LIBRARY CAMPAIGNS SHOWED SELF-GOVERNMENT IN ACTION

Kudos to the Royalton-Hartland community for practicing the wonders of the Constitutional Republic granted to us by the Founding Fathers.

Over the past 9 months the community has been divided over a public service – the Middleport Library. I’ll say that was a good thing. Far too often it has been pretty tame in Gasport and Middleport when it comes to self-government. People tend to go with the flow and other than a few gadflies it’s pretty quiet. But, people were vocal this time around.

Last fall, a lot of residents were caught off guard by the new district tax to fund the Library and a handful, led by Mary Cedeno, really did their homework, covered all their bases, and worked hard hitting the streets to collect petitions for what could be considered a “re-vote” (though more accurately it was a note to non-fund). Even though the defunding was defeated at the polls on May 15th vote, the 2:1 outcome proved the point that not everyone was in the know last June when the Library gained funding at a 14:1 clip. Mary and her team did a good job in ensuring that everyone had their fair say in public affairs.

Likewise, the Friends of the Library and the library’s users should be commended for their recent efforts, too. They saw that their beloved institution was primed for dismissal, but they worked together to educate the voters on what the Library means to them and the community. They got a majority of voters to commit to funding the Library, despite these tight times. So, now, District residents have known and permanent access to the Library, something that's probably new to most who live on the West side of the school district.

It was awesome to see the people – the community -- involved in such an issue. Both sides did well in their work.

Now, I’d like to see more of that in the future when it comes to local, state, and federal government!