The train is coming. Clark Crook sees it. He has two choices: get on board, or get run over.

Crook is not like most elected officials. He is a bright, self-made, pleasant and practical guy who ran for office not because he needed the job or is a cog in a political machine. He ran for mayor in East Aurora—having never before been in politics—because his family dates back two centuries in the Mayberry-like village, and he thought he could do the place some good.

A year after being elected, he knows how he can do it the most good: Eliminate his job, dissolve the village and give taxpayers a break.

I told you this guy is practical.

Crook is 48, beanpole-lean, with a shock of graying hair. He dresses GQ— houndstooth sports jacket, slacks, white shirt—looks like the smartest kid in the class and exudes the eagerness of a Boy Scout. He declined the part-time mayor’s $8,000 annual salary because he owns a $55 million computer company, Synergy Global Solutions, with 200 workers. He worked a day job at Kodak while earning an RIT degree at night. He brings to office a large skill set, little ego and less self-interest.

In many ways, he is a perfect guy for a job that—by any objective measure— no longer needs doing.

“A single government [for the town and village] would be more effective,” Crook said. “The cost savings are an added benefit.”

Although Crook does not see this as a regional crusade, it is part of a broader movement. Civic activist Kevin Gaughan has spent the last three years preaching the cost-and-clearer-vision virtues of less government in a county where 25 towns overlap 16 villages. His petition-forced referendums allowed voters to cut the size of town boards in Evans, West Seneca, Orchard Park and Alden. A new state law will soon make it easier to take on bigger game—dissolving villages.

Crook did not have to stick a finger in the air to sense the changing climate.

“What Gaughan is doing [sends] the clear message that folks want a voice in this,” Crook said. “I think [dissolution] is inevitable. I’ve talked with mayors of other villages. We need to understand what is taking place in the community. We have an opportunity to plan for it.”

Crook is not merely blown by the prevailing wind. He came in with the mind-set, honed by years as a CEO, of running a lean machine.

He intuitively understands that a community of 14,000 does not need two executives, two governing boards, separate public works and municipal buildings— with village residents getting double-taxed for some of it. He said that dissolving the village saves nearly $400,000, with the added value of a unified vision.

I know that people fear losing what they have, especially when it is as nice as East Aurora’s throwback village. But the cobblestoned Main Street, circa-1926 movie theater, storefronts, coffee shops and walkable streets are not going away. The community’s small-town charm is not tied to a boundary line.

“Government does not create the community; the community creates the government,” Crook said. “As long as people stay [involved], the character of the village will not change.”

It has been a week since Crook came out. He has heard from about two dozen people. Consensus: What took so long?

Most Village Board members are, predictably, not on board. Crook will do this the easy way, or the hard way. If the board will not let people decide the fate of their government, Crook will— Gaughan-style—gather enough petition signatures to force the vote.

He sounds like the right man, for a disappearing job.