August 8, 2010

Setting a vote for a baseball stadium for Aug. 24 is a travesty. Many families are still taking vacation and very little time is allowed for education and discussion of this proposal. Even Congress is not in session. It is incredibly insensitive, but speaks volumes of the Ramapo Town Board and Supervisor Christopher St Lawrence.

The fair thing to do would be to place this matter on the November ballot with the congressional elections. People expect to vote at that time, they will have made arrangements to vote, there will be a much larger turnout — that is how democracy is
supposed to work — and there will be enough time for the voters to educate themselves on the proposal and make an informed choice. It will also save time and money by requiring only one day of voting instead of two.

It is obvious that all of this is apparent to the board and St. Lawrence, but they have intentionally decided otherwise and purposefully scheduled this vote on short notice with the intention of having it passed with the least amount of public scrutiny.

Just goes to show that Ramapo is a microcosm of Washington politics, where bills are hastily passed without being read or digested fully by our representatives or the public.

Citizens of Ramapo deserve better consideration than this bum's rush.

Jeff Cohen
New Hempstead