Once upon a time there was a very nice county named Erie. It would have been a wonderful place to live and raise a family but it had one very serious problem. Three years ago it had voted for King Chris as its leader. To the dismay of these fine citizens, King Chris was not interested in serving the public. He only cared about himself. March in a parade? Kick out the veterans and go first. Can’t find a parking spot? Pull into handicap place. Don’t care for some of the culturals? Slash their funding to zero. Think the libraries cost too much? Cut their budget so they have to lay off workers, shorten their hours, and buy fewer books. Being overrun by rats? Tell the taxpayers to hire an exterminator, and whatever you do, don’t get sick because the clinics have been closed and the non-mandated coverage from Medicaid has been eliminated. Your child needs glasses. Buy them. You don’t have job? Who cares! King Chris has the $26 million in stimulus finds tucked away instead of using it to increase employment. This way he can call it a surplus, and his pals got big fat raises.

The people of this nice county saw what was happening and vowed to change it. The wanted a different county, one where the leader cared about them and was a true public servant.

Fortunately, Comptroller Mark stepped forward and said, “Follow me. I will redo Medicaid, using the savings from fraud. I will re-open the clinic so patients go there instead of to the emergency room. The rodent patrol must be brought back and our wonderful library system must be maintained. I will be your public servant.”

And so the county was saved. And it was good.

> Linda Berman, Getzville

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