Dear editor:

Watch out, or the bureaucrats will rule.

In regards to the debate carried out by Mr. Herman (“Letter: We need rookie politicians to shake things up,” Sept. 17) and Mr. Slingerland (“NOTL voters lay out priorities,” Sept. 10) on the merits of electing rookie or incumbent councilors to office, the only winners in a rookie council is the bureaucracy.

The first major priority of a new council is the budget. How does a rookie know of the decision-making process of solidifying a working budget?

It is not the responsibility of the bureaucracy to teach a rookie “the ropes.” The bureaucracy is there to answer questions — what questions would a rookie know to ask?

Certainly classes are offered to rookie councillors, but bureaucrats tend to fail at teaching.

The best that a rookie could hope is find a mentor among the newly elected incumbents who is willing to share the knowledge — other than that, a rookie needs to overcome a sharp learning curve, based on an education of the system, or the bureaucrats rule.

Good luck with that.

Derek Insley
NOTL