Ridgewood should have State of the Village address
January 30, 2015 Last updated: Friday, January 30, 2015, 9:37 AM
The Ridgewood News
Start work today; think of tomorrow
Rurik Halaby
Ridgewood
To the Editor:
This month’s State of the Union address made me think, why not start a new tradition in Ridgewood where the mayor delivers an annual State of the Village address?
The speech would review all the important issues that affect our lives as residents of Ridgewood. It will encourage the political process to be proactive and focused on the long-term. Most importantly, it will hopefully attract a wider cross section of Ridgewood residents to become more involved in the affairs of our hometown.
As an example, one of the major issues that will need to be addressed is the village’s infrastructure, where we all have to think long-term, let’s say Ridgewood in 2025, and where the solutions are complex, intractable, and dependent on bureaucracies that are beyond our control. What do we need to think long-term? Maybe a “touch” of Napoleon.
It is said that the beautiful allées lining the old national highways in France go back to his time. Napoleon came up with an idea of planting trees to provide shade for his soldiers. The official who he gave the order to agreed that it would be a good idea but pointed out that it would take 20 years for the trees to grow large enough to provide shade. To which Napoleon supposedly responded, “I agree, so start today and don’t wait until tomorrow.”
So many of our infrastructure challenges, such as the urgent need to bury our utilities, are dependent upon super bureaucracies like PSE&G and will take years to fix, but that only means we have to start working on the fix today and not wait until tomorrow..
This topic along with many others that affect the quality of life in Ridgewood can be addressed in the speech. And with some luck, maybe this will be the catalyst for a spirited but civil debate on what needs to be done.
Why? Another platform for our mayor to push his agenda. He already gives his views in the Ridgewood News. He also has hold office hours every month at Village Hall plus we have televised council meetings with replay. Lets not forget the robo calls. If you need the state of the village just keep current with using the above tools. We don’t need another platform for our mayor to promote himself. This a small town well for now.
The Village Manager is the one “that already gives” that report at every meeting — perhaps, the Council should ask questions of the Manager that could augment that report.
Dear Anonymous: The objective is not the day-to-day problems we face as much as take a deep breath and focus on long term needs of the village.
Dear Mayor of Robert St.: It could be the Manager who gives the talk, but I think it shoud be the elected official.
Cheers,
Rurik
“long term needs of the village” Really ! Just like all the President’s state of the Union address. All fluff and besides your Mayor is not here for the long term. He only cares about current headlines.
Mr. Halaby I have seen you comment at Council meeting,wright letter to the Ridgewood News and even comment on this blog on what Ridgewood should do. I have just 1 question are you on any Village Boards or any volunteered committee ? An election is coming up in 2016. Go for it!
Anonymous 11:47 am. Life is not perfect. Let us try.
Anonymous 11:54 am. Thanks for your kind words. No interest in running for anything. I will just do my thing with letters, etc.
Well Rurick you have some good ideas and I thing we need someone like you on one of the Village committees. Think about.
To view the current uses to which the Constitutionally-required state of the Union address is put in Washington D.C. with anything other than embarrassment and horror is bad enough. To advocate its emulation on a local level is pure foolishness. To analogize the behavior of our (purely titular) mayor to that of France’s Napolean…well now, that’s priceless!
Thanks, Anonymous 4:44
Anonymous 5:27, I think you took the Napoleonic reference too literally. The point I tried to make was that just because something will take a long time, does not mean you delay taking action. Perhaps I should have used the Chinese proverb which says the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is today. The question we should all ask ourselves is, what should we do to ensure Ridgewood in 2025 is the best town it has ever been.
Halaby for Village Council 2016. Has a good ring to it.
Fair enough, Mr. Halaby, but the notion of giving the Ridgewood Mayor any further opportunities for self-aggrandizement than Mr. Aronsohn has already manufactured or sought to exploit for his own purposes is misguided. The role is ceremonial due to the fact that Ridgewood’s form and function of government is defined by the Faulkner Act which requires that we have a village manager who handles most of the work of government and a five-member council that oversees the manager, among other well-known functions, including legislative. No one member of the council is to be considered elevated over any other for anything other than ceremonial or procedural purposes. The two members of the current Village Council who are not members of the Three Amigos should be commended for their patience in contending with their unprecedented misbehavior. Anyone willing to commit themselves to breaking up their extended beer party at our expense by running to replace one of them is certain to receive a hero’s welcome.
I believe Mr.Halaby to be the same gentleman who has commented on the other over sized project involving Ridgewood, ie. Valley. Enough said.
What a blowhard. Anyway, this mayor does more “stumping” than any other in Village history. He writes a column in the local paper, pontificates whenever and wherever possible, and we can’t escape his voice even during a blackout!
No encouragement to Mr. Halaby to run for elective office, please. Maniac.