Opinion: For the public good

Thank you for your reporting of Todd Fox’s latest successful raid on public dollars for private gain, and for allowing Mike Sigler to share his ideas as a private pilot on how Democrats are creating crises instead of governing. (Tompkins Weekly 7/26-8/1/23).

Todd Fox’s Visum Development Group depends on public dollars to build boxes that block viewsheds across Ithaca, whether in Collegetown or on Cherry St. or at Ithaca Gun or 510 W. State or proposed five story building on Inlet Island or current project at the former Joe’s Restaurant site, for which it has been granted $3 million in net city tax abatement without providing affordable housing.

Only required signage on buildings growing faster than local population informs citizens that current builders in Ithaca depend on federal and state housing dollars and on local grants and tax abatements as well as local services for every one of their projects. All make profit while degrading local assets of viewsheds, light accessibility on streets, sense of community, and dollars needed for local infrastructure and services like utilities, transportation, fire, and police for their tenants. In my view, it is beyond time for local municipalities to at least stop giving developers public money for profit-making projects.

But Mr. Sigler isn’t worried about those public dollars. He’s worried about garbage, electricity and federal money for Medicaid, which he believes local and state level Democratic elected officials are messing with, “creating crises to force action.” As a private pilot, he would prefer an “uneventful” trip. 

I wish I had funds to fly a private plane and enjoy the infrastructure paid for by tax dollars and public airspace regulated by federal law for his and others’ safety. If it was up to Republican elected officials, who repeatedly demonstrate unwillingness for any government function to actually work, even Mike Sigler wouldn’t be able to fly. 

Republican elected officials who act as rogue pilots routinely high-jack American democracy to create crisis after crisis, refusing to do basic jobs of passing budgets and laws and confirming nominees to force action on an unshared partisan agenda. They lie about their qualifications to voters and work to rig, abuse or undermine election systems and illegally overthrow lawfully elected representatives when they don’t win. They starve federal agencies created by lawful legislation, muck up legitimate regulation, and give the richest, who do not pay their fair share, free access to public funds, lands, and resources. 

Americans already experience eventful and unnecessary crises created by Republican elected officials, while climate change, the largest crisis facing everyone on the planet, remains unaddressed. American democracy and federal, state and local government work for the American people when elected officials understand public office as a public trust, not a partisan private plane cruising public skies at public expense. In my view, it is more than time for Republican elected officials to take Mr. Sigler’s advice to STOP “creating crises to force action” to heart.

Signed,

Vivien Rose

Trumansburg, NY