The recent dustup between two of our town elected officials over a bill for security cameras has brought the issues at stake for Montgomery in this year’s elections into sharp focus.

Two years ago, responding to complaints that existing town government, such as it was, was increasingly losing its focus in a haze of inaction, the Town Republican Committee responded by following the lead of the national party and choosing as its candidate for town supervisor a businessman who had never before held public office to carry its standard afresh. The gamble paid off and they coasted to victory.

However, in 2019, it was apparent that the Republican Committee was suffering the sort of buyer’s remorse over this move that many Americans see as sorely lacking at the party’s national level. So they then went and nominated a local establishment favorite with minimal real experience in government (yet not inconsiderable experience in running for office, I grant), because after all that had worked for them 12 years ago so why not, and kicked their one-time golden boy to the curb.

He was still not out of gold, and the result was the primary that littered Montgomery and all three villages with “signs, signs, everywhere was signs”, this spring, fueled by record campaign spending we usually see around these parts only in contested races for the State Senate.

As a result, both candidates remain before voters this fall. But why should we content ourselves with the choice between the Republicans’ new toy and their old one? What is our guarantee that, two years hence, we should not be asked to join the Republican committee in crowning yet another new prince and tossing aside this year’s model?

I submit that there is none. The recent contretemps over a simple invoice is all the proof we need that our local party of government no longer has its collective … you know, thing together, and that it is time to put them in time-out.

We can end this disruptive conflict. When you go to cast your ballot this year, either during New York’s first-ever early voting at the Montgomery Senior Center starting Oct. 26, or on Nov. 5 at your regular polling place, vote for the Row A ticket—Leahy, Cockburn, Brown and Mitchell—and bring government back to Town Hall.