Police cleanup requires unity
Item: Members of the Board of Selectmen are making known to the media that they are insisting on a top-to-bottom cleanup of the Great Barrington Police Department. In the town I call home, the town manager is responsible for supervising the Police Department. Dealing with policemen who have tremendous amounts of power is always challenging for any of us. Burke LaClair's predecessor learned the hard way that you need a committed Board of Selectmen behind you when you muster the guts to do something that is very difficult. I have always admired LaClair, but this is clearly his greatest challenge. If the elected Selectmen in Great Barrington can do what has long been needed to be done, we had better expect the professional town manager to do the same thing and follow the policy lead of the town leaders.




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Item: Man refuses to register as a sex offender. Sex offenders need to be controlled and, considering the recidivism rate, registration offers some protection to our community. The problem is that in some cases the law fails to distinguish between those who are serious predators and those who are not. In this case, according to an excellent article by Ellen Lahr, the man in question was convicted of nothing more than what amounted to aggravated horseplay. He received a slap on the wrist, a small fine, no jail time, no probation, and he should not have to register under Massachusetts sex offender law and carry that stigma around like a scarlet letter. There are times in this world when someone will stand up for his rights and shout "enough." That is exactly what appears to be happening here. If this law were to be seriously enforced, we wouldn't have enough courts or jails. I hope Smitty Pignatelli has his eyes on this one. His efforts to modify the "school zone" drug law ought to apply to this law, too. This is a travesty. Enough said.



Item: In nearby New York state, Westchester District Attorney Jeanine Pirro is taking on Hillary Rodham Clinton for her U.S. Senate seat. There is no way that Pirro is going to win. She is so far behind in the polls that it will be almost impossible to catch up, especially in the blue state of New York. In fact, Pirro's felonious husband is such a scoundrel, with a background of womanizing, that there will be precious little room for anyone to attack the Hillary-Bill relationship. Instead, Pirro intends to try to sell the idea that Hillary is using her Senate seat as a steppingstone to the presidency. This is a big tactical mistake on Pirro's part. The people of New York would love to have one of their own back in the White House. Clinton is immensely popular in New York. But you had better believe that Pirro will receive some nice perk, maybe in the Justice Department or as a judge, after Clinton vanquishes her. Newspapers, of course, love a contest, and they are doing everything they can to turn this into a horse race. Right now, though, Pirro is down by almost 50 points in the polling.

Republican politicians in New York are scared out of their gourds. With Eliot Spitzer running for governor and Hillary running for Senate next year, the Elephants could lose it all if the Democrats come out big time. Their mistake, of course, is giving Hillary an opponent. As a result, a lot of Democrats who might have assumed there was no reason to vote will now turn out.



Item: Pittsfield City Council revisits strip club ordinance. Look, let's face it. Pittsfield does not need a strip club. I have been a lifelong believer in letting people do their thing as long as others don't get hurt. I believe in freedom, but the history of this sex/porn/strip stuff is clear. It is no accident that as New York City closed down its sex joints, the city and its midtown neighborhoods grew healthier and prospered. Pittsfield is undertaking a Herculean effort. We can't pretend that the major crime problems and inner city blight aren't real. People have finally rolled up their sleeves for a great battle. The city is making positive moves, and it is working. The City Council is doing the right thing by attempting to toughen the strip club law. Apparently, everyone is worried about what the state bureaucrats will say about the city's tough stance on this question. My bet is that the judges and bureaucrats who administer the laws are human beings and understand what this is all about. This is a time to hang tough and do the right thing.

Alan Chartock, a Great Barrington resident, is president and CEO of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and a professor emeritus of communications at SUNY-Albany.
- posted by Sarah @ 8/15/2005 07:48:00 AM