Archive: Opinions

On June 8th, 2012 the Lansing Star Online 'Opinions' page carried a truly astounding letter.  In it, Ms. Yasamin Miller and Mr. Brian Goodell assert that during their recent unsuccessful run for positions on the Village of Lansing Board of Trustees, they 'encountered deception and intimidation among the techniques used by [the Community Party].'  As a group and as individual citizens and residents of the Village, the Community Party and its members categorically deny these allegations.

Ms. Miller and Mr. Goodell display a profound misunderstanding of the Village of Lansing Community Party.  In describing their own party as growing out of ‘the people’, they imply that the Community Party is somehow ‘other’ and estranged from the village as a whole.   Just as the letter describes the Voice of the People party, the Community Party is a grassroots gathering of concerned citizens.  There are no 'professional' party members, no cadre of enforcers threatening citizens into compliance as Miller and Goodell imply.  The Community Party has no ideology or ulterior motive.

The Community Party has been in place since the very founding of the Village of Lansing.  It was formed so that politically active citizens could come together to coordinate their support of those villagers who were willing to run for office and devote their talents and effort to building and maintaining an effective Village government.  We are simply residents of our village concerned about the direction of our village.  The goals of the Community Party reflect only a desire to maintain and improve the quality of life here in the Village of Lansing.  The only criterion for Party membership is a willingness to work for our community.

It is not easy to find people who can take on the responsibilities of local office.  While Community Party candidates have run unopposed for many years, it was because those few people who were willing to serve in office have recognized the advantages of coming together under a broad umbrella organization that unites villagers regardless of their national party affiliations.  In the Community Party, village citizens find a cooperative atmosphere and a structure that is supportive of their sincere efforts to serve their community.  As a result of this inclusive, practical, and cooperative approach to government, the Village of Lansing has become a model for municipalities in upstate New York.  The Community Party has always believed that a high standard of ethical conduct is essential in all political campaigns and has always behaved in accordance with such a standard.

The Miller/Goodell letter describes what they see as 'very disturbing incidences'.  As examples they complain that they were asked 'numerous probing questions' and were compelled to have 'a face-to-face meeting' with members of the Community Party.  They complain purported VOP supporters were 'approached, sometimes multiple times, by the incumbents, face-to-face, with the goal of changing their minds'.  So saying, they reveal an appalling lack of understanding of our electoral process.  They portray normal campaign activities as 'harassment' and are apparently against VOP adherents being free to hear both sides of the issues.  It should be understood that a political campaign involves the open and public exchange of views, debates about policy issues, and personal interactions between the candidates and voters of all persuasions.

The letter concludes by proposing what they describe as 'Guidelines for Conduct for Political Campaigning in the Village of Lansing, NY'.  They claim that they are needed 'To regain trust and respect amongst village residents, and …to ensure that future candidates do not feel intimidated, harassed, or cheated…'  Generally, these 'guidelines' are perfectly acceptable descriptions of the preferred behaviors that should always be found in any American election campaign.  However, the demand for their adoption by the Village of Lansing government is less a call for cleaner politics than an attempt to formally validate unfounded claims of Community Party misbehavior.  Despite their sweeping accusations and inflammatory vocabulary – intimidation, harassment, cheating – none of these outrageous charges have any reality in fact.  No citizens were threatened with 'retaliation'.  There was no intimidation of voters.  There was no harassment, no cheating.

The Executive Committee of the Community Party asserts that our party and its members have always behaved with integrity, in an ethical, honest, and forthright manner.  We support the free and open exchanges of views, face-to-face communications, and mutual respect between people with opposing viewpoints.  We will continue to do so.

Larry E. Bieri, Tob de Boer, John Dennis, Marian Hartill,
Susanne Lorbeer, H. Michael Newman and Robert Schleelein
Executive Committee, Community Party
v8i23