One of the reasons that the Founding Fathers decided to make the nation a constitutional republic rather than a pure democracy was the fear that a tyrannical majority might trample on the rights of the minority.
Fast forward to 2012. Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano is attempting to use the Republican one-vote majority in the county Legislature to give him the ultimate power to make $40 million in budget cuts.
The 19-member county Legislature voted 10-9 to give Mangano to make budget cuts without the approval of the Legislature.
Even if the courts decide that this law is constitutional, there is no question that it is unethical. It leaves the Democrat minority and the people that they represent including the county’s unions without a voice.
Shortly before the law was passed, Jerry Laricchiuta, president of CSEA Local 830 that represents over 6,000 county employees, said, “We sit here today and you are about to pass a law that violates our very foundation as a country. I find it very, very insulting.”
The CSEA lawyers have filed a temporary restraining order in U.S. District Court in Central Islip against the legislation, which was proposed by Mangano on Monday.
Raising that stakes in this battle, the Democrats have threatened to block any future borrowing by the county. For borrowing to be approved, it needs the support the proposal by a two-thirds majority in the Legislature. Three Democrats would have to cross over and vote with their Republican counterparts.
In May Mangano said he may need to furlough all “non-essential employees” and make other “massive cuts” if he cannot get the approval for future borrowing. The Youth Board, Office of Mental Health, Chemical Dependency and Developmental Disabilities and Nassau’s Red Light Camera Dedicated Fund could face the axe.
The thought of thousands of workers losing their jobs is more than troubling. But the way around this cannot be the creation of a county dictatorship.
Mangano cannot run the government with a one-vote majority. Without Democrat votes his sewer plan is dead in the water, even if he can find a way to get NIFA to approve the revised plan.
The people of Nassau County don’t need a well-intentioned czar. They need a bipartisan legislature and county supervisor that can set aside partisan politics and work together to find solutions for the problems that face the county.
