The Monroe County Leg. Like looking at your friend’s wedding album.
So, I was lamenting to stlo7 about how hard it is to get folks interested in the dysfunction going on at the county level. This here’s a body with a freakin’ BILLION, with a B, dollar budget. Ability to directly affect your taxes, which is the number one thing folks complain about. Ability to do things for the common good, or to enrich political contributors.
And for most folks, it’s about as exciting as watching paint dry. National politics? Sexy. State Governor? Everyone has an opinion. Even the state leg, people will scratch their heads and say, “Ummm, it’s like, messed up in Albany, or something…right?”
But the county level? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
stlo7, in his earthy yet intelligent way, replied, “Well, it’s kind of like looking at your friend’s wedding album. You know your friend, maybe their spouse, MAYBE one other person. After that, it’s just a bunch of people you don’t know. Who are they? What do they do? You don’t know, and you don’t care.”
Add a local corporate media who are overbooked and understaffed, and you get bland “he said, she said” stories that give you no traction on what the heck’s really going on.
The lifeblood of democracy is folks participating. But folks won’t participate unless you know what’s going on, and someone bothers to try to make it interesting.
And why should they participate? I don’t blame them for not.
As Adlai Stevenson said of Eleanor Roosevelt: “It’s better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” Well, we’re here to do both. And as our first candle/curse, check out this picture of some of the County Legislators. Now, why could they be looking so crabby?
Anyone care to suggest some captions in the comments? 
“Well, where the hell is my double mocha, frapa, cappa, latte? Is this a coffee break room or not?”
Coffee - $5
Tray of assorted pastry- $10
Capturing your County legislator with a look of utmost contempt for the people he serves - Priceless
These are great so far, but I was thinking more along the lines of
Bad boys, bad boys
Watcha gonna do?
Watcha gonna do when they come for you?
How’s this for a classic?
‘Cause when we get behind clo-osed doors
And she lets her hair hang down
And she makes me glad that I-I’m a ma-an
Oh no one knows
What goes on behind clo-osed doors
OK, so now that the silliness is set aside, might I suggest that this is one of those reasons for which municipal government makes a lot of sense?
I mean really: how much money are we paying just to keep the lights on in two entirely different governments, neither of which really does all that much most of the time, anyway? Paying for legislators’ salaries, pages, doughnuts, sundry implements?
I feel like I’m in a Xerox commercial: “It could be. . . millions. . . “
Mental note: make a rule banning cameras in these chambers.
What’s the guy in the back of the room doing, singing? Or is he looking up into the sky and asking himself when will the public forum ever end.
I think he’s tossed up another of those tasty mini-muffins to pop in his mouth. mmmmm….mini muffins.