“A businessman who wanted to become the Mayor”
An OPINION from E. Niver, Canisteo NY
I want to share a fictional story about a town far, far away. There was a businessman who wanted to become the Mayor, so he asked his friend, an even richer businessman, to invest a large sum of money into his campaign. “If you can make it happen for me, I will make sure you get the best town contracts and all your pending court cases will disappear!” The money poured in, the election was successful, and the new Mayor kept his word to reward his friend and patron.
Then he sent out the word to all the other corporations, the wealthy citizens, and even other towns and states. “If you want to get favorable treatment in this town, bring me gifts!” The presents, donations, and bribes flowed in, and the special favors and sweetheart deals flowed out. People who couldn’t or wouldn’t pay to play found themselves sidelined from normal town business. Town laws designed to prevent such corruption were simply ignored. Many town employees were fired and the other elected officials were bullied into compliance. The business of the town was no longer governing for the good of the people, but an overt grab by the Mayor and his enablers for as much power and graft as possible.
You may believe this story could never be real or that it happens all the time, and you would be wrong either way. We have been blessed with good governments throughout our history, and every so often we get a doozey of a bad one. The fictional part of this story is that it is not about a town.
