Denise Civiletti
What’s wrong with Town Hall?
It’s about the game, not the government

The never-ending winter and its relentless snow has depleted my patience for political drama. I’m sick and tired of all the BS. I’m done with it.

This is no longer a “silly season” phenomenon. Back in the day, the juvenile behavior of local politicians was mostly limited to the second half of a local election year. Now it’s the nonstop norm. In this local election year, it’s already a free-for-all — and it’s only March.

Because it’s all about the game, not the government. The game is all they think about. The game is all that matters.

Will it make me look good?
Will it make [enemy du jour] look bad?
What’s he (or she) trying to do to me?
How can I do it to him (or her) first?
What will it do to my re-election chances?

It consumes them. It poisons every decision they make. It defines who they are. Add money and ego to the mix and you’ve got the perfect storm. And batten down the hatches, folks, because this storm’s a Cat 4.

To be honest, Riverhead’s not unique. Look at Albany or Washington. Everywhere you look — if you bother to look — it’s a train wreck. Stupid decisions made for all the wrong reasons costing us thousands, millions, billions, even trillions of dollars. And sometimes, even human lives.

There’s an old saying that people get the government they deserve. So, what did we do to deserve this?

We chose to be so ill-informed that we are pathetically pliable and easy to manipulate. Repeat something enough and it becomes truth. Strike a chord that’s popular with the masses and you’re in.

“It doesn’t matter,” we said. “They’re all the same,” we complained. “They do what they want anyway.”

We didn’t pay attention. We chose entertainment over information, TV over civic involvement. We stayed home. We didn’t question. We didn’t speak out. We didn’t even bother to vote.

The result is dysfunctional government “led” by people who put their own interests — their own political survival, their pride, their thirst for power, their government paychecks and pensions — above just about everything else.

They pay lip service to things they think matter to the people who finance their campaigns or vote in elections.

They like to crow about how hard they worked on this or that. Mostly, they’re claiming credit for the work of others. They are themselves usually too busy scheming, talking about each other and bickering — or pursuing other sources of income — to actually do the people’s business.

You know the saying “light’s on, nobody’s home?” Take a stroll down the south corridor of Riverhead Town Hall on just about any given day. Lights on. Doors open. Offices empty. Who do they think they’re fooling? Seriously. Why waste the electricity? Save the watts. Save our tax dollars.

Inattention to the people’s business is often obvious when you sit through work sessions and town board meetings. Discussions go in circles. Decisions don’t get made. Or decisions that had been made unravel. People meeting with the board often leave the room with eyebrows raised, shaking their heads. It’s embarrassing. It’s scary how often board members don’t even seem to know what they’re voting on, much less what’s behind it. But they do know the juicy details of who said what to whom about whom, and they often end up arguing about it — or just arguing because the toxic dynamic has permanently ramped up the tension in the board room.

Fortunately, there are plenty of people in town government who work — and work hard. They do the best they can to keep the town running in spite of all the nonsense. But the nonsense frequently interferes with and even derails their honest efforts.

That’s bad for morale. It’s bad for government. And ultimately, it’s bad for our pocketbooks and the viability of our town.

Next: What’s the cost of all this nonsense?