Put pettiness aside for sake of the city

Open letter to Schenectady City Council and mayor,

Exactly one month of meetings have gone by without any city business being conducted, culminating with the last meeting on Jan. 27 being adjourned for lack of a quorum, which is inexcusable.

Please, for the sake of the people you were elected to represent, come to some kind of agreement to move our city forward and not backward.

It’s far time to put these petty differences aside and remember the oath each one of you has taken and not the unwritten oath of political shenanigans, which at this point seems paramount to a few who continue to let this escalate.

Mayor, you are not without sin in this debacle either. Between the court case and your presumably behind-the-scenes involvement or non-involvement, it has not helped matters at all. It’s clear you have some influence over at least two current members and you should use it immediately.

It’s clear the vote is 3-2 between the attending current members, so the winner is also very clear.

Two editorials from this paper also have fallen upon closed eyes. Right now, six members of the council are being paid for basically nothing as far as this taxpayer can see, which is shameful at best.

One last thing, when the smoke clears from this mess, is to make sure changes are made crystal clear in the city charter to guarantee this will never, ever happen again. A charter review is well in order.

Vince Riggi

Schenectady

The writer is a former City Council member.

Look to past for how to restore our nation

Passing an abandoned house with a large U.S. flag hanging on one whole side of the house, it struck me that it was the perfect symbol for the present chaos.

The faded flag was still proudly hanging. We are still America, although most behavioral norms have been shattered.

Our communities have become fearful of government officials, with good cause. Their actions are often harsh, including the killing of two white U.S. citizens. Yes, white U.S. citizens. Just in case, we might have thought we were safe from such........

© The Leader Herald