Politics on the Hudson

Westchester County legislators and their expanding “staff”:http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2007/01/10/help-wanted-faces-added/ recently began sporting special county ID badges that distinguish them from other county employees.

Traditional county building access badges are mostly white with a bluish-green stripe. They bear the user’s name, department and the county’s main Web site, westchestergov.com. The new legislative badges have orange and navy stripes, and an orange-and-navy legislative seal. The Web site they trumpet is www.westchesterlegislators.com.

Board Chairman William Ryan, D-White Plains, said the badges are “all in line with the independent nature of the legislature.”

“We’re not under the operation of the county executive,” he said. “We are separate, distinct, and that’s the whole point we’re trying to make.”

Of course, one could make the same argument for the district attorney’s office or county clerk’s office, both of which continue to use the traditional badge style.

Ryan said people are commenting that the new badges are “much more alive” compared to the old style, which was “a little stale.”