By Tony Farina
Simply stated, voters in the city of Niagara Falls and elsewhere in our democracy should vote because it gives people the power to create positive change and determine a better quality of life for themselves, their families, and their neighbors.
Everyone who can should vote and should also take the time to understand that there is always confusion that often starts in the primary and we’ll try and explain that issue here for the people of Niagara Falls who have a lot at stake come election time, primary and general.
Voters need to be informed of the situation that in the primary, for example, registered Democrats and can only vote for Democrats but in the local elections you can vote for anyone you believe will do the best job, party labels aside. That means voters can vote for anyone they choose, Democrat, Republican, Independent or even a write-in candidate, like Donta Myles. Your vote is your vote, and belongs to no one, not to any party or politician.
Local elections are not about Washington, D. C. or national politics, they are about daily lives—public safety, clean and safe neighborhoods, and affordable living, and that includes fair taxes to help people keep going. The mayor and the City Council, hopefully representing the good of their constituents, make those key decisions and that’s why it is so important to make your vote count. Put another way, it is best to have a check-and balance system in City Hall so no one person, not even the mayor, can control everything to suit his political agenda.
Mayor Robert Restaino, perhaps like many executives, wants complete control and some think he already has too much decision-making power and he’s trying to elect a slate of City Council candidates—John Kinney, Noah Munoz, and Bridgette Myles—who are on record as stating they will back the mayor’s agenda without question. That would not serve the people well to have a completely unchecked chief executive to raise questions about where the money is being spent, no one to stop him from putting Niagara Falls in long-term debt for his very expensive legacy projects like Centennial Park and the North Main Street properties that in total will cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
And the worst part of that one-man, runaway train is that there is no money anywhere to pay for those projects, no private investment, no grants, no real funding plan with the only option visible a massive bond which means borrowing money that taxpayers will have to pay back. The burden will fall on taxpayer for generations. We’re talking about homeowners, renters, and families who are already overburdened.
If the mayor’s team wins, there will be no checks and balances, only the mayor’s agenda, a rubber-stamp council to do his bidding. That’s not democracy, that’s control and that’s what the mayor wants.
What the message is in this story is that voters must think for themselves. In the general election, you can be a good Democrat and still vote for a Republican, Independent or a write-in candidate like Donta Myles if you believe they will do what’s right for the city, not just for the mayor’s interests.
Niagara Falls needs a broad-thinking City Council that will represent the people, not a roll-over council that serves only the mayor. There are real issues that matter in the coming elections, not just party labels. Don’t let anyone tell you that you have to vote a certain way because you don’t. The choice is yours to make and this year it matters more than ever.
If you want a better shot at the future, vote for independence, not control. Vote for balance, vote for fairness, vote for the future of Niagara Falls. A lot is riding on the outcome. Be informed, think clearly, and make the best decision for the future for Niagara Falls.