Editor:

After reading some recent letters to the editor, I have to agree – these are trying times.

As a resident of Orleans County, I believe our community deserves leadership grounded in truth, rather than partisan fearmongering and unverified talking points.

In a recent letter, County Legislator Don Allport presented several claims that do not hold up under the simplest scrutiny. Rather than respond to the recitation of those familiar alarmist points about Socialism, I’ll keep this focused on the truth as relates to our election.

No one in Orleans County can vote for someone who is endorsed by the Democratic Socialist Party or who is running a campaign to advance items from their platform.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about what we can vote for. We should expect that a candidate taking the time to assert historical claims in the local news source would fact check them prior to writing. I have heard Don speak about history, particularly the revolutionary war, with the accuracy and reverence it is due. This leaves me particularly confused regarding the following assertions:

Allport: One vote decided our national language.

Truth: Unless we’re considering the 2025 executive order by the current president, the US does not actually have an officially designated language, and there was never a risk of this occurring were it not for a singular vote.

It’s likely that Mr. Allport refers to the persistent myth stemming from a group of new citizens in Virginia, German speakers, who requested that some of the laws be copied over into German so that they could be readily followed by that populace. The “one vote” difference was not even whether to copy over the laws in German for the residents, rather it was a vote resolving to table the issue and take it up another time. It was defeated 42-41, and the actual measure did not come to the floor.

Allport: The ’60 presidential election was lost by Nixon due to one vote in each election district in Illinois.

Truth: Back in 1960, the path to 270 was actually the path to 269, the number of electoral votes needed then to secure the office of President-elect. Even if the 27 electoral votes from Illinois had gone to Nixon rather than JFK, Kennedy still would have prevailed with 276 votes.

Allport: An earlier Nixon presidency would have prevented so much of the upheaval of the ’60s, including Vietnam, the JFK assassination, and Kent State.

Truth: If we are going to judge Nixon by his fruit, we may find it hard to believe that the man who delayed peace talks through Anna Chenault (something well documented in US historical documents including Haldeman’s own declassified notes) and then carpet bombed Cambodia while hiding it by falsifying military records – resulting directly in the Kent State massacre, would somehow have been the peace president he claimed in word but never deed.

As for the JFK assassination, I don’t think that he would have been shot in November of 1963 if he was not the sitting US president, so perhaps that one could have been averted if the election outcome was reversed.

Back in the local arena, attacking federal safety net programs ignores the reality that low-income residents in Orleans County rely on these services. Would the county choose not to offer them if they were not mandated or supported by federal and state support? An average house assessed at $200,000 paid around $1,600 in county taxes last January. Of that, nearly half of it (roughly $700) paid into Medicaid. This money solely funds healthcare to residents of our county.

Because the most recent census shows that the median household income in Orleans County is $65,969, the median taxpayer spends 1.06% of their annual gross income on healthcare for their neighbors. Maybe there’s a better plan. Maybe there’s a better method of implementing the current plan. But I bet it doesn’t involve calling homes in the county where we all live a cesspool – literally household sewage.

Elected officials should welcome community observation and transparency rather than promoting anti-government cynicism or attacking media credibility. I have met most of the elected officials in this county and, regardless of party affiliation, do not believe that a single person running for or holding office here did so for any motivation but one: to make their community a better place the best way that they know how.

It’s disingenuous to attempt to distinguish local office holders from “politicians.” Government is the system, politics is the method. We should expect all of our elected officials to work methodically to advance good government for the residents they serve.

Therefore, it’s alarming to hear a local politician, writing in his personal capacity, to both misrepresent facts in history and to describe a fear of being watched.

A truth that we do agree on, and the most important truth being advanced in each letter, is that each vote does in fact count and not nearly enough of our neighbors are exercising that right.

Because our elections are how we choose who represents our interests best, I hope that the truth weighs heavily in your decision-making process this year.

See you at the polls,

Jess Marciano

Medina

Marciano is a trustee on the Medina Village Board.

Editor:

Allow me to add my voice in support of Susan Hrovat for Yates Town Supervisor.

Susan is an accomplished leader with years of experience in multiple public service realms.

She served over two decades as a NYS parole officer and over ten years as a Lyndonville school board member.

Susan became a councilwoman on the Yates town board in 2020. Of particular note, she will be finishing her second year in December as the town’s deputy supervisor.

Did I mention she is an active member of the Lyndonville Lions Club?!

I’ve seen Susan in action – she is smart, patient, thoughtful and articulate. She listens. She is willing to make the tough decisions required of a leader in public service.

Susan consistently tries to balance the common good with the God-given dignity of each person.

I whole-heartedly endorse Susan!

Jim Simon

Yates

Editor:

This letter is in response to the letter posted October 28, 2026 and written by Legislator Fitzak.

Yes, I am aware it said it was written “in my individual capacity” to skate the Hatch Act, I just personally don’t believe that you can remove your official elected position like a jacket when it’s convenient, especially to endorse a political candidate.

At any rate, I have run a campaign for the better part of 2026 without personally attacking my opponent and that will continue regardless of any negativity that may come from the other side.

What I would like to offer, that was left out of the letter are the links to the referenced documents. I would invite everyone to do your own reading so you can make up your own mind before it’s too late!

For complete transparency please go to www.Marlene4Orleans.com and follow me on Facebook at Marlene Seielstad for Orleans County Legislator at Large. Do not think you have all of the information from a couple quotes taken out of context.

I respectfully ask for your endorsement at the polls.

Thank you,

Marlene Seielstad

Carlton

Candidate for Orleans County Legislator at Large

Editor:

On Tuesday, November 3 town of Shelby voters will decide whether the highway superintendent and town clerk positions should be hired by the Town Board (appointed, as the ballot says) rather than elected. I urge you to vote yes on both.

First, what this is not about. No one is taking away your right to vote. You are the ones deciding this question. The board is asking whether you agree, as we do, that hiring these positions means better management and more accountability.

I have served on the board for three years. Our highways are one of the largest things your tax dollars pay for: plowing, paving, drainage, equipment, and a crew of employees. Yet the person who runs that department answers to no one between elections. The Town Board works with the highway superintendent to set the budget, but it has almost no say in how the department is run. When an elected superintendent chooses not to cooperate with the board, as has been our experience, there is little the board can do.

Supporters say an elected superintendent is accountable to the public. In theory, yes. In practice, residents rarely attend the meetings where highway spending is discussed. When money is wasted or the department is poorly managed, the board takes the blame, even though it has no authority over the department. Responsibility without authority is no way to run a town.

Consider the rules everyone else works under. Town employees follow the town’s personnel policy. Highway crew members work under a union contract. The elected superintendent follows neither. The elected position has no limit on vacation, sick, or personal time, no set hours, and no one who reviews their schedule. Taxpayers pay a full salary and have no way to know how those hours are managed.

A hired superintendent would report to the board, work the hours it sets, and follow the same time-off rules as other town employees. If the department isn’t performing, the board could act, and voters would know whom to hold responsible: the board they elect.

Hiring also means choosing on qualifications. The board could post the job, review resumes, interview candidates, and select the best person. An election offers none of that. Candidates can claim qualifications during a campaign that no one verifies, and voters are limited to whoever chooses to run.

The same reasoning applies to the town clerk. The clerk collects millions of dollars in taxes, in addition to keeping official records and issuing licenses and permits. Handling that much public money takes training, accuracy, and reliability, and the board should be able to hire for those qualifications and hold the clerk to the same standards as other town staff.

Opponents will say elections give voters direct control, and that a hire could simply be a favorite of the board. Those are fair concerns. But voters would still control who sits on the board, and the board would answer for every hire it makes. Today, no one is answerable for these offices in any meaningful way. This isn’t a new idea. Towns across New York (Bath, Avoca and Howard to name a few) have moved to this model.

Please vote yes on both propositions on Tuesday, November 3.

Sincerely,

Linda Limina

Shelby town councilwoman

Editor:

I write this letter of support for Don Allport in my individual capacity.  While the Orleans County Government is perceived to be an all-knowing, haphazard, decision-making organization that works solely behind closed doors, as projected by the Marlene Seielstad campaign for County Legislator At-Large Central position, this is categorically false, and a highly misleading platform for a political campaign.

The Orleans County Legislature and all of the departments that we oversee for the taxpayers that we represent are committed to transparency and public input.

We have invested heavily on designing our outreach, through our County Website, which is ADA compliant, our press releases, that are one of our many cost-saving shared services with neighboring counties, the continuation of hybrid in-person and online standing committee and Legislature meetings, and our monthly Association of Municipalities’ meetings, in which your local Town and Village officials attend to get additional information that may be pertinent to make your local municipality a better place to live, work and play in.

Every resident can rest assured that we completely vet and probe all possible impacts and options, while taking in current and long-term implications. The keyboard critics and the coffee-clutch membership may talk a good game, but ask them where they got their information to form their opinion. With almost certainty, they probably weren’t at or streaming our meetings, viewing our website, or talking to any of the seven Legislators. Their want for transparency is commendable, and actually using it is paramount.

The campaign to Re-elect Don Allport is the obvious choice. Don’s IT background, his dedicated leadership on the Public Health, Mental Health, Office for the Aging, and Veterans Standing Committees, which are vital segments of our community, and his involvement in critical County-wide decisions, demonstrates his commitment to improving the quality of life in our county. Don understands the wants, needs and desires our county residents have and those must be navigated through the myriad of un-funded mandates that are pushed down by New York State, that the Legislature must abide by or be financially punished, much of which is the result of the One-Party Rule we see endorsing Mrs. Seielstad.

Marlene’s website also distorts the sales tax distribution calculation within the County. As the holder of an Accounting Degree from my Alma-Mater, SUNY Oswego, has she studied the current county budget? When we had to utilize approximately $15 million of sales tax revenue to make up the shortfall that the Real Property levy couldn’t sustain, that’s basic accounting. How could we fund our internal obligations and also increase our subsidies to the other municipalities? There isn’t enough wealth to redistribute, unless we raise taxes, break the mandated tax cap, and face the financial repercussions.

While competition is a cornerstone to success, even Marlene should consider voting for Don Allport, since her own website says “She believes experience matters. Transparency matters. And every taxpayer deserves to understand how public decisions are made.” That sounds like an endorsement for Don Allport!

Respectfully submitted,

John Fitzak

Carlton

Mr. Fitzak is an Orleans County legislator for District 4 – towns of Carlton, Kendall and most of Murray.

Editor:

A recent letter writer warned about the danger of socialism and urged voters to vote against socialist policies; I agree.

Socialism is defined by Merrian-Webster as the government “ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.” In July of this year, The Cato Institute reported that the Trump administration has taken a stake in 30 companies.

Under Howard Lutnick, the Department of Commerce awards grants for research and development to companies that sell a stake of their company to the government. The U.S. now holds a stake in microchip manufacturing, mining for minerals, and nuclear energy production.

The government holds a “golden share” in U.S. Steel, allowing the government veto power over executive decisions. The Trump administration is the very definition of Socialism.  Representatives Claudia Tenney and Nick Langworthy are strong supports of these socialist policies. I urge voters to vote against these representatives, support Democrats and return our country to a capitalist economy.

William Fine

Brockport

Editor:

If you haven’t yet attended a performance of the Hoag Music Series you’ve missed some wonderful entertainment. From March until December on scheduled Saturdays at noon Jim Doyle arranged for some great music for our community.

On October 10^th, the concert featured Evie Ladin who sang, played the banjo and did some percussion dancing that was awesome. She performs all over the country, is based in NYC and Jim promises that she will be back. You should not miss her.

Os Pipe and Fiddle Witch Duet will be here on Saturday, November 7^th for a blend of East and West.

The Rochester Ukelele Orchestra will be at the Hoag on Saturday, December 5th at noon. Bonus: Gary Simboli will lead a Christmas Carol sing along at 2 that afternoon too!

All performances are free. December 5 closes the series for 2026. Jim promises that next year’s series, starting in March, will be awesome too. Look for them, put them on your calendars and enjoy!

Catherine Moore

Albion

Editor:

I am writing to encourage residents, veterans, and local organizations to petition Orleans County school districts to hold public hearings on the newly authorized property tax exemption for permanently and totally disabled veterans under New York State Real Property Tax Law §458-a(11).

This legislation gives local governments and school districts the authority to provide a full property tax exemption to qualifying veterans who have been permanently and totally disabled as a result of their military service. However, each taxing jurisdiction must decide whether to adopt it.

Monroe County has already adopted the exemption, and some school districts have begun taking action. Yet here in Orleans County, there has been little public discussion about whether our school districts intend to offer this benefit.

I am a permanently and totally disabled combat veteran who served in Iraq. I live within the Kendall Central School District, which does not currently participate in the Alternative Veterans’ Exemption. I recently contacted the district’s Board of Education president to ask whether the new exemption had been discussed or would be considered. I was informed that the board had not discussed it and that there was no timeline for doing so.

This raises a larger question: Why should disabled veterans have to appear personally before a school board just to get elected officials to discuss a benefit that the state has already authorized?

Many permanently and totally disabled veterans live with serious physical injuries, PTSD, anxiety, and other service-connected disabilities. For some, appearing before a room full of people to publicly discuss their disabilities or advocate for themselves can be extremely difficult.

These veterans have already demonstrated their disabilities through the Department of Veterans Affairs. They should not have to stand before another government body and explain why their sacrifices deserve consideration.

I recognize that adopting this exemption has financial implications for school districts and taxpayers. Those implications deserve an open and informed discussion. That is precisely why I believe public hearings are appropriate.

I am calling on the Boards of Education in Kendall, Albion, Holley, Lyndonville and Medina to publicly consider this exemption, hold hearings, and give residents an opportunity to understand its potential benefits and costs.

I also encourage local veterans’ organizations, including VFW and American Legion posts, to help organize petitions and advocate for these discussions.

This is not a demand that school districts automatically approve the exemption. It is a request that they put the issue on their agendas, examine the facts, and make a decision in public.

Our disabled veterans should not have to fight another battle simply to have their needs considered.

Respectfully,

Dan Brundage

Kendall Central School District resident

Iraq War veteran

Editor:

My name is Kathy Harnischfeger, and I am a write-in candidate for Clarendon Town Supervisor.

I am writing in response to the SCOPE article. If elected, I will take seriously my oath to uphold the Constitution and will base my decisions on evidence, facts, and the best interests of our community—not on personal opinion.

I did not attend the SCOPE debate or respond to Mark Allen’s questionnaire because I have been focused on listening directly to residents and understanding their concerns through my door-to-door campaigning.

Across the community, people have consistently raised issues such as high taxes, rising energy costs, public safety, sewer infrastructure, and other local priorities. The Second Amendment has not been among the concerns most frequently raised with me.

For the record, I am a gun owner and support the right to bear arms. I also strongly support the First Amendment freedom of speech. These rights carry important responsibilities, and they should be approached with care and respect.

I encourage Clarendon voters to look beyond distractions and misinformation and to focus on the facts. This is an important moment for our community and an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to honest, responsible local government.

Every eligible voter has a voice in Clarendon’s future. Please make a plan to vote and participate in this important election.

Sincerely,

Kathy Harnischfeger

Clarendon

Editor:

These are the times that try America’s soul.

Our great Republic is at a major fork in the road. One path is staying with our Constitution, Rule of Law, Free Market Capitalism and Individual freedoms. The other is for big government (Democratic Socialism), Rule by Law, government owning everything and people are nothing more than servants to the government with no individual freedoms.

The last time the socialist movement in America was this big was during the 1930s’ Depression. This election is critical to what path, as a nation, we will go down, affecting not only us but future generations of American. It is critical to the future of our nation that all American Patriots vote. Socialism has never worked. It is not utopia. It only leads to death, poverty and the collapse of the country.

When our nation was being founded, one vote decided our national language. If any one of those who voted for English had voted the other way we would be speaking German today.

In the 1960 Presidential Election, if Richard Nixon had received one more vote in each election district in Illinois, he would have been President. One more vote. Think how that would have changed our history.

Vietnam, JFK assassination, riots and protest of the sixties, Kent State would not have happened. Johnson would not have become President and one of the most destructive big government programs in American history, The Great Society, would not have happened.  This program was the most socialist takeover by government since Roosevelt’s “New Deal.”  It destroyed low-income families, created government housing that is nothing but cesspools for gangs, violence and drugs.

The Great Society was the biggest takeover of our health care system. This takeover cost Orleans County taxpayers $10 million a year. Be very careful who you vote into office. Just one more vote would have changed the history of our great Republic.

Unfortunately, too many people feel that their vote doesn’t count. The opposite is quite true, every vote does count. The whole of anything is made up of the sum of the parts. The final count of any election is made up of every individual vote. How would history have changed and made America different, if in any of the examples above one vote had been different?

When Election Day comes, remember your power to make a difference.  Your vote is deciding the course of history and the direction of your country, either individual freedoms or servants to big government’s ruling class.

News media and polls want to demoralize you, to make you think the election have already been decided, to stop you from using your power. Statistics can be manipulated to get the results you want by manipulating the numbers and half-truths as facts. Don’t let a handful of people who control the news decide your fate. Take the horse by the reins and decide on your government’s future.

You have the freedom to decide which path our nation takes, to march into the future as free citizens or kneel beneath the boot heels of tyrants. Show the politicians that you are watching, because nothing scares them more. Everyone is equal inside that voting booth.  Remember always, the real power of our country is in your vote!

Donald Allport

Gaines

Mr. Allport is an Orleans County legislator in an at-large district.