Bruce Kimmel is a Democrat and an at-large member of the Common Council.
Norwalk is a fascinating combination of urban, suburban and rural communities. We have rivers, the Long Island Sound, and lovely beaches. Our parks are beautiful and well kept, our woodlands are in excellent shape. Plus, how many cities can claim to have been almost burned to the ground during the Revolutionary War by the British? We are as geographically diverse as a city can be.
Moreover, our population could not be more diverse. We have a variety of racial and ethnic groups; our residents come from every income group; and we have a healthy combination of elderly and very young people. This diversity is clearly Norwalk’s greatest strength and should be valued and preserved.
But our demographic diversity can also be our greatest weakness. It often makes for a kind of rough-and-tumble politics that can spiral out of control. Naturally, we have the standard mix of Democratic and Republican perspectives, with the usual debates along the usual lines. But in Norwalk, at least from my viewpoint as a member of the Norwalk Common Council and as a former member of the Board of Education, local politics are often a lot more complicated than one might expect.
This is especially true for the Norwalk Democratic Party, whose members reflect the racial/ethnic diversity of the city, as well as our economic diversity. To me, it’s long been obvious that this diversity among the Democrats is not only our greatest strength, but at times can be our greatest weakness – as different priorities and perspectives clash, as different and equally legitimate views of the world collide in the normal course of legislative activity.
(For the record: Over the years I have on occasion been smack-dab in the center of these party brouhahas, and I am acutely cognizant of the fact that a number of local Democrats are critical of past decisions I’ve made; decisions that may not have been in the best interests of the local party, but were made – as an elected official – with the best interests of the city firmly in mind.)
Unfortunately, for the past few years, these political and intellectual collisions – which have involved members of both parties – seem to have caused more damage than in the past. Compounding this problem is a level of legislative ineptitude that is embarrassing; for instance, a willingness to ignore state collective bargaining laws, opposing federal grants earmarked for South Norwalk, and even voting against funding a much-needed after-school program.
Harsh accusations of backroom deals with not a shred of supporting evidence have been made in full public view; impugning the character of political opponents with wild innuendos is now common; and name-calling has become a regular feature of meetings. Even Mayor Rilling has been trashed several times by a member of his own party at Council meetings. Not only have our elected and appointed officials been emotionally hurt, but frustration levels may be at an all-time high, and I would not be surprised if some folks decided not to run for re-election.
Now is the time to dial back the rhetoric. Losing a vote or a series of votes is no cause to attribute malicious intent onto the shoulders of the majority. Regularly losing votes to an elected majority should never become a rationale for slinging not-so-subtle suggestions of bias or calling people liars. A few years back, several Council members were called “corrupt” and “pay to play” politicians by a disgruntled member who did not like the outcome of a vote.
From 1997-2001, I was part of a diverse caucus of only four Democrats on the Common Council. We had major differences with the majority on a host of issues. And we lost every single contested vote during that period. But we continued to fight for what we believed in, at the committee level and in the full Council. More importantly, I can’t recall a single instance when a member of our small caucus publicly accused a member of the majority of anything resembling the hurtful nonsense that is fast crippling government in Norwalk.
In recent months, much has been said about the need to attract more competent candidates for our elected and appointed commissions and agencies. Many residents have been in utter disbelief and shocked after witnessing or reading about what’s been happening at City Hall. Fortunately, an election is approaching. I can’t think of a better time to again make our political diversity our greatest strength.
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