Nonvoters Get Their Just Desserts

By ALICIA COLON
October 5, 2007

My son Wes couldn't open his own bank account for years because he didn't have the government issued ID the bank required. He somehow didn't have enough "points" to get a learner's permit, even though he had his birth certificate, Social Security card, college picture ID, and credit cards. But the state Department of Motor Vehicles still denied him a permit. Now if he had been an illegal alien, Governor Spitzer probably would have drafted the paperwork for him personally.

Am I the only one who thinks our governor has gone stark raving mad? Does Mr. Spitzer realize that his proposal to give illegal immigrants driver's licenses would make all our current state IDs invalid as bona fide forms of identification, or that it would give illegals access to such government buildings as 26 Federal Plaza? Should we all get federal passports to go from state to state, since our state IDs would become worthless? What is Governor Spitzer thinking?

I bear no responsibility for this man being in office because I voted for John Faso, and the number of New Yorkers who voted for Mr. Spitzer means he was hardly handed a mandate to act like the emperor over our lives. The saddest thing about the governor's insane edict is that New Yorkers have no one to blame but themselves. So many of them are exactly like the woman I overheard talking to her friend on the Staten Island ferry. "I only vote in the presidential election," she said with a shrug.

The turnouts for local elections are ever shrinking, and yet those who slip into office on the slimmest of electoral margins have much more control over our lives than any White House occupant. Local elections that put our City Council members, district attorneys, judges, mayors, governors, state senators, and Assembly members in power have poor voter turnouts.

When we consider the daily troubles we face from crime, traffic, taxes, potholes, public transportation, and poor education results, we should be electing candidates who present workable solutions to these problems. But we don't. The only local political issues that seem to warrant our attention are scandals.

Albany is a mess and has been for years. The state Assembly and Senate are controlled by politicians more interested in their job security than the welfare of New Yorkers. Closer to home we're even more apathetic. New York City residents had a chance to vote in an entirely new City Council a few years ago, yet they preferred to continue griping and complaining instead of chugging along to the ballot box on Election Day.

I have to smile whenever a reader who's as disgusted as I am with the current electorate suggests that I run for office. Surely there are more vital individuals ready to take on the challenge.

If you have $200 and dream of entering the political arena, or you simply want to help the cause, check out the open-bar IZPAC inaugural party at the Retreat Lounge on 17th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues between 5 and 10 p.m. on Friday. Those interested can register for the event at IZPAC.com. This is a new political action committee formed in response to serious problems in our national, state, and local governments. Its mission is promoting integrity and zeal in government. The words "integrity" and "government" that close together seem somewhat oxymoronic, but one can only hope that this group can carry out its aim to "identify and recruit like-minded, ethical, hardworking leaders from outside of politics as candidates for important elected offices"; "assist potential candidates in cultivating the political goodwill and financial resources necessary for a successful campaign," and "provide financial assistance to these candidates and promote relevant policies and positions through mass media and targeted outreach."

We could have used a PAC like this last year. Mr. Spitzer made a name for himself pursuing high-profile targets on Wall Street that generated headlines and magazine articles portraying him as tough on corporate crime. While what he did as attorney general was more self-promotion than prosecutorial success, nevertheless he had name recognition and a bigger campaign chest than Mr. Faso, so now we are stuck with a governor who thinks that illegal immigrants should be given driver's licenses. Mr. Spitzer is doing this because he is a politician who recognizes that driver's licenses give the undocumented access to voting privileges under the Motor Voter Registration Act, which will lead to — drum roll — voter fraud.

So is he stark raving mad or just your average New York pol?

acolon@nysun.com

Nonvoters Get Their Just Desserts

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