It is June and therefore time for our annual local election. In this day and age, we have come to know that every election is important. As the saying goes: Just because you don’t take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.
With that in mind, I choose to take this local election seriously and am hereby expressing my support for the incumbent ticket of Mayor Bill Manger and Trustees Robin Brown and Roy Stevenson.
Under their leadership, our village has strengthened public safety and rebuilt trust with our first responders. This vital relationship between the village government and our brave and noble first responders came under great pressure during the previous administration. I have no desire to see us return to those tumultuous days.
In the last two years, this administration has prioritized restoring these relationships and bolstering public safety. Their progress has been remarkable. The village has purchased two new ambulances and upgraded fire engines that have been in service for two decades. Additional police officers have been hired in an attempt to deal with the traffic situation in the village. This will not cure our traffic dilemma, but it will make our residential streets safer.
Ours is presently a government that works with the people who help us, who save us, who protect us. It is not locked in a pitched battle against them. Sound and respectful relations between government and those who serve make for a safer, more tranquil and happier community. The present administration has striven to repair and restore those relations, and we are better for it.
This is one of many reasons these candidates will receive my vote. I hope they will receive yours as well.
Benjamin Cummings
Southampton Village