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Public Commentary We often take for granted what an amazing concept this event is - one man who was placed in a position of power by the people freely relinquishes it to another, because the system is bigger than any one individual. If you as a County Executive maintain that perspective, you will start off on the right foot. You are there for a relatively short time to exercise your judgment to improve people's quality of life. That is why I always considered it such a privilege to serve. As Thomas Jefferson said, "When people assume a public office, they should consider themselves public property." In fact, when visiting schools I often ask the students a question that evokes some very intriguing responses: "Who's my boss?" is what I ask. Invariably, one will shout out: President George Bush. It surprises them when I answer that even President Bush cannot dictate my votes. Another student will suggest it's my wife. I'll have to admit that yes it's true, but that was not the answer I was looking for. Eventually someone will blurt out, "we are." And, of course, I tell them that they are absolutely right. I work for them, as I do now for you and 1.4 million Suffolk citizens. I have always believed that government is a trust, and the officers of government are the trustees. And that goes for everyone who works for your county government, as well. The team I have assembled to lead this government works for you. The hard-working union employees in this auditorium work for you. You pay our salaries, not the other way around. We work for you. That is the motto that will be engraved on a plaque greeting every visitor to the 12th floor of the Dennison Building. About a month before the election, George Wallace, Suffolk's poet laureate, interviewed me for a newspaper story. He asked what Long Island meant to me - what it was like to grow up here. As I was answering his question it reinforced in my mind why I chose to seek a life in public service. I sought public office to allow others after me to experience the same type of Long Island bliss I had the good fortune to live out. It truly was the Leave-it-to-Beaver existence. We had a middle class house in a middle class neighborhood. While my mom didn't wear pearls as she was dusting, as did June Cleaver, she did in fact dedicate her whole life to her children. Thanks Mom. My dad hit the L.I.E. every morning to his furniture store in Brooklyn to give us the middle class childhood he never had. To my Dad, who is looking down on us today, I say, "thank you." The older you get the more you appreciate the sacrifices your parents made. A kid's life in Holbrook meant meeting your buddies at the bus stop, going to a good public school, playing ball back in the neighborhood after school. It was a neighborhood that was safe and had a sense of identity. In the summers we headed to the beaches of Smith Point and Robert Moses. In the winter we would play football and hockey. At night we'd watch Superfly Jimmy Snuka and Bruno Samartino grapple with George "the Animal" Steel and the Iron Sheik. We would ride our bikes into nearby downtown Patchogue, have a slice of pizza and a sundae and play ball at the local park. That is what I want for the young people of this upcoming generation. An island that is still green. An island that is still defined by its communities. An island that is affordable for its residents. An island that provides not just jobs, but careers with stability, and opportunity for advancement. An island that assures that people with names as diverse as Diaz, Chen, Patel, Ali and Smith share the same neighborhood. This quality of life has been protected by the County Executives who have preceded me...from H. Lee Dennison to John Klein to Peter Fox Cohalan to Michael LoGrande to Patrick Halpin to Robert Gaffney. We salute you all. I wish to especially thank Bob Gaffney who has been so gracious and cooperative during this transition period. Thank you for your help and for your many years of service to the public. When it comes to what kind of Suffolk County we will have 25 years from now, one could say that we are at a fork in the road. We can take one route that leads to still greater traffic congestion, housing costs out of the reach of our families, a landscape scattered with haphazardly planned strip malls, beaches that are eroded, and taxes that are higher than our parents' mortgages. Or, we can take the other road. The one that expands our transit systems, encourages new affordable housing, preserves our farms and open spaces, and controls the size of our government to keep our taxes affordable... Many candidates who run for public office believe it is dangerous to say things that people might actually remember. But what is the point of running and winning if you don't have a clear set of goals to work toward to better this government and the lives of the taxpayers it serves. Over the next four years, we will make some enemies and we'll fluctuate in the polls, but that is the price we will be willing to pay to rock a boat that needs rocking... We will attempt to raise public confidence in our political system by raising ethical standards. As President John Kennedy so eloquently stated, "The basis of effective government is public confidence and that confidence is endangered when ethical standards falter or appear to falter."
I wish to express one last bit of thanks. Thank you to the veterans in this auditorium and to the men and women in our armed forces who at this moment have their lives on the line to allow us to sit in the comfort of this auditorium and participate in this most basic form of democracy where one man hands the reigns of power to another...not under the threat of a gun, but due to a profound respect for a Constitution that has given us the freest society ever known to human kind. Thank you, and God bless Suffolk County and God bless America.
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