Monday, November 07, 2005

knopp vs. moccia

Tomorrow we head to the polls again to vote for our mayor and council people, town clerk, etc. Here, in Norwalk, local politics are partisan, which I’ve always thought was a little strange since, where I grew up, city politics were non-partisan. Or, if it was, it so didn’t matter that nobody really paid attention to it. Or maybe it was that everybody was a Democrat so it didn’t matter. My dad, a Democrat since birth, was on my hometown city council (Southgate, MI) for years, so I have a decent grasp of what local politics are like (I’m not talking about big urban areas here, which is a whole ‘nother ballgame).

At any rate, we have here the Dem incumbent, Alex Knopp, being challenged (again) by Republican Richard Moccia. Along with the various slates of council members. I’m unaffiliated, but I tend to vote the Democratic ticket because I’m a Liberal. (And proud of it.) But I’ve realized that, at the local level, party affiliations just don’t really matter. Traffic, and solutions to traffic problems, don’t seem to fall along partisan lines, for example. Somebody has to pay for the roads getting fixed and school roofs being replaced, and that’s not partisan, it’s just budgeting.

This year, Knopp is running for his third term as mayor. And for the second time, I will vote against him. When he first ran, he pledged he’d do something about the insane traffic around here, and about taxes. The first two years, he did nothing. The second two years, he’s still done nothing. In fact, things have gotten worse. Our taxes are higher and no only are they higher, we have to pay more for services that should be included in the tax bill, such as sewage.

Traffic on Strawberry Hill Avenue and throughout Norwalk has gotten much, much worse. It takes me longer to drive to the stores in West Norwalk (where all the big box stores are located) than it takes for me to drive to Bridgeport (except during afternoon rush hour—but then, forget about getting home). Knopp brags about the business he’s bringing in (or plans to bring in) by condemning existing businesses to build office buildings, but has done zilch to address the added traffic and drain on city services these businesses will bring in. Knopp has had studies conducted. Studies! That cost thousands and thousands of dollars and improved nothing. I would’ve sat in my lawn chair in my driveway clocking speed for a day or two for $100—that would’ve been as useful as the studies (which means not useful at all) and cost a hell of a lot less.

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posted by lee on 11/07/05 at 10:54 PM

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