William Naughton, Huntington’s longtime superintendent of highways, joins Concerned Citizens of Huntington in urging Huntington voters to cast their ballots for the creation of councilmanic districts during a special referendum vote set for Tuesday, Dec. 22.
In a prepared statement, Naughton said:
“As Huntington’s superintendent of highways for the past 22 years, I have traveled extensively throughout our town and have become familiar with its many diverse neighborhoods and communities. Over the years, and through different town administrations, communities within our town have been ignored or, worse yet, dumped upon. Traffic congestion and overcrowding have become serious issues in some neighborhoods. With councilmanic districts in place all communities within our town will have representation – and will be less likely to be neglected.
As a longtime Democratic committeeman and a former party zone leader, I am deeply saddened by the way in which some other Democratic elected officials in the town I love so well have resorted to spreading misinformation and employing deceptive scare tactics in an effort to crush a broad-based, multi-partisan town-wide movement for change and preserve the status quo that is bankrupting our town. They didn’t even want to afford our residents and taxpayers the right to decide on their own form of government. And yet some of these very same people went into Brookhaven a few years ago to campaign for the creation of councilmanic districts there — where it’s been a huge success. I hope that Huntington voters will join me on December 22 in casting ballots for a more representative form of government in our town – councilmanic districts for a better Huntington.”
The Concerned Citizens of Huntington, a non-partisan group, has formed to promote Council Districts in Huntington. To learn more, you can check their web site (http://concernedcitizensofhuntington.com) or their blog (http://huntingtoncouncildistricts.wordpress.com/).
Contact: Roger Snyder, Green Party of Suffolk Chair 631-351-5763
Green Party Supports Council Districts In Huntington, NY
“The Green Party of Suffolk supports the proposition to bring council districts to Huntington town,” said its chair Roger Snyder, a Huntington resident. “A key value of the Green Party is Grassroots Democracy, and it is clear that at-large districts are the farthest from that ideal.”
On Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009, voters in the Town of Huntington will be able to vote in favor of setting up council districts, or a ward system, to elect their town council members. “A system that offers better representation from all parts of a town, with smaller districts and an opportunity to be closer to one’s elected representative is a win for all a towns residents,” said Snyder. “Experience in other towns in Suffolk and Nassau counties has shown that a system of Council Districts works better for residents and their representatives.”
The current Huntington at-large electoral system diminishes the voting power of some residents, reducing representation of all of a town’s neighborhoods. Council districts make it easier for citizen candidates to participate by providing more reasonable sized districts. Currently the town council district, with over 200,000 residents, is three to four times the size of Suffolk County legislative districts.
“This change would be a good step towards insuring a representative government in Huntington,” Snyder continued, “and we urge a yes vote on Dec. 22, 2009.”
The Green Party is an alternative party to the Democrats and Republicans. The four pillars of the Green Party are: Nonviolence/Peace; Grassroots Democracy; Social and Economic Justice; and Ecological Wisdom. You can enroll in the Green Party by checking the box marked “Other” on the voter registration form and writing in the word “Green” on the line next to it.
Green Party of Suffolk
14 Robin Drive,Huntington, NY 11743-4712
631-351-5763
http://www.gpsuffolk.org
info@gpsuffolk.org