Letter To The Editor: Transparent Government Is Best

To the editor:

As the saying goes, “all politics is local,” but that’s not really the case if people don’t have genuine access to their elected leaders.

In the Assembly, I fought to end graft and misuse of power, but when I couldn’t I shined a bright light on them to expose the corruption. Whether it was Joe Percoco taking kickbacks from the Buffalo Billion, Andrew Cuomo’s COVID-19 nursing home coverup or his outrageous $5 million COVID-19 book deal supported by taxpayer dollars, one of the best ways to root out corruption is through greater transparency.

Putnam County is not immune from the various temptations associated with power and greed and the antidote is no different …

To paraphrase former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, sunshine is the best disinfectant.

As County Executive, I’ll work to bring about a new era of transparency to our county government.

We’ll start by working together with our partners in the legislature to accomplish three things early on in my administration:

• Update the county website so the county charter, mission statements, public data and information are more easily accessible to the public with less need to FOIL.
• Make government meetings more readily available online as so many other town, village and school district boards already do.
• Enhance accessibility to the County Executive’s office by hosting annual constituent forums throughout the county just as I did in the Assembly throughout the district.

I’ll work for you and be held accountable by you: the people of Putnam County.

Learn more about me, my plans and vision for Putnam County at www.Byrne4Putnam.com.

Kevin Byrne