Editor:

Thank you for publishing my letter to Governor Hochul, and Mr. Ballard’s rather sparky reply. It seems this topic has struck a nerve.

The whole point of the letter was to point out to our sitting Governor an opportunity for trying to establish a better relationship with the President and the federals was available, and missed completely. This is a shame.

When offering an opinion, it is very easy to feel very hurt when someone disagrees, but that is the nature of opinion, isn’t it?

When a leader misses an opportunity to speak for all New Yorkers, not just their supporters, this does a disservice to all.

Yes. Our President can be crude, and rude. Guess what? He is a New Yorker. Does he like to make up nicknames for others, some derogatory? Guess what? He is a New Yorker. Has his message to the people been he is concerned for all Americans – yes. His record stands for itself.

Again, thanks for publishing the letter. I hope this and others may cause many to at least stop and consider what is expected of elected officials at all levels of government.

Sincerely yours,

Charles R. Kinsey

Holley

Editor:

Mr. Kinsey faults Governor Hochul for choosing to “berate a sitting President” rather than extend a hand across the aisle. I’d be curious to hear what standard he applies to the president himself.

This fall alone, Trump nicknamed Texas Senate candidate James Talarico “Talafreako,” mocked South Carolina’s Annie Andrews with an anti-transgender slur three times in a single post, branded Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed a “jihadist” and repeatedly called him “Mohammed,” and has called House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a fellow New Yorker, a “Low IQ person” and a “THUG.” None of that is a hand of fellowship.

So, it’s fair to ask why Republicans expect Democrats to take the high road after years of this, along with “owning the libs,” being told to “deal with it,” and being reminded that Trump is “our president.” And nothing discredits an argument faster than invoking Trump Derangement Syndrome. It belongs on the same shelf as “Let’s Go Brandon” and other schoolyard taunts. Still, it seems fitting that Mr. Kinsey made the effort to squeeze it into a letter to the sitting governor.

Mr. Kinsey points to Orleans County, where more than 70 percent of voters chose Mr. Blakeman, and Genesee and the rest of rural Western New York voted much the same way. But land doesn’t vote; people do, and most New Yorkers live in the cities and metropolitan areas that carried the governor. His claim that her win was “hardly a mandate” doesn’t hold up either. The 5 percent margin and turnout figures he cites come from 2022 results. By my calculations, Governor Hochul won this year by roughly 19 points, a 14-point swing from four years ago. Even his outdated figure would beat President Trump’s roughly 1.5-point popular-vote win in 2024, which we’ve been told ever since was a mandate.

As for the claim that other writers and I have offered no plan for New York, consider what his candidate offered. Mr. Blakeman promised again and again to lower utility bills and taxes, though he couldn’t lower taxes in his own county. At the same time, he strongly backed expanding data centers, among the most power-hungry facilities in the country, which drive up demand on the grid and, with it, the rates the rest of us pay. It’s hard to see how you lower utility bills by inviting in the biggest electricity customers you can find.

The rest of the plan, as far as I can tell, was fracking. Here the contradiction runs deeper. For years, Republicans across Western New York have decried solar farms for taking productive farmland out of use, yet they seem untroubled by hydrofracking, which can contaminate groundwater, send heavy truck traffic down rural roads, and leave wastewater behind. A solar array can be taken down and the field farmed again; a poisoned aquifer can’t be undone. Our region should know that better than most, since communities like Niagara Falls are still living with the legacy of radioactive and industrial waste. If protecting farmland is the concern, fracking is a strange answer.

Governor Hochul, by contrast, can point to an expanded child tax credit, a higher minimum wage, universal free school meals, expanded child care, and protected reproductive rights. That is concrete help for the very Western New York families Mr. Kinsey says are being ignored.

Mr. Kinsey also asks the governor to direct Attorney General James to stop pursuing the president. I’d remind him that New York’s attorney general is elected and operates independently of the governor. Unlike the president, Governor Hochul has no authority to weaponize the attorney general’s office against political opponents. Nor should she try to stop the attorney general from pursuing fraud, including fraud committed by the president. Voters seem to agree: by my count, Attorney General James won re-election by about 20 points.

As someone who has lived in New York nearly my entire life, I agree with Mr. Kinsey on one point: I love New York. But I also recognize that whatever economic stability upstate hopes to have depends on downstate. And for those leaving for other states, I wonder what life will look like in the next two to four years, as many of those ruby-red tax shelters are starting to flip blue.

I understand why rural New Yorkers feel like the “red-headed stepchild.” But Trump’s red-hatted stepchildren can’t hold up his Potemkin village forever. Affordability isn’t a word Democrats “made up,” and tariffs aren’t “making our country so rich” – just ask families paying more at checkout. New Yorkers are ready for a changing of the guard: younger leaders who reflect the electorate and want to make this state better for all, not some, and for the future, not the past.

Perhaps it doesn’t need to be said, but I’ll say it anyway: the governor doesn’t owe anyone an apology for her victory speech. New York’s majority has spoken, and it may be a hard pill to swallow that Mr. Blakeman represents the minority voice in this state.

Matthew Ballard

LeRoy, NY

formerly of Albion and Holley

Editor:

The following is an open letter from the Albion Teachers’ Association to our Albion community:

For too long, the voices of teachers in this district have been absent from a conversation that directly impacts our profession, our livelihood, and the future of our schools. While we have remained committed to respecting the negotiation process, our silence should not be mistaken for having nothing to say.

Having not been afforded a meaningful opportunity to share our perspective during Board of Education meetings, we are taking this opportunity to make our voices heard. Our community deserves more than one side of the story.

Our contract with the Albion Central School District expired on July 1, 2025. After a year of negotiations, our membership overwhelmingly voted down (by nearly 70 percent) a proposed agreement in December 2025 because it did not adequately address our needs and concerns.

Rather than walk away, our members took time to identify what was needed to reach an agreement that recognizes the time our work requires, our required master’s level education, and our professional responsibilities. Negotiations have continued, and our bargaining team has repeatedly returned to the table in good faith to address the issues behind that vote.

At the heart of those issues are time and compensation: the amount of time teachers are being asked to work and the compensation offered in return. After repeated attempts to move these issues forward, and what our team views as a lack of active counteroffers from the district on these concerns, our negotiating team declared an impasse.

An impasse does not mean negotiations are over. It means both sides have been unable to resolve significant differences through direct negotiations, and a neutral, third-party mediator has been assigned to help reach an agreement.

Throughout this process, you may have noticed our efforts to make our voices heard. We have attended Board of Education meetings as a united front, created signs and shirts to show solidarity, and held morning walk-ins as families arrive at school.

We have encouraged community members to explore See Through NY to uncover the salaries of our administration and the overwhelming disparities it holds. We have publicized the NYS Comptroller’s Report uncovering the district operating with a surplus of over 10 million dollars per year over the last three years.

The public deserves to understand the district’s financial picture as our contract is negotiated. Day after day and week after week, we come together as a unit to find ways to make sure our voices are heard.

Our commitment to the children and families of Albion has never wavered. We continue to show up for our students every day. That commitment should not mean educators must remain silent about the time, conditions, and compensation attached to their work.

We believe the district has the financial capacity to work toward a fair agreement, yet we have not seen meaningful movement at the bargaining table. In October 2026, we requested the opportunity to share our perspective with the Board of Education. We were limited to three minutes of public comment, while the district’s attorney had been given nearly 20 minutes and a slide presentation at the preceding meeting. We are not asking for special treatment; we are asking for a fair opportunity to be heard.

Our members are asking for a fair contract that recognizes their hard work, unwavering dedication, and commitment to Albion’s students and families. We deserve fair compensation, professional respect, and working conditions that allow us to provide the quality education our community expects and our students deserve.

After 18 months without a contract, our community deserves to understand where things stand and why we are advocating for an agreement that reflects the value of the educators who serve Albion’s children every day. Thank you for your support, for the trust you place in us, and for allowing us the privilege of educating your children.

Members of the Albion Teachers’ Association

Albion

Editor:

I am writing this in the aftermath of the November elections. The results proved to be a very good night for our Democratic candidates across the country.

It now appears that Democrats have attained majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and have made significant gains in governorships and state legislatures. While forecasts and polls indicated it would be a good night for Democrats, the full extent of that will not be clear until a number of close races are decided.

I want to offer my personal thanks to our Democratic candidates whose names were before the voters in Orleans County, for not just offering your names to give voters a real choice, but for working so hard for many months to turn out the votes by Election Day.

Many thanks, as well, to those who have volunteered in any way to support these campaigns by circulating petitions, offering generous financial contributions, placing lawn signs, writing letters to the editor, posting messages on social media, delivering flyers to thousands of homes, writing personal postcards, making phone calls and sending texts, taking the time to vote, and encouraging friends and family to vote as well. I have not seen this level of activism in Orleans prior to this campaign season!

Special thanks to our Board of Elections staff and poll workers. The very act of voting, which we have long taken for granted as free and fair, is under increasing threat, so your calm and capable presence gives great assurance to voters that we work with incredible integrity and honesty.

It’s no secret that Orleans County, in recent years, has been a real challenge for Democrats, but we have a better chance of prevailing when we have quality candidates up and down the ballot. Whatever happened in this election, I hope we have tasted even more possibilities for success, and can encourage one another to make a run for office in future elections.

Finally, I want to express my enormous respect for all of our Orleans County Democratic Committee members and friends. You are the ones who help make all of this happen!

James R. Renfrew, Chair

Orleans County Democratic Committee