Halloween. It’s our embrace of the shadows and our ownership of things that scare us. What demons lurk in those shadows, we don’t know. But on this night, they’re an entertainment. Scary, but not fearsome.
The ghouls and the goblins are among us now, but they will soon be put in a box and stored away. So too, the ugliness of the politics around us.
After a very dark night, the dawn is approaching.
The thousands of faces I’ve seen in the crowds that have filled our streets in protest share one, powerful longing. It’s for a return of the light, a light we had taken for granted.
In our politics the shadows have grown so dark that they obscure the words that have always guided us: Respect. Trust. Faith. Compassion.
The signposts have been hidden and some of us are lost. But the sun is coming. I have confidence that the dawn will break everywhere.
In Oneonta, I believe it will shine brightly in the debate at Foothills.
A toxic cloud of alternative facts, conspiracy theories and presumed bad intentions has ruled the night. Distrust and anger can come so easily. And it has.
But it’s okay … there are no monsters under the bed.
The city government is filled (though understaffed) with people who work hard to make this city better — every single day and every single night.
At its management level, I have never encountered a group that was more dedicated or worked longer hours.
To see them maligned and falsely accused of both genius-level strategies and incompetence has angered me. Charges of back-room dealing are as wrong as they are unconscionable. Certainly, it’s disrespectful to the staff whose every action is in continued support of the city’s strategic and comprehensive plans.
My commitment of these past four years has been to the city’s transparency. The evidence of that effort is irrefutable, and yet we’re vilified by a lie that’s been told and repeated and believed.
There are no conspiracies. No shadow plays.
The city parking garage was structurally unsound and a danger. Whether demolished or rebuilt (at a price we could never afford) we would have lost that parking for a very extended amount of time.
Rather than raising torches and pitchforks, we can accept the reality of the inconvenience and make the best of it. And we are.
For what seemed like an eternal night, the specters of NIMBYism and disinformation were as frightening as any ghost or ghoul.
A homeless shelter and drug rehab was never proposed for Market Street.
Now, in these first rays of daylight, people are beginning to see the plan for what it was. We envisioned an affordable home for 35 our neighbors and college grads in the heart of an increasingly vibrant downtown. We had also hoped to welcome 14 people to the building who would be supported in their battles with mental health by 24/7 on-site support staff.
We were excited about its first floor and talks of a maker space or a bowling alley, and a 25-million-dollar investment in our city.
Failing to secure the votes of Common Council, the RSS has returned to its Sixth Ward property with a new proposal. It’s a very different proposal for a very different building and a very different relationship with the neighborhood.
I pray that the monsters that live in the shadows of our discourse don’t emerge as they did. We’ve seen them already. And we know that they are not simply disguised and harmless. They can consume us.
Respect for our neighbors, trust in their best intentions, faith in the system and compassion for those who most need it, those are the beams of light that will beckon us to a new, yet old, political ideal.
I can sense our emergence from the shadows and the warmth of the sun’s rise.
This long night will soon end.
Happy Halloween.