A fundamental rule of American government is the separation of powers. In Vernon, the Town Council is elected to be the independent, legislative voice of the people — a crucial check and balance against the executive branch.
Lately, however, a troubling dynamic in the council chambers suggests that this independence has been entirely compromised.
To anyone paying close attention, it has become increasingly difficult to tell where legal advice ends and political choreography begins. We are witnessing a chamber where the Town Attorney and the administration appear to be pulling the strings, dictating procedural moves and directing the leadership of the Council from the sidelines.
Let’s be clear about the rules of engagement: The Town Attorney is a hired professional whose client is the entire municipal corporation. The attorney is there to provide legal guardrails, not to orchestrate meetings, manage public comment, or tell the Council President how to govern. When an unelected administrative appointee begins directing the actions of our highest elected legislative officials, the statutory balance of our local government is fundamentally broken.
The members of our Town Council were elected by the voters, not the mayor or the attorney. When council leadership abdicates its autonomy and allows its narrative to be controlled behind the scenes, it silences the voices of the residents who put them there.
It is time for our council members to step out from the shadow of the administration, remember their fiduciary duty to the taxpayers, and reclaim their independent authority. We need leaders who stand on their own two feet, not puppets waiting for a nod of approval from the sidelines.
Peg Distasi
Vernon