Time for Putnam Legislature Chair to Assign Lone Democrat to Committees
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
In the interest of comity, at the very least, Nancy Montgomery needs to be given committee assignments on the Putnam County Legislature.
Chairman Paul Jonke did not see fit to grant Montgomery any assignments while every other legislator has been given multiple assignments. Other than the all-inclusive Budget and Finance Committee, which every member is obliged to serve on, Mongomery is shut out of the other seven appointed committees. Paul Jonke has said publicly, in essence, it is because (I’m paraphrasing) Montgomery is a nasty woman.
Consider this, Putnam County’s electorate is approximately 50-50 Democratic and Republican. And yet, the legislature is 89 percent Republican and 11 percent Democratic. Montgomery is the solitary Democrat.
Consequently, she is the sole counterbalance to an agenda that she feels sometimes does not represent the best interests of her constituents, or Putnam County’s residents. Since she is a minority of one, she has to lift a heavy load whenever she may find herself in opposition to a particular policy. So, she pushes back.
I have witnessed her behavior on many occasions in meetings. While Jonke (and others I presume) might find her to be rude or offensive, I found her to be stalwart and assertive. These are traits often found to be repulsive by some when exhibited by a woman. I’m sure Jonke would argue that that is not the problem. Jonke just doesn’t like Montgomery and her, at times, dogged resistance. Too bad. Don’t be a crybaby.
Politics is not always warm and fuzzy, as we all know. If Jonke can’t take the heat he should get out. Montgomery is doing her job, and she does it well. If Jonke thinks Mongomery is abusive, every Democrat and fair-minded person in the county thinks that Jonke’s treatment of Montgomery is abusive.
Not only is Jonke mistreating Montgomery, Jonke is mistreating the residents of Putnam County by not having more balanced representation on the committees.
Nick Kuvach
Putnam Valley
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