Water Important in Local Elections in Washington County, New York

The 2007 election in the State of New York is going to be one of the least followed in history. Even in New York City, there are only a few local seats up for grabs, and up here in the country of northern New York, there is one constitutional issue of interest.

Water is very important up in the farm land. And in Hamilton County, which is very close to the Canadian border, they are looking to pass an amendment to the State Constitution to allow the town of Long Lake to acquire one acre of land that is part of a forest preserve so that they can use it for wells to supply water to the hamlet of Raquette Lake. A hamlet is an unincorporated part of a village. They are not asking for a gift of the land. The State would gain 12 acres of land that is valued at about the same as the acre they are seeking and the 12 acres would become part of the preserve

Of course, as is the case many times, they have put the cart before the horse. The land is already being used and has been since the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) gave Long Lake permission to drill the wells back in 2004. If the amendment is approved, it will make the already drilled wells legal.

The only other elections going on this year are for local mayors and council members for the towns and villages. This is small town America and none of them are going to be making headlines or running for President any time soon, but they are the ones who make the decisions that keep the villages alive. It can be a very thankless job and many of them are only part time.

The other election is to choose a justice for the State Supreme Court for District 4.

Off year elections are not earth shattering and the impact is not felt world wide, but it gives the voters across the country a chance to focus on the issues that really impact their lives on a day to day basis. They elect the people who will decided what their local taxes will be, and the people they are voting for, at least in places like this, are those they have known for years, those who they go to church with every week, those who literally live next door.

Elections like this in an off year attract much more attention than they would say if they were held next year when not only the Presidency is being contested, but also one third of the Senate and the entire House of Representatives up for grabs. And many more State wide seats as well.

This may not be the way it is in the rest of the county. A village with the population of 2,000 has a very different reality than a city of 8 million, but that is the way it is in America. It is differences like this that make us what we are. It would be very boring if everything was the same all the time. As for next year, that is a different story.

Source: Smart Voter http://www.smartvoter.org/