Letter to the Editor: Statement on Caroline

This statement is regarding the article Tompkins Weekly published on May 10, 2023, County Democratic Committee calls for investigation into primary registration. 

This is a free country and anyone may register to vote for anyone they choose at any time, for any reason, over any issue that is important to them, so long as they do so by the official party registration deadlines. And anyone may speak openly about this as our nation has First Amendment rights of free speech. 

It’s sad that we live in a nation so polarized that some people cannot comprehend the concept of bipartisan support. 

Perhaps it is understandable that the Democratic Committee of Caroline would be upset that they have to face a primary within their own party for the first time in history, when normally they are a well-oiled machine that is used to running the show. But when they use their weight to publicly endorse their incumbents before an election – candidates who have proven that they do not represent or align with the interests of the residents of Caroline, nor with many Democratic values at the national level – alternatives are needed. 

While the Caroline town board has so deftly tried to spin town issues into party issues, partisan politics really do not have a place in town politics. The national issues that tend to divide people down party lines — gun control, abortion, etc — simply do not come into play in the sorts of decisions made at a town level. And in fact, the Democratic Committee of Caroline has taken opposing stances to the national Democratic Party on the issues most relevant in Caroline. The movement against zoning is actually a flagship issue not only for our current governor here in New York, but for the Democratic party as a whole everywhere outside of Caroline, from the White House to California. So it’s difficult to say what the values of any particular party in the context of a town would even be, and the idea of “party purity” or a “purity test” for voters is chilling. 

The people of Caroline have not been heard on town issues, and it has torn the town apart at the seams. The largest petition in the history of Caroline (representing far more voices than the number of people who voted to elect any current town officer) was blatantly ignored by the board members and town supervisor. So now voters on both sides of the aisle are showing you that it’s not a party issue. 

We hope people see the county Democratic Committee’s actions for what they are; a heavy-handed attempt to intimidate voters and steer the outcome of the election through a well-planned smear campaign. 

The people of Caroline do not need a committee of a chosen few to tell them who to vote for.

Signed, 

Megan Burke, Caroline