Published: August 24, 2007 06:06 pm            

KISSEL: Resident questions board's toughness

Yea — Yea —Yea — Yea — Yea.

Is that all they ever say?

And where are the “nays?”

That’s what resident John Cook asked during the public comment portion of Monday’s town board meeting.

Isn’t there any dissent? When does the board EVER disagree? That was his gist.

It harkened back to a time when I first began covering Grand Island town politics. Yes, on the surface at least, everything seemed so lockstep, so preordained.

I think that’s how it appears to the casual observer of town board meetings.

Like the gentlemen said, almost every vote put to the Grand Island Town Board goes ... (Voice of Town Clerk Patricia Frentzel: Argy? Yea. Roesch? Yea. McMahon? Yea. Cooke? Yea. Crawford? Crawford? Heck, yea!

Just kidding ... The truth is, and this was explained to Cook — making the first of more promised appearances there, he said — a lot of preparation and discussion goes on beforehand.

In fact, member Gary Roesch said the board will meet about 47 times this year for meetings and workshops, which can last for hours.

With so much face time, they could easily start a band.

I see Susan Argy stepping forward for lead vocals while Mary Cooke provides a rock-solid foundation on bass guitar. McMahon strums and wails on lead guitar while Crawford owns the digital accordion and Roesch rounds things out with his impressive cowbell rig.

Umm ... back to reality ... Mary Cooke — no relation to the questioner — said the town board could act like a nighttime soap and argue constantly, meet until 1 a.m. and accomplish nothing, but they don’t.

Be efficient, be happy. That’s my motto.

It seems to be that of the Grand Island town board, too. (Even if they do love their photo ops. Hey, who doesn’t?)

As Roz Keith says in the uberclassic “9 to 5,” even if some erroneously in her case, “We’re all a pretty happy group.”

That seems to apply to the town board, as well.

But despite the surface calm, someone IS going to be voted off the Island — or at least out of town hall — come this Fall, when Cooke (R) vs. McMahon (D) becomes the Island’s main political event.

So far, however, the political differences between the two seem almost imperceptible save for the Cooke’s previously published, mostly innocuous ‘town letterhead’ remarks (Sorry, again, Liz!).

Hopefully, in the weeks ahead residents will get to hear some reasons as to why they should choose one over the other

Even if it’s a bit divisive and uncomfortable, it’s probably something most residents could say ‘yea’ about.

Joe Kissel covers Grand Island for the Record.

        

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