Recent news accounts about the events surrounding the village election of March 21 caused me to reflect on two adages that are as American as apple pie. The first is that, "If it ain't broke; don't fix it."

The reason that our village clerk, Nancy Rose, saw fit to put masking tape on the voting machines, blocking access to the normal write-in windows immediately above the names of the candidates on the official ballot, is fascinating. She acknowledged in her memo to the mayor, written the day after the election, that the machines were working exactly as designed.

However, while I was present at the firehouse, she was besieged by Doug Barnaby, known to many as the chairman of the Civic Progress Party (CPP). He prevailed upon her to alter the operation of the machines simply because he feared those who write in my name might not figure out they could cast a ballot as well for a second trustee candidate - that is, a CPP candidate. To meet this person's selfish concerns, Nancy Rose abandoned any good sense she might have and applied masking tape to the voting machines and created confusion for all concerned.

And, yes, I did know about it at the time; and I did agree to her doing it. But my agreement was based on her representation that she was "fixing" a problem. The reality, it turned out, was that she was creating a problem for voters by solving a problem that didn't exist, except in the mind of the CPP chairman. In short, Nancy Rose "fixed" something that wasn't broken.

The second adage we all know is "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." It is particularly applicable to the CPP chairman, as it must surely derive from the expression of Biblical times about the one who is without sin casting the first stone. Well, one of Mr. Barnaby's minions has written publicly that "Sometimes the CPP helps a candidate that doesn't do his/her job or lacks the sense of responsibility necessary for a village official."

The context was obvious. I had been put forward two years earlier as a CPP candidate for trustee, but now was not supported for re-election. Evidently the CPP hierarchy views "sense of responsibility" in terms of willingness to mindlessly march in lock step, forgetting a trustee's duty to bring independent thought to the best interests of the village and its business residents and homeowners.

I failed to blindly carry the party's banner into battle. For that I was actually deemed a "renegade." Considering the source, I consider that a badge of honor.

Robert P. Reynolds