Letter To The Editor – Vote For Change In Grafton

To the Editor:
I began attending Grafton Town Board meetings in August of 2008 after observing from a distance the public business of this community via this newspaper and coupled with my own personal experiences with the Town of Grafton Building Inspector and other appointed officials. Numerous times I attempted to engage this Board and request an explanation as to why the issuance of Certificate of Occupancy was grossly flawed. Instead, I was shunned by those that represented me and was rewarded with a new law that simply made what was illegal…..now legally right, but still flagrantly wrong. Fast-forward to 2010 and I watched with amazement the majority on this Board blatantly disregard the will of the people and their petition for a referendum for a sole assessor be ignored. I determined that this local government had become ineffective and unrepresentative. I even gave Board members flags that said so.
My letter to the Editor as published in this newspaper in August 2010 entitled “Public Engagement Is Required” was my personal plea for a call for public input and approval. Since that letter was published, the turn out at Board meetings had steadily increased to “standing room only” status. Undoubtedly the “Building Permit Amnesty Program” actions resulted in polarizing and highlighting for the rest of the residents what I already knew. That change is needed. Those charged with policy making and appointments need to change their way of thinking. Or the voters will do it for them. Because when the Eastwick Press on March 25, 2011 starts their report on the Grafton Town Board meeting with a sentence that says “When fifty or so people show up at Board meeting….something is definitely afoot” nothing could be more true. So often and even recently the majority of members on the Board have downplayed this public engagement as a “handful of political operatives.” I say simply to our majority elected critics and resident readers alike…. Thank you for your service, but this many people cannot be wrong. November 8 is Town Wide Voter Referendum Day. Please vote for change.
David Buckley
Benker School Way, Grafton