EMAIL TO THE EDITOR: Geneseo’s D’s and R’s Must Cross-Endorse to Counter Students

The following is an email submitted by Dick Gallivan to the GeneseeSun.com for publication. The attitudes and ideas expressed below should not be interpreted as the opinion of the GeneseeSun.com.

Dear Josh and Conrad:

The latest incident involving SUNY Geneseo students was the stopping of a woman who was speeding.  She also had children in the vehicle not in car seats. She also was unlicensed. Students gathered at the scene and protested the detaining of this lawbreaker. I won’t go into details that have been well publicized.

My concern is the action of one of the main protesters, Village Trustee Mary Rutigliano, who is also a SUNY student.  Her criticism of the Village Police Department was immature and irresponsible. All of the news stories identify her as a Village Trustee.

This leads to my concerns about Village elections. First is the fact that Village residents, who are voters, did not show up at the polls.  Secondly, there was a concerted effort at the College to elect students. Don’t forget they were on Spring break, so they were instructed to use absentee ballots, while they went home to their real residences.

Our next Village election will have two trustee and the mayor positions on the ballot. I have no doubt that the same scheme will be used to elect more students. We must elect mature candidates with life experience.

With the numbers at the college and the obvious indolence of many Geneseo voters, my thought is this: The Democratic and Republican Parties must get together and cross-endorse one strong candidate for each position and strongly support each candidate regardless of party affiliation.

Geneseo will suffer severely if the entire Village Government is controlled by students not yet ready for prime time.

Yours Truly,

Dick Gallivan