The election is over and
we offer our congratulations
to Joe Booan, Alton Dunn
III, Lynne Mebust and Leslie
Friedman for their victories.
We also offer our congratulations
to the residents
of Cooperstown for turning
out to vote in numbers not
seen in recent years. A total
of 763 people votes Tuesday
_ well above the three-year
average of 515.
We would agree with
Mebust, who commented,
``I think the great election
turnout yesterday is a sign
that democracy is alive and
well in Cooperstown.’’
We also agree with her
when she said that the level
of negativity in the campaign
was ``discouraging.’’
We have witnessed many
village elections and this one
was the most partisan in our
recollection. The American
public must suffer through
all the partisan politics in
Washington and Albany
that often creates a gridlock
and serves as a roadblock to
accomplishing meaningful
legislation. It has no place
in a community the size of
Cooperstown.
What the village needs
now is a cohesive board that
will work collectively to address
the many issues facing
Cooperstown.
While we will admit that
the outcome of the election
is not what we had hoped
for, it is time for the new
mayor to work to reunite the
village and get to the business
at hand.
We saw signs of that in
Booan’s comment Wednesday
morning when he said
that he and his opponent
Jeff Katz had spoken during
the campaign and both
agreed that regardless of the
outcome, they would work
together to accomplish the
tasks that lay ahead.
Booan has been on the
board for one year and faces
a steep learning curve as
the new mayor, particularly
working with a relatively
inexperienced board of
trustees.
He will need the understanding
and expertise Katz
can offer.
