By Warren Johnson

When you consider how municipalities manage property... do they have an obligation to see to it everyone has a voice? In the instance of Margaretville, New York in the Catskill Mountains, the local Chamber of Commerce hosts a Cauliflower Festival on a large public venue in a field maintained and operated by the village. This festival stems from the historical context of local farmers raising cauliflower up until about twenty years ago. 

The Catskills have also been the wilderness for many people where they could hunt and fish and generally enjoy the outdoors. The use ofguns and a society raised in that culture permeate the county.  In fact, Delaware County, NY is the only one out of 62 in NY that remains a .. "shall issue" pistol permit location. 

In a recent move to increase S.C.O.P.E.'s influence in the area, a new committee formed under the leadership of Andrea Elliot. She suggested we inquire concerning our ability to obtain a booth space (at this venue). Our intent is to address the issue of voter registration,pass out registration forms, and colIect them to deliver to the Board of Elections in time for the November polls. Many of you know of the lack of participation by gun owners in the last election where Cuomo won by some 500,000 votes. For a community like Margaretville, in a county like Delaware, it's important the gun owners retain a voice in their government. 

Mrs. Carol O'Beime, Executive Director of the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce, turned down a request for a booth space with these words... "This is a community festival, not a forum to bring up issues that seem to have become political. People want to get away from all of that and we aim to provid (sic) a place where we can offer that. Not the time or place. It is our policy." 

I don't know the origin of the concept of not talking about religion or politics in public. I do know I've heard it for some sixty years. The policy detracts from honest discussion and continues to lead us in a downward spiral throughout our society and culture. S.C.O.P.E. is a nonpartisan, non-profit 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The denial of a local community group like S.C.O.P.E. to offer an opportunity to register to vote and discuss matters of public interest on a municipal piece of property, seems to fly in the face of our First Amendment rights. 

We went to the Margaretville village government. Mayor Diana Cope spoke at length with us twice. She is to be commended. However, her responsibility, with the review and approval of the village board, is to never deny anyone the right to use the property. That would be illegal. Once an organization/ individual signs the agreement indicating the expected population, general use, and agrees to pick up after themselves, the village has done its job. There is no rental cost, only a cleaning fee returned if the park is clean when one leaves. She does indicate no one can charge an entrance fee. Use of the grounds is open to everyone. If you've arranged to use the property and received permission, you can't stop someone from walking their dog. You can't stop someone from speaking about issues while standing in the middle of your event. You can't charge an admission fee (donations are an acceptable recompense). The Delaware Chapter of SCOPE may use other tactics during the Cauliflower Festival. We're still discussing those. The bottom line is not about forcing ourselves upon an organization hell-bent on keeping civilized discussion from within its territory. Our every effort needs to be aimed at engaging the public whereever we can find them, Cauliflower Festival or not. Contact information for the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce: Mrs. Carol O'Bierne 806 Main Street, POB 605 Margaretville. NY 12455 845-586-3300 www.centralcatskills.com www.cauliflowerfestival.com