To the Editor:
As a lifelong registered Democrat, I am appalled at the decision of the Berne Democratic Committee not to submit candidates for the town board election in 2023.

Seemingly they are not going to oppose the Republican candidates because they would not be able to gain a majority on the town board even if they were to win all contests. The Republican disregard for the rules of conduct and common decency as described in Noah Zweifel’s front-page article last week should be ample reason for the Democrats to put up opposition candidates.

Democracy dies in a one party system; in Berne it is on life support and the Democrats are contributing to its demise. They are giving up!

It seems the Berne Democratic Party has already died. It gives me no choice on Election Day. Opposition candidates give me a choice. That’s what democracy is all about. With no slate of Democratic candidates, I am entirely left out of the political picture in Berne. 

Richard Ronconi

Berne