WE NEED A REPRESENTATIVE NOT A POLITICIAN

5/21

The ink hardly had time to dry on Congressman Fossella's announcement that he will not run for re-election and the hats began to be tossed into the ring of candidates seeking his seat.

Some qualified. Some not.

Some I am sure being pushed by those in power in the Republican party.

Others looking for the opportunity to wrest the seat from Republican control.

We have lifers who seem to pop up every time a position becomes available and newcomers trying to make an inroad into the political game.

Some many candidates so little time.

One question is where have these people been for the last 10 years and why are they only becoming involved now?

But the most important question is what are they going to do for Staten Island.

Forget political party affiliation as on the National level there appears to be very little difference in policy.

For years Staten Islanders have given and gotten very little back.

We have an infrastructure built for 100,000 with a population of 450,000.

We spend billions rebuilding other countries and can't get a dime for Staten Island.

We spend hundreds of billions on a war in which thousands of our sons and daughters have died and ignore or mistreat our veterans when they come home.

We are the only borough without a city hospital.

We have a senior citizen population that is growing exponentially who have to worry every day about how they are going to survive.

Gas will soon be $5.00 a gallon, oil companies make record profits and we continue to be held hostage by our "allies" in the Middle East.

We have a Homeport that has been idle for years. In 2014 improvements to the Panama Canal will allow for cargo ships that will not be able to pass under the Bayonne Bridge. These ships will need someplace to go. But we continue to ignore the Homeport.

Lobbyists continue to get rich and we have no money for education.

Pharmaceutical companies continue to prosper and we continue to poison our children with preservatives in our vaccines.

We defend other countries but can't even secure our borders.

Of course one person will not change all of these things but at least we need someone who is going to try.

The person running for a seat in the House of Representatives should at least represent the constituents of the district.

They should all be required to leave their rubber stamps at home as they should represent the people first and not their parties.

If a Republican should win we need someone who will work with our Democratic Senators for the benefit of Staten Island.

We also need someone who will work with our local elected officials and address our local problems.

We don't need campaign promises as candidates always seem to develop selective memories when elected.

We need someone who will use the internet to ask their constituents what they need and want and not just as a tool to raise money.

We need someone who will work for our seniors and students throughout their term and not just during the campaign.

We need someone who will be reactive to the problems of Staten Island that have been ignored for years.

We need someone who will be proactive to the problems we will face in the future.

We don't need someone who will be inactive as has been the case with many of our representatives in the past.

We don't need a politician we need a "REPRESENTATIVE"

Hopefully we will find one over the next few weeks.