The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-09-30
retain RIGHTS,
SAYS DR|SCOLL
Brass Workers Union Secy
Issues Challenge to City
Manager Adherents

I'VE should retain all our rights
as citizens and voters" declares
John J. Driscoli, executive secretary
Of the Waterbury Brass Workers
Union, IN o statement today ex-
pressing. strong opposition to the city
manager plan. The union has al
ready gone on record as condemn
ing the proposed new charter.
The city manager may well be q
monster like Frankenstein,s, whose
conduct we cannot foresee after we
have made him our master" says
Mr.. Driscoll. He expresses the be-
lief that the city manager plan will
not give Waterbury "the best pos
sibie government for the low
est possible cost"
The voters, he states, should re-
tain their rights to elect or reject
representatives. He declares 1--WE
should not believe that we can ever
achieve good government by sur
rendering our prerogatives to some
artificial mechanism such as q city
manager"
Mr.. Driscoll's statement follows:
To the Editor Of The Democrat:
Dear Sir-I have not had much
opportunity to follow in detail the
controversy over the proposed
city-manager charter which has
been raging In our local press and
on the radio for the past few
weeks: but my general impression
Is that the real issues are In dam
ger Of being lost In a fog Of per-
sonalities and oratory.
Our first concern as citizens and
taxpayers, it goes without saying,
Is to get the best possible govern
ment, beneficial to the majority
Of our residents for the lowest
possible cost. The only question
we have to decide before entering
the voting booths on October 3 is
VIII the proposed charter give
us that kind Of government?
Speaking from the point Of view
of organized labor, and particu-
larry as an officer Of our local
CLIO organization, 1t is my consid-
cred belief that the answer to that
question is mo" And shall GER
tainly register my vote as "No"
on October 3.
Why won't the city-manager
charter give us the kind of gov
eminent we need? The record of
city manager cities in the United
States shows that this form of
government is no guarantee that
we will get any better city man.
agement than we deserve. The re-
cent spectacle of corruption in
Kansas City, Missouri, with its
city-manager charter, should give
us pause before we embrace such
q system for Waterbury.
City-manager proponents will
reply that Kansas City did not
have the miraculous Up. r." sys-
tenn Of representation. My opin-
ion on that score is that if we
really do our duty as citizens, if
we step out and reclaim our rights
in the traditional American sys-
tenn of party government, then
we shall deserve, and we shall get,
good government under the pres
ent charter.
We should never forget that the
recent exposure of conditions in
City Hall, and the mismanage-
ment of our city affairs for the
last eight years, was not accom-
plished by a states attorney from
Hartford; nor by a city manager
plus Up. r.; but was made pos
sible by the voters of Waterbury
themselves, who replaced the
former controller by 80 more votes
cast for the late Sherwood Row.
land.
I am sufficiently a conservative,
in what I think is the real sense
Of the word, to believe that we
should retain all our rights as citi-
zens and voters to elect or reject
representatives as we have in the
past; and not to believe that we
can ever achieve good government
by surrendering our prerogatives
to some artificial mechanism such
as city manager.
That may well be a monster like
Frankenstein's, whose conduct we
cannot foresee after we have made
him our master.
Respectfully yours,