Editor:

My name is Mark Prawel and I am running for reelection for a second term as Medina Village Trustee. I am a lifelong village resident and have owned and/or managed a small business in the village for the better part of 35 years. I also am a former law enforcement officer that spent sixteen years working for the Village of Medina Police Department.

Prior to being elected, I heard from my customers for years regarding the direction of the village, questionable decisions by previous boards, and how the costs of living here were beginning to become unsustainable.

I care very deeply about  Medina, always have and always will. This is where I grew up, where I went to school, where I raised my family, and where I have worked my whole life. I shared in the worries of the direction of the Village and I wanted to help fix it; that is why I ran two years ago and that is why I have decided to run for a second term.

In the last two years, especially in the last few months, I believe the Village Board has finally been making the right steps towards a better future for Medina and making responsible decisions for our residents. But, for far too long, the “Bully Mentality” has been accepted, and even sometimes encouraged, across the entire village government as the way to operate. This is not okay and should not be tolerated. I aim to create a better, healthier work environment for all village employees.

In recent months, some have even chosen to question my devotion to Public Safety. I believe my track record of 30+ years of serving the public faithfully, including 16 great years here in Medina, speaks for itself. My passion for serving this community and pushing for a safe and responsible Medina hasn’t diminished one bit and any assertion otherwise is just flat out false.

The public safety of this village is much more than one department, one piece of equipment, or one building. It encompasses all facets of us as a village. In order for this to be the best version of Medina, we need to continue to find the best ways to be responsible and equal in spending and attention for all of our village departments without bankrupting our residents. I have always been welcoming of any village resident to come speak with me directly regarding any issue or idea that they may have and that will never change.

I would also like to express my support for Debbie Padoleski for Mayor and Jeff Wagner for Trustee. For many years I have had the pleasure of witnessing firsthand Debbie’s hard work and dedication for this village, whether it be as our Clerk or Trustee. She possesses all the necessary knowledge, experience, and mindset necessary to be our Mayor. Jeff also would be a great asset to this Village as a trustee and I can personally attest to his great business mindset and his love for this community. We are all united in our commitment to putting the Medina taxpayers first and finding the best, most responsible way to keep moving forward.

I ask all Medina Voters to please come out and vote on March 18th and hope you chose to support Padoleski for Mayor and Prawel and Wagner for Trustee. Thank you.

Mark Prawel

Village of Medina

Editor:

I’m writing this letter of support for my friend and (retired) colleague Marguerite Sherman, who is the current mayor of Medina and is now seeking another term.

I’ve known Marguerite as a teaching colleague for the entirety of my (27-year) career. I also know her as a friend, and I know her to be a person invested in what is going on locally, be it community events, school events, or local politics.

Marguerite Sherman has always had a presence. In all of these arenas, she is actively involved, caring, intelligent, and sincere. I have learned so much from the example she has consistently set.

She has taught me that in everything, there is one constant: we are all neighbors. We have to find a way to live and work together. Over the years, there is one sentence I have heard her say again and again: “We’ve got this.” And she always says it with a smile. She means it, and she will be right there alongside you, working to make it happen. From one step to the next, she’s done her homework, whether through deep reading, meeting with various stakeholders, or doing the labor herself.

Marguerite Sherman has also taught me that labels do not define a person. In a village and in a town, there’s no such thing as a Democrat or a Republican. Everyone is just a neighbor. What defines someone as worthy of leadership in public office is their character, honesty, intelligence, work ethic, faith, perseverance, humility, generosity, and empathy. Marguerite Sherman embodies all these qualities.

She puts herself last. She puts her constituents— all of whom she treats as neighbors— first. Over the years, I’ve watched her give so much of her time, energy, and care to Medina, a community she loves. She doesn’t do it for power or status. When she starts something, she wants to see it through and is willing to keep working to help long-term goals become a reality.

She signs up for thankless jobs all the time. At the school, there were many volunteer jobs she did behind the scenes that were unknown to most people. She didn’t want money or recognition. She just cared and wanted to make her school community the best it could be. With quiet dedication and hours of labor behind the scenes, the endeavors she led and assisted were better because she was there.

I’ve seen her bring this same ethic to the work she does now as Mayor of Medina and as an active member of Medina and Orleans County, regularly attending other entities’ meetings, like the Shelby town board meetings. She is there to listen and truly hear what the people around her care about and value.

It’s why when questions about water, shared services, or aging infrastructure come up, I know she will be part of the solution. She understands what surrounding communities care about and works well with people across different entities and across party lines.

No one running for public office can magically solve all the issues facing our villages and towns. But we need people who do more than grandstand. We need people who are willing to work together to accomplish goals.

When I see a picture in the Hub of the Village of Medina Mayor sitting down with people from Ridgeway and Shelby, it restores my faith in what we have here in Medina: the ability to work together to solve things. Marguerite Sherman will never outshout anyone. She will smile, take notes, and listen. Patience and behind-the-scenes labor rarely gets the headline, yet these virtues are sorely lacking in the world today.

When I see a person like Marguerite Sherman running for office once again, I know it is because she truly wants to help the village be the very best that it can be. It is my honor to give Marguerite Sherman this character reference and to endorse her candidacy as Mayor of Medina.

Respectfully,

Karen Jones

Medina

Editor:

Recently, political consultant, James Carville, displayed obvious symptoms of Trump Derangement Syndrome and admitted he has the malady. His words: “I want to hate him more,” exposed not only his anger but his acute loathing.

His profane and utterly disgusting rant very accurately confirms that when hatred this intense threatens the well being of the hater, it has become pathological.

In his position as a political influencer, he has the responsibility to maintain composure and decorum, not only for his audience but for his party – in this case the Democrats. His words arose as a significant hypocrisy because his own failure to display diplomacy weakened his attack on Trump.

He then beckoned people who were listening to his tirade to pray to God to intensify their hatred to the point where “…we can’t see straight.” Imagine praying to God with a heart laden with hatred. It opposes the very foundation of who God is – a God who so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son to die for our sins.

His insults against Trump continued as he rattled on his putrid condemnations against our President. He displayed a false consensus that his Democratic Party agreed with everything that poured out of his vile mouth; at one point stating: “This is what we believe.”

This is the same idiot that told everyone before the 2024 election that Harris would be the winner. In 2025 he declared his support for AOC if she won the Democratic nomination.  I wonder if he still maintains this claim as she made a fool of herself on the world stage in Munich, displaying both incompetence and inexperience. Her gaffes and pauses exposed her vulnerability. Undoubtedly, her credibility was obviously questioned after her ignorance on foreign policy.

Both Conservative analysts and social media users rapidly called out Carville’s unhinged behavior. His despicable and combative delivery was indicative of extremism within the Democratic old guard.

Mary Mager

Fairport, formerly of Albion