To the Editor:

The Enterprise reported in last week’s edition [“GOP selects Conklin and Harris for Berne board, incumbent Dems aren’t running,” March 14, 2019] that I will not be running for re-election to the Berne Town Council next year. I appreciated the notice and would like to express a few additional thoughts as I approach the end of my last term.

I would like to thank everyone who voted for me in the past two elections. The understanding that you placed both hope and confidence in me never once left my mind during the eight years of my tenure. I was acutely aware that, in accepting the position, I was assuming not only a political responsibility, but a personal obligation.

I worked diligently to meet the trust you placed in me, recognizing the importance of the job to our community and to your life in Berne. At the same time, with your vote, you gave me a chance to be a part of community life in ways that I had never imagined, and I will always be grateful to you for the opportunity to do so.

What an experience this has been! Even in a small town like Berne — perhaps especially in a small town like Berne — public office affords the opportunity to learn about a place and its people more broadly and deeply than one can in almost any other way.

It’s “old-fashioned,” it’s “small-town,” and it’s amazing: When you run for office here, you visit every home. You get to listen, to understand, to consider, and sometimes to help the people for whom you work.

Every decision matters, and their thoughts help shape policy and practice. I would encourage anyone with an interest in our community, no matter your party or point of view, to think about getting involved.

Sometimes you “win,” sometimes you “lose;” but in any case, a town board member gets to identify, study, and take action on issues that affect both the present and future of the community.

I’ve been proud to be involved with: the establishment of the Berne hamlet sewer system, which improved both the public health and property values in the town; the Berne Comprehensive Plan; the passage of eight straight budgets that did not raise taxes and which have left the town with sound fiscal status; Summerfest; the wonderful Senior Services community that makes this town a better place for so many; obtaining grants for playground equipment; the acquisition of the Switzkill Farm property and the creation of the citizens’ committee that is designing its almost limitless future; the standardization of our town committee system, which provides individuals with the chance to participate directly in administering town governmental services to residents.

The board’s work can be difficult. The issues are complicated, the responsibilities are serious. We see things in different ways. We sometimes disagree, and we are at all times, human, which is to say flawed and imperfect.

These difficulties are no less a part of small-town government than are the opportunities that I’ve described above, but after nearly eight years, I still think it’s worth the effort.

My term is not up yet and work remains to be done, but I will close for now by thanking again Berne’s citizens for making my two terms possible, and by thanking The Altamont Enterprise for the coverage of American self-government as it exists in our Hilltown communities.

Karen Schimmer

Member

Berne Town Council