While I’m in total agreement with John Owens’ “Buttafuocoed” views about Long Island, I have some disagreements with John Collins’ reaction letter published last week (“Joey’s Legacy”).
Collins is absolutely right when he says that “[Long Island] lacks political leadership that has any sense of vision for this area. The politicians are too vested in partisan politics and patronage. They lack the intelligence, experience and commitment to develop any bold, creative solutions to Long Island’s challenges…how dysfunctional the governmental process is in both counties. It is a half-century history of one stupid decision after another.”
Where I disagree with Collins is when he implies that New York State and New York City both have better governments. He wrote that for Nassau and Suffolk counties’ “one missed opportunity after another,” “to happen in a state as great as New York, and in close proximity to a city as vibrant as NYC, is embarrassing and destructive”.
However, I know that politics and government in Albany are an ethics-free cesspool; and reading the Daily News and New York Post daily demonstrate that New York City government is no better. And need I make a case about the pathetic politics that go on in the halls of our national Congress in Washington, D.C.?
So, I say that even though politicians and government on Long Island may stink, we’re still every bit as “good” as New York City, Albany and Washington, D.C. (Not that I’m proud of that).
Richard Siegelman
