County legislator for District 1. For our article on this subject, see page 3.)