The following letter from Courtenay Walsh appears in The Gazette. It is re-printed here with permission:
To the editor:
I have lived in Croton for 16 years and in all
this time I have always been dismayed at how contentious our local
elections are. For most of the year I am overwhelmed at the kindness
and generosity of Croton. As Election Day gets closer and closer I
simply can’t understand how we collectively seem to lose our minds. And
this year with our presidential race bringing out the absolute worst in
everyone I believe the majority of us are weary and ready to return to
the kindness and courtesy that I believe are the hallmark of our
community.
I am a Democrat. I believe strongly in progressive
liberal ideas. I fully support an increase in the minimum wage,
stopping the pipeline, and in using our resources to fund and research
clean energy. Yet I have turned away from the Croton Dems. Why, you may
ask? I have been observing the way the Croton Dems run their
campaigns. Perhaps I hold them to a higher standard because I expect
that my fellow Dems with progressive ideas would be more empathetic and
understanding of those that disagree. Research has proven that arguing
does not change minds.
But several years ago I began to withdraw
my support when the Croton Dems mailed me a flyer lambasting a
Republican candidate with graphics of papers showing me that the
candidate had used their workplace to raise money for the Croton
Boosters. This candidate had essentially had their hand slapped at work.
In a small community like Croton, running for office, whether as a
Republican or a Democrat or otherwise, does not mean that you should not
be afforded a certain level of respect and, frankly, privacy.
Obviously no one is perfect and political campaigns can be highly
emotional. Even Croton United, which I support, has said things that I
have found objectionable. But crossing a line in the heat of the moment
is very different from engaging in a very Machiavellian course of
behavior specifically designed to embarrass, humiliate and personally
vilify anyone who runs against you or frankly, disagrees with you.
Unfortunately, once again in this year's campaign, I have witnessed the
Croton Dems through their supporters and anonymous bloggers use these
same tactics to go after residents who disagreed with them, as well as
Croton United supporters and candidates. These same supporters and
bloggers have been appointed to committees and are closely aligned to
the local Croton Democratic Party. We saw a clear example of this last
week in a letter printed in the Gazette. I am not citing all the details
because I believe that those that have been attacked do not want all of
these personal details dredged up yet again.
I ask you….what
do you think crosses a line of decency? Would any of you want to run
for office or publicly disagree with the Croton Dems and expose
yourselves to this kind of mean-spirited behavior designed to intimidate
and silence the opposition? We have recently had two years of
uncontested elections and will certainly be looking at many more if we
continue to condone this kind of behavior with our silence. I believe
it is up to all of us to set the tone we feel is compatible with our
village. I by no means want to stop important conversations that
reflect policy disagreements. Instead I would like to see us treat each
other as friends and neighbors even when we strongly disagree.
Courtenay Walsh
Croton-on-Hudson
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