We are writing this letter in response to an article, “County Wins Ruling to see Town’s Books,” which appeared in the July edition of the Herald Courier in which it was reported that Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman refers to civic volunteers as “community gadflies.” We were not sure exactly what that meant – so we looked it up. Wikipedia defines a gadfly as “a person who upsets the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions, or just being an irritant.”
Carefully pondering the intent of this name-calling, we realized status quo might be the supervisor’s issue. All civic leaders volunteer their time and with complete commitment, to advocate for the community they live in. All civic leaders upset the status quo every day by asking upsetting questions – we all represent our neighborhoods and try to maintain the quality of life which is constantly threatened by governmental decisions that impact us every day.
We are bewildered, however, by the thought that, underneath it all, Supervisor Kaiman really doesn’t support the fundamental activities which have been as American as apple pie on the 4th of July – volunteerism and a sense of community pride.
If our behavior classifies us or any civic leader as “community gadflies” or irritants in Supervisor Kaiman’s mind, but results in knowing that hard earned tax dollars have been wisely and rightfully spent, or that our communities enjoy the quality of life we try to preserve, then we encourage every civic-minded person to stand up and become a gadfly and challenge anyone who puts that quality of life in jeopardy.
Marianna Wohlgemuth
Marietta DiCamillo
New Hyde Park
