Editor:

I urge a vote for Nate McMurray for Congress. We need a competent, compassionate leader. With a pandemic that has killed more than 215,000 fellow citizens it is time for a leader like Nate McMurray.

The New England Journal of Medicine wrote: “When it comes to the response to the largest public health crisis of our time, our current political leaders have demonstrated that they are dangerously incompetent. We should not abet them and enable the deaths of thousands more Americans by allowing them to keep their jobs.”

Scientific American wrote: “The evidence and the science show that Donald Trump has badly damaged the U.S. and its people—because he rejects evidence and science.” Our current congressman supports this “dangerously incompetent” rejection of science that has “badly damaged the U.S. and its people.”

We now know, after his votes against the ACA, the Postal Service, and for Asian-American racism, that he is indeed a “partisan extremist” and obsequiously subservient to an individual. Western New York need a voice that will fight for the health and economic interest of Western New York.

Finally, as a combat veteran I find it reprehensible that political leaders have not come to the defense of U.S. soldiers targeted by a foreign government. As a citizen of the United States, I find it anathematic that government leaders forcibly separate children from their parents, and show support for racists.

As a human being I find it abhorrent for our political leaders to mock people with disabilities and brag about assaulting women. We need a competent compassionate leader who will listen to his constituents and to science, support our troops and respect everyone.

Please vote for Nate McMurray.

William Fine

Brockport

Editor:

I have great respect for Judge Punch and my friends who believe Biden is the best choice for President but I cannot disagree more.

A scandal seems to be brewing over the Hunter Biden laptop and Joe at times has a memory problem. So are we voting for Biden (moderate?) or Harris (ultra liberal) for President?

The judge states that the President has many faults and made bad decisions but cites no examples of those claims. The President is not a politician. He can be abrupt and rude but he wants results not a bunch of phony words and no results.

I know where Trump stands but not where Biden stands on many issues because he changes depending on the audience. The judge does not look at the last four years and the accomplishments this President has had. He did this while fighting the Washington establishment that concocted a phony charge of conspiracy with Russia.

The corruption involved the last administration, the Justice Department, the Democrat Congress, the intelligence agencies and the news media. Three years and millions of dollars and they found no collusion. (Based on FOI documents obtained by Judicial Watch, the Mueller report, not cable news.)

You could call it an attempted coup. Meanwhile the President continued to move the country forward. Make America Great Again has been his promise and rallying cry.

I’m not blind to his faults but I am tired of voting for well spoken politicians who make promises they have no intention of keeping. Trump is the first President in my lifetime that actually does what he says he will do. I agree with his vision for America, not the vision of the Democrat platform which Biden has signed onto.

I will make a list of a few differences between the President and the Biden agenda. The President believes in the Constitution, he believes in law and order, he believes in a strong economy. Some of his accomplishments are nominating good judges, improving trade deals, empowering the black community with school choice, financial support for black colleges, creating opportunity zones, low unemployment for all groups and genders.

He has confronted China, Iran and North Korea, he has strengthened the military, unified countries in the Middle East, improved the VA for vets, attacked the Covid virus and built a wall slowing illegals by 80% and he has cut burdensome regulations and lowered taxes. His agenda going forward is to live in peace, improve all lives and grow the country economy.

After 47 years of government service, Joe Biden put Bernie Sanders (socialist) and AOC (socialist) in charge of the Biden plan for our country (read manifesto that was on Biden’s website). The green new deal, defund the police, no prisons or jails, no border wall, all illegals that come to US can have free healthcare, no school choice, no fracking, pack the Supreme Court, add two States so they control both houses of Congress, raise taxes, little to say about protests that have caused lives, assaults and arson to the tune of two billion dollars, ready to lockdown the country over the virus are policies not good for this country. I should also mention a movement by the left to socialism and Marxism which would end the US as we know it. His campaign was run basically from his cellar. Come on man.

Is Trump the perfect man? No, but my choice is based on their policies not personalities.

This is not a game of football i.e. Buffalo against New England. This is not really the GOP vs Dems. This a serious election that does not have a start over. Biden believes the American idea is over (his commercial) and the President does not.

The president thinks the next four years will be the best yet. I agree.

Ray Watt

Town of Yates

Editor:

Election Day is upon us again. As a resident of the Town of Murray, I feel obligated to vote for the best candidate for Highway Superintendent.

I have read the social media posts and have seen the signs. “Experience” seems to be the campaign issue in this election. Experience is always important when you elect your public officials.

The ability to lead and inspire your employees is just as important. Over the past 20-plus years I have had the pleasure to witness a true leader, a family man committed to his church, wife, children and his community.

I have had the pleasure to work side by side with James DeFilipps in the fire service. He served as a firefighter EMT and was committed to fellow firefighters. He became a fire truck driver, driving each and every truck. Jimmy took a leadership role with the Explorers program, inspiring teens to become firefighters, many of whom are now in leadership roles in our community.

James saw an opportunity to again serve his community as a police officer. He served the Village of Holley Police Department and the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department for over 20 years. He has been a fair and  compassionate deputy.

James was called on to do something no deputy should have to do. He did his duty and saved the lives of his fellow deputies and was able to return home to his wife and kids. James came thru this unimaginable incident and is now even stronger.

Jimmy now serves his community and department as a Marine Patrol Deputy. He teaches new boaters the NYS Boater Safety Course and is responsible for supervising 13 deputies. In addition to being a deputy, James also served as a Village of Holley Board Trustee and a Fire Commissioner, where he was tasked to assist in the writing of grants and worked on yearly budgets.

Jimmy has taken every challenge thrown at him and my hope is that the Town of Murray Highway Superintendent will be his next challenge.

Experience, compassion, integrity and leadership is what the Town of Murray needs on November 3rd. I will be voting for James DeFilipps for Town of Murray Highway Superintendent.

Eric Brett

Holley

Editor:

I fully support Nadine Hanlon for Orleans County Clerk. Nadine has a proven track record of serving the people of Orleans County, from her time as Kendall Town Clerk to her current position for County Legislature Clerk.

During her 25 years go experience, Nadine has provided exceptional administrative guidance at both the local and county level. She has demonstrated a great integrity and resolve in her duties.

Her commitment to the citizens of Orleans County goes beyond the Legislature. Since I was elected to the State Senate, Nadine has been my representative on the board of directors for Community Action of Orleans and Genesee.

She also has shown great leadership skills on the Kendall Board of Education, where she served as president for seven years. Under her watch, she was involved in overseeing two major phases of capital projects, all while ensuring a quality education for the students and watching out for the taxpayers.

Nadine has gone above and beyond in the various positions she has held and will bring those skills she’s demonstrated to the Orleans County Clerk’s Office. When elected, she will continue to serve the people of Orleans County with great dedication and integrity. That is why I am very proud to endorse Nadine Hanlon for County Clerk.

Robert Ortt

North Tonawanda

State Senate Republican Leader

Editor:

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and the press—freedom of expression. Signs have been an important part of such freedom of expression since The American Revolution. That was the one that first rid us of our subservience to King George.

The Ninth Amendment to our Constitution guarantees other unnamed freedoms. Could Amendment Nine have envisioned the freedom to exhibit signs expressing our political preferences even though these were not specifically mentioned in Amendment One?

Would a handful of our fellow citizens deny our right to express such political choices on our own property?

As an aside, let me point out that the politics so many people profess to hate comes with a republican form of government, like it or not. Alexei Navalny almost died of Novichok poisoning as he pursued such a form of government in Russia.

It has been my privilege to have had a hand in putting up about 70 signs supporting the Biden-Harris ticket in Orleans County. Unfortunately, about 10 of those were replacements for others which the property owners charitably, or naively, judged must have “blown away”.  Well, guess what? The wires do not “blow away”, but in each case they went somewhere.

Whether signs that “blow away” are those supporting the incumbents or the challengers, it is flat out wrong for them to be helped to “blow away” by human hands whose owners do not respect the freedoms protected by the Constitution we profess to value.

This is how it begins, and Putin loves it.

Perplexed,

Gary Kent

Albion

Editor:

Dirk Lammes is on the ballot for the Highway Superintendent position along with a candidate that has no experience in the highway department.

Dirk is the right person for this position. He has years of experience with highway-related projects. He cares about how he performs and completes jobs. He is ready to step into the position for a smooth transition of Highway Superintendent.

If you had the opportunity to interview these two gentlemen running for the highway superintendent position as I have, you would agree Dirk Lammes is the right person for this position. The Republican Committee endorses Dirk Lammes.

The Town of Murray residents need to stop the nepotism within our town now with this election.

Kellie Gregoire

Murray

Editor:

I believe that the majority of those reading this are honest, decent and compassionate; that this majority respects family, the military and government institutions and is financially responsible.

Yet, this majority seems to enthusiastically embrace Donald Trump, who is none of those things. The reasons I most often hear for this support are that he is better than the alternative, and that Biden is a socialist. Beyond that, there are those who love Trump no matter what, and seem remarkably forgiving of, or just blind to, his many faults and poor decisions.

That blindness is dangerous. Our democracy depends on our will to keep an open mind and seek out the facts, and then, with eyes and minds wide open, draw our own conclusions based on those facts.

I believe the first step in this task is to stop watching CNN and Fox News. They provide a 24 hour a daily flow of opinions with a few carefully chosen facts sprinkled in. It is degrading to blindly adopt others’ opinions. What relevance does the opinion of some corporate, infotainment pundit have to anyone? It isn’t difficult to find a better source of news than opinion shows.

Next we have to be willing to remove the labels we attach to ourselves (e.g. liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican, etc.) and think things through free of these forms, with honesty and integrity. Then, your opinion, which you worked and struggled for, will be of greater validity and value. Still, never become too comfortable with your opinion. Periodically stop, think and review it all over again. This is the antidote to media manipulation and voter gullibility.

This is a difficult process. In my struggle, I had to think without my own labels. I identified with the traditional values of what used to be conservatism and the Republican Party. I proudly served as a Republican office holder as Orleans County District Attorney and County Judge for 33 years.

It was with great sadness that I came to the realization that I could no longer support the party at the federal level and that I could not vote for Donald Trump. I knew this in 2016, and I hoped that things would change. They did. They got much worse.

I have not given up hope in the party and I am still a Republican. However, looking as best I can at the actual facts, I will never vote for Donald Trump. The choice is clear to me. No credible facts support the conclusion that Joe Biden is a socialist. He will not turn our country into an oppressive politically correct state and he will not spend us to death (any more than Trump has).

He would not be my first choice if Republicans were able to nominate a decent candidate like John Kasich or Jeb Bush. Having nominated a person lacking in  decency, intelligence and character, the Republicans leave me no choice. Thus, I will vote for Joe Biden.

Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren were rejected by their own party because they were a part of the far left. Biden is not. He is a moderate. People may dismiss him as “middle of the road”. Is this really a bad thing? The trend now is to embrace the extreme right or left. This is a terrible departure from what has made our country among the most successful in the world.

Historically, extremist regimes, both right and left, live a short, tortured existence followed by an agonizing death. I have faith that a vigorous democracy will never suffer that fate. Each voter’s intellectual integrity ensures that vigor. Finding that integrity is the most important duty of every American citizen.

James Punch

Medina

Editor:

If you’re considering voting for Donald Trump or Joe Biden and you live in New York State, you’re wasting your time.

That’s right, to vote for Trump or Biden in New York State is to throw your vote away. Trump has zero chance of winning New York’s electoral votes; New York City will ensure Joe Biden wins this state. Biden does not need your vote. Your vote has literally zero impact on the 2020 Presidential Election!

Or does it? There is another candidate in the race: Libertarian Jo Jorgensen. A vote for Jorgensen is not a wasted vote. A vote for Jorgensen is a vote towards the 5 percent of the popular vote she needs to secure federal recognition of the Libertarian Party as an official party.

A vote for Jorgensen also goes toward the 150,000 votes she needs to preserve the Libertarian Party of New York’s official status and ballot access. The ballot access threshold has been sharply increased this year, endangering the ballot access of third parties.

Active third parties force the Democrats and Republicans to be better parties. The Libertarian Party is America’s largest and strongest third party. It is the best-poised of all third-parties to break through the two-party duopoly establishment and emerge as America’s next major party.

Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, you probably believe your party has room for improvement. The Libertarian Party can help your party improve! A Libertarian Party of New York with ballot access can continue to help your local party become a better party, one that aligns more with your beliefs and your values.

Make your vote count this election. Force your party to be better.

Vote for Libertarian Jo Jorgensen.

Chase Tkach

Carlton

Chairperson of the Libertarian Party of Orleans County

Editor:

With the election a stone’s throw away, I would like to recommend the Conservative Party-endorsed candidates for your consideration.

What a great job Diane Shampine has done as our County Clerk over the last year. Why on earth would we remove her from this smooth, efficient running agency and replace her with someone who has many other obligations to committees, boards and outside activities that full devotion and attention to a complicated job like the County Clerk may be in doubt? Diane has one job and one devotion: to give the residents of Orleans County the best run, efficient, fiscally responsible County Clerk’s Office of any county.

For County Coroner there is no one better than Rocco Sidari. I won’t get long winded here because he has no challengers but he possesses the qualities, empathy and personality along with much experience to do this job.

For Murray Highway Superintendent the highly qualified Dirk Lammes is the best choice. This job requires lifetime knowledge and experience. For instance and no disrespect to his opponent, but if there is a water main burst at 3 a.m. or anytime? Who would you call to repair it? The Sheriff’s Department or the guy that other large municipalities call with confidence? Who would you trust to drive a 20-plus ton, quarter million dollar plow truck in the middle of the night in blinding white outs? The guy who has done it all his life or the guy that is working on getting his CDL license?

Dirk knows how to be the superintendent of water and is licensed. His opponent would have to learn and get licensed. Dirk knows heavy equipment. He knows how to repair it and he will be a working superintendent. Not a figure head collecting a check being trained by the deputy superintendent. The taxpayers deserve to get their money’s worth and have a guy that can hit the road running especially in the most dangerous time of the year, winter, when roads must be plowed and maintained properly.

Many of us see Supreme Court Justice Candidates and really don’t know much about them at voting time. I recommend and endorse Gerald S. Greenan. He will interpret the constitution as written. He will uphold the laws of the land. He will not legislate from the bench and is a friend of the Second Amendment. He is a conservative judge.

For NY 27 Congress Chris Jacobs is the only choice. The alternative is a radical leftist named Nate McMurray. He will be a lapdog to Nancy Pelosi. An admirer of the squad – AOC, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley. All who hate this country and condone and justify the left’s violence in the streets.

McMurray is a Bernie Sanders’ supporter and is to the left of radical congressman Brian Higgins. If elected McMurray would oversee the destruction of this country with great enthusiasm. Please save the seat and our district by voting for Chris Jacobs.

For President with unanimous endorsement from the Conservative Party: Donald John Trump. One of the greatest presidents to hold office, he has done and accomplished more in 4 years than his last two predecessors. He is the John Wayne of our times and our country needs him now more than ever. The radical left will burn this country to the ground if the Trojan Horse Joe Biden is elected. All tradition, history and the constitution will be eliminated. They will pack the Supreme Court. Get rid of the Electoral College and eliminate the Senate filibuster. Biden would be removed from office because of dementia and one of the most unlikable, radical , San Francisco communists will be president: Kamala Harris.

She condones and believes that left’s violence is justified and should continue even after the election. She will hand this country over to the leftist anarchists and fill her cabinet with those who hate our country. She will be far worse than Obama. Besides Obama-Biden, Biden-Harris is one of the most crooked tickets in US history. If you love your God, freedom, and your country, please save us and vote Trump for President.

Conservative Republicans send a clear message and vote Row C on the Conservative line. That you are all these pros – life, America first, Second Amendment, strict constructionist judges, nuclear family, morality, law and order, liberty, legal immigration, English language, borders, culture, constitution as written, rugged individualism, self reliance, tradition, love of country and allegiance to our flag.

Get out and vote in person. The lunatic leftists and the Democrats will be cheating every step of the way to steal this election. Vote.

Thank you for your time.

Paul Lauricella

Orleans County Conservative Party Chairman

Editor:

I recently enjoyed reading Pulitzer Prize winning author and acclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Leadership In Turbulent Times”.

In this very timely and scholarly account, Ms. Goodwin chronicles the lives and presidencies of four of America’s greatest leaders: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Lyndon Baines Johnson. She writes that their success as leaders was due to their ability to be guided by the greater good as well as possessing an uncanny political talent for bringing about consensus for a cause that was otherwise contentious.

Most would agree that while leadership may be difficult to define, it is most certainly a driving force that embodies a deep sense of humanity which is critical in bringing about civility, compassion and purpose to a nation.

Ms. Goodwin writes that leadership is found in a family of traits and patterns of behavior. Among them she cites humility, empathy, resilience, courage, respect for diverse opinions, control of negative impulses, the ability to connect with all manner of people and a commitment to keep one’s word.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed reading Ms. Goodwin’s book, I must admit in all honesty that it was very depressing to realize that for all of the greatness that was once one of the hallmarks of our democratic republic – the Presidency, we are now suffering as a nation as hundreds of thousands are dying an agonizing death. The streets are ablaze with hatred and racial and ethnic hostility, and we have become a worldwide embarrassment due to our leader’s incompetency and delusions of supremacy.

Lincoln was eulogized by Ralph Waldo Emerson for his merciful, humble and patient leadership during the darkest days of the Civil War. In contrast, our President lacks any of these traits and is a racist bully and psychopathic liar.

FDR led our nation through the trials and tribulations of the Great Depression and World War II and we are now led by a fascist who has left us without an international ally (except Putin) and for some reason totally ignores an out-of-control $27 trillion national debt.

LBJ’s Civil Rights Act (1964) was the tangible cornerstone of his vision to bring about a truly American Great Society. Our current leader is a homophobic and misogynistic buffoon whose vision of greatness is defined by how well the stock market is treating his billionaire golfing minions.

Ms. Goodwin offers that… “Leadership is a mirror in which the people see their collective reflection.”

Very sadly as we see ourselves, and the world observes this same “reflection,” current American leadership at the highest level has descended to a disgraceful low and unapologetically dishonors the legacies of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Lyndon Baines Johnson.

RBG ut vos RIP.

Doug Miller

Albion