Like anyone in Rye, I like to see a well-run, transparent, and effective local government. Public access channels should be a cure for insomnia, rather than a source of drama. Unfortunately, too often it’s a circus. But every two years, voters get to judge the City Council — either they’re pleased with the council’s performance and vote for the incumbents, or they’re unhappy and vote for change.
This election, I’m voting for change. I believe differing opinions on the City Council should be welcomed and openly debated, rather than ridiculed and dismissed. I believe that Josh Cohn, Julie Souza, Sara Goddard, and Ben Stacks will strike the right balance of impassioned debate and respect for others, not only for other Council members, but also for the public.
I have come to know Josh in the past year, when he marshalled a broad coalition of alarmed Rye residents concerning the City’s lackluster response to a widespread cell phone tower plan. More recently, he’s alerted many to the proposal/plan of relocating the DPW (by the way, I don’t care what one calls it, it’s simply a BAD IDEA!).
In the past few months, I’ve come to know both Julie and Sara, and have been suitably impressed with both their intellect and their desire to improve the public dialogue. They have seen a problem and are stepping in to fix it. This is what true leaders do — they fix the problem rather than affix the blame. Lastly, I have had the great good fortune to live next to Ben Stacks for well over 15 years, and cannot stress enough that Ben represents the best that Rye has to offer.
I urge everyone to come out to vote for these four next Tuesday, November 7, and take Rye in a better direction.
— Matt Fahey, former Rye City Councilman
