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Commissioners' Health Questionable
• Is age a factor in political performance?
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Friday,
January 2, 2009
Now in his early seventies, some residents refer to Margate’s standing Mayor, Arthur Bross as being 'older than man.' His hearing is bad, his eyesight is poor, and he wheezes frequently over the microphone during city commission meetings when using his inhaler. His elder, Vice Mayor, Joe Varsallone, is approaching eighty, is easily frustrated and gets angry when faced with adversity.
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Aging is a fact of life that few of us can do anything about. We do have in our power, however, the ability to recognize our limitations as we age and to maintain a semblance of public decorum, which is becoming increasingly difficult for Bross and Varsallone during Margate city commission meetings.
By attending meetings once in a blue moon, you may find antics on the dais amusing: Bross losing his place on the agenda (sometimes seemingly falling asleep) while Varsallone shouts loudly – often in a rant ending in a heated disagreement with colleagues – his approach to Commissioner Donovan borderline chauvinistic.
If you attend meetings frequently, you find the behavior of these elected officials far from amusing and you ponder whether or not they maintain the physical and mental capacity to make informed decisions for the some odd 58,000 residents they represent.
The age and health of candidates running for office has always been a consideration for voters. Ronald Reagan cleared the way for aging politicians when he won his first term for U.S. President at age 69 and his second at age 73.
Notwithstanding, John McCain’s age (72) was an issue during the last presidential election when thirty percent of respondents in a New York Times poll viewed his age as a hindrance to victory.
Neither Bross nor Varsallone are running for president, but the physical and mental health of these two individuals should be considered when coming up for reelection.
Bross said he’s running again in 2012 when he turns 75. Should Varsallone decide to run for another term, he’ll be 80. If and when these two run for office again, Margate voters will be confronted with weighing their health as a factor in making prudent decisions regarding taxpayer expenditures.
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