Leaving GOP Helm, Waller Fondly Recalls End To Union Ticket

2-12-10

To the Editor:
I am announcing that I have resigned as chairman of the Village of Cooperstown Republican Committee. 
I do this primarily to devote more time to caring for my wife who is dealing with some health issues and who also is in process of winding up her very successful history of service to the village.
In addition, I feel it is the proper time to step down and let others continue the traditions that were started over 30 years ago when Tom Malone and I quenched the Union Ticket and brought competitive elections to Cooperstown.  Prior to that, candidates were “selected” by a few and voted in by as little as 15 in the village’s general elections. 
The culmination of this effort was dramatically seen at our last Republican caucus, where a record number of people turned out and selected their candidates for Village office. 
Truly these candidates were chosen not by a few in a back room, but rather by the acclamation of the many.
These candidates, good people from both parties, will now go out and speak with residents, learn issues, propose solutions and show why they deserve the people’s vote for this office. 
And because of this free and open process, most of our registered voters will turn out and cast their ballots, voting their free choice for their leaders.
This is the hallmark of our democracy; this free election and simple peaceful transfer of leadership without violence and civil unrest, which our founding fathers foresaw when they created our country and led us by way of a Constitution that we all still follow.
While some may say that this system is chaotic and voters do not always choose the “right” candidate, our system is far better than a hierarchal decree of power and far superior to the outright forceful seizures so prevalent in other countries. 
So far superior, that all of us should embrace this process and contribute to it in any way we can. 
Support those that you favor and work to bring their attributes to the forefront so that we may all learn who that candidate is and make an informed choice; for that precious gift that we have been given by our Founders, that gift preserved through the sacrifice of many and that gift fought for by a brave few; that gift of our vote is a special privilege we must cherish forever.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you, the voters of our village.
WILLIAM WALLER
Cooperstown