ViewPoint: Western NY Elected Are Uninformed, Oblivious

Partners for a Livable Western New York Newsletter

David McCollough, author and historian in speech at the Chautauqua Institution in August 2009. Comment: this quote brings to mind the recent comments about Western New York elected officials made by noted government experts David Rusk who said Western New York elected officials were “isolated” because they did not make the effort to find out what is going on elsewhere in the United States and William Hudnut who said "Western New York elected officials were “oblivious” to steps taken by other regions in the U.S. to improve themselves.

As noted architect and planner Andres Duany has stated:

“It is the duty of elected officials to educate themselves on the matters on which they are to legislate rather than merely listening to the [mostly uninformed] public.”

We still have a long way to go in our community when it comes to improving land use as evidenced by the failure of our public officials to educate themselves on the benefits of an Erie County Planning Board. If our elected official s had visited other places or found out about what is going on elsewhere they just might learn more about how to improve land use policies and practices here in Western New York.

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