I interviewed Fred Monroe this week about a plan by North Country counties to sue the Adirondack Park Agency. <\/p>\n
Fred is supervisor in Chestertown and heads the Adirondack Local Government Review Board. During our conversation, he described what he views as a profound shift in the region’s relationship to Albany. <\/p>\n
The political climate is obviously changing. <\/p>\n
In the past, Adirondack residents and local governments have seen that their Senator — Senator [Ron] Stafford and more recently Senator [Betty] Little — have been our defenders.<\/p>\n
When there’s been legislation proposed that we feel would be harmful to our residents, our Senators have been able to block that legislation.<\/p>\n
But now with the change in Albany to a Democratically-controlled Senate, we think that the stopping power of our representatives — our Senator, particularly, has been substantially weakened.<\/p>\n
It’s likely that the only way we can defend ourselves is through litigation. What other recourse do we have?<\/p>\n
Our legislators can propose a bill. But that’s unlikely to be adopted through the legislature. So the only defense we have is litigation, it seems to us.<\/p>\n
That doesn’t mean that we can’t work together with environmental groups or the APA or the DEC on things we can agree on.<\/p>\n
The environmentalists have done this for years. Every time they’re unhappy about something they start a lawsuit. <\/p>\n
And yet they still seem to have the ear of the DEC and the APA.<\/p>\n
I think we should be viewed the same way. If we think an agency is going the wrong direction, we have the right and responsibility to challenge it. <\/p>\n
And we don’t have any other way to do it.<\/p>\n
–Brian Mann — channeling Fred Monroe, supervisor in Chestertown<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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