On Tuesday, Nov. 6, voters went to the polls in local elections ... well, some voters did.

Approximately 40 percent of registered voters across the Island showed up to do their job as citizens and fulfill the fundamental obligation that we in a free society all implicitly owe to each other if we are to nurture and protect our democracy - to vote. Notwithstanding that obligation, 60 percent stayed home.

Glen Cove is a pretty good example of what happens when 60 percent of registered voters choose not to get off their duffs on Election Day.

Incumbent Mayor Ralph Suozzi was carried to victory by something more than 50 percent of all the votes cast in the election among three candidates. No doubt, he will declare this considerable victory a mandate for more of the same governance he has given the city over the past two years. That's what politicians do. They claim a "mandate" when they get more than 50 percent of the vote.

What the other 60 percent may want to think about - the folks who chose to stay home - is that 50 percent of those 40 percent of registered voters who showed up is really only 20 percent of the entire electorate. So, in Glen Cove, of the approximately 15,000 registered voters, something on the order of 6,000 voters bothered to go to their local polling places, while 9,000 registered voters let the minority choose the next mayor for everyone.

If you're in the 60 percent who couldn't see fit to travel less than a half-mile from your home to perform a simple, basic democratic function, and your taxes keep going up, remember - you stayed home.

If your city's budget gets blown from overspending and the deficit rises dramatically, remember - you stayed home.

If the value of your home drops precipitously because the fiscal crisis in your city becomes unmanageable and no one wants to buy into a community with that debt, remember - you stayed home.

If your waterfront doesn't get developed in a sensible and professional manner, or at all for that matter, remember - you stayed home.

If it doesn't bother you that 170,000 kids in uniform are in the Middle East in a war believing they are there to protect your right to vote as a free American, remember - you stayed home while they were out on patrol.

No one should begrudge Mayor Suozzi his victory. He won it fair and square, even if he did it with not much more than 20 percent of the voting public. He outsmarted his opponents by recognizing that 60 percent of you would just stay home. It turns out that this 60 percent were his most important supporters. They're the ones who elected him by their inaction.

As one who has been critical of this mayor, I certainly wish him well in his new term. There's no point in wishing him anything else. His success can only be Glen Cove's success. But if it turns out that you're not happy with the results of this election and you are in that 60 percent, just remember - you stayed home.

Michael A. Levy