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September 19, 2010
Slow and steady often works
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Letters to the Editor
September 16, 2010
Recent decisions by the Somerville Council to join the county library system would seem, on the surface, to be proper. A handful of residents supported the council's votes at a public meeting citing that the council members were elected to make these decisions without voter approval. In some cases, that might be appropriate if the library fell under the council's jurisdiction.
Unfortunately, council members and their legal counsel seem to be unaware that the library board is an independent body not subject to the council's control. The call for a referendum to allow the voters to decide the fate of our library seems cumbersome when Mayor Gallagher advised that we should be "running to the county" to join their system. While the mayor's intentions may be good, he and the council seem to forget that we live in a democracy.
When the New Jersey Legislature created separate library boards, it was likely that it was done to prevent just the type of politicization that surfaced now in Somerville. We have two opposing forces, both of which are in favor of joining with the county. One one side we have members and supporters of the Somerville Free Public Library who believe that the rule of law must prevail and that a public referendum to dissolve the current library must be held before we join the county. On the opposing side, we have the "rush to judgment" group supporting a council that appears not to be concerned with the little details. It is too bad that this council has chosen expediency over discretion.
In our form of government, democracy must be concerned with the little details. Granted, this often results in slower progress than we'd like to see, but history has taught us that the price of expediency can be very dear. I hope that the Somerville Council will learn from this experience and avoid rushing to judgment the next time. The question each council member should ask is "maybe we can do it but should we do it?" Democracy is a slow process but one that is worth the wait
.Granville Y. Brady, Jr.SOMERVILLE
Posted by tumulty at September 19, 2010 12:37 PM
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