A whole lot of nothin' goin' on

Ronald Reagan revamped the federal government in his first 100 days in office. Our town council has done virtually nothing in their first 180 days.

Granted, the council has abolished the mass-gathering ordinance. But the council has been distracted by petty bickering over how to run the town, constantly finding fault with Town Manager Mitch Berkowitz despite refusing to let him do his job as the manager.

Of course, it's tough being a town councilor in Gray. If you're not being cheered on by one consituency, you're being attacked by another. The former council came under attack from the conservatives, while the present council is beleagured by the liberals.

And despite all the turmoil, the councilors are expected to do the job to which they were elected. In a town council/manager form of government, the council establishes policy to be carried out by the manager. But it appears the council is getting caught up in trying to run the town instead of setting policy.

The end result is that not much has gotten done.

With Mitch Berkowitz leaving, perhaps the councilors will now find time to concentrate on the real work at hand - setting the direction for Gray as we grow. And I hope they'll leave the running of the town to the new town manager.

Nathan Tsukroff