Editor:

Thank you to Michelle Restivo for writing, and The Hub for publishing the accounts of the Honor Flight to Washington D.C.

To end the series on Veterans Day was even more moving. Reading the accounts reminded me of a few tears back when my father, in failing health was offered one of these trips when he was living in Florida. He declined the offer, then told me about it some time later.

I am so sorry that he didn’t take the offer, I am so sure he would have enjoyed it.

Michelle, thanks for your relaying of what I am sure was a very moving experience. You made me feel as if I was there myself.

Peter Toenniessen
Gaines
Veteran

Editor:

To the people of the Town of Yates, the official survey on the Wind Turbine Project will be coming to your house very soon. Please, please, please take the time to fill them out and get them back to the town by the deadline. The surveys will be going out to EVERY registered voter and/or taxpayer. Everyone’s opinion is needed.

I want to thank our Town Board for their time and effort that was put into creating a survey that will reach all of the people who have a stake in this venture. The current Town Board has shown us what true government should strive to accomplish: unbiased governing without bowing down to special interest groups that would like only their voices to be heard.

Do your research, ask questions if you are not sure of what your position is. There are wonderful resources on line that are neither pro or con on the issue. Please check these out.

If you have specific questions about the project you can contact Carmen or Taylor at Lighthouse Wind. The address is: 8691 Main St., Barker, NY 14012 and their phone number is 1 716-562-4262.

I believe that this will be a positive addition to our community. Your voices need to be heard regardless of which side you are on.

Thank you,

Susan Campbell
Lyndonville

Editor:

To the citizens of Yates, I am honored to be elected as your next town supervisor. Thank you for your vote of confidence.

I thank John Belson for his service to our town, and I look forward to working with him as we transition to a new year and new beginnings.

I am very thankful to my wife and family for their support these past few months. I am also very grateful to all of you who supported my campaign.

I look forward to serving all of the citizens of Yates. I promise to do my best and to do what is in the best interest of our town.

Most Respectfully,

Jim Simon
Yates

Editor:

This is not going to be your typical letter from a candidate that lost an election. This is not my first run and I am not new to politics.

Stepping up and speaking out at government should be something that every citizen should do regularly, along with running at least once in their lifetime.

The founders set up a system where the average man or woman could go be an elected representative of their constituents pretty easy, especially at the local level. The intent was to be for a short time. Then go back to whatever they were doing in their life. Not make a career out of it.

With that said. Thank you to all of you who “Got It” and cast your vote for change. I espoused conservative principals throughout my campaign. I let people know where I stood. Unfortunately the best candidate does not always win. It is apparent in some of the elections in this county.

Committees that continue to endorse RINO candidates, ignore their voting records, and keep these stale dinosaurs as heads of the towns, county, and villages – election cycle after election cycle – are a big part of the problem.

Voter Sloth is another. Those of you who are tired of the process should become a free-thinking committee member in your local party. That will allow you to buck the establishment choice. That’s how you get the best candidates. That is how you term-limit these Incumbents that linger on long after their useful shelf life to become the problem they initially ran against.

There are too many people worried about losing their piece of the pie if things change and too many people getting things from the taxpayers and I’m not talking about the poor. Truth.

There are no congratulations to my opponent. I ran to defeat her and her progressive big government agenda. 552 people did their best to see that happen on the Conservative Line. That’s pretty darn good for a county that votes RINO as its majority. It didn’t happen. No sweat. I was over it seconds after I found out the results.
Losing another election is nothing compared to what I have lost in my life. The fight for change is bigger than any one person. Many great ideas were put forth in the campaigns. Will the Legislature act upon them?

The people who really lost are the people of this county that returned a big spending progressive back for another two years. The voting record does not lie.

This has been a fun experience. I enjoyed it. I even enjoyed all the mudslinging. Politics is a contact sport. Those who supported me should know that I will continue to fight city hall and who knows what the future will present.

Paul Lauricella Jr.
Lyndonville

Editor:

It has been only a week and barely a political sign can be found throughout the landscape of Orleans County. The voters have spoken and so ends a spirited debate as to who is to be the next to lead our Sheriff’s Department.

The recent Sheriff’s race was the most tumultuous time in my 23 years working daily with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department. The ripple effect of the race for Sheriff has caused tidal waves of controversy and discord amongst various levels of government, political parties and the general public.

Fortunately, one of the things I have learned during my years in office is that the sense of community of our citizens in this County is much stronger than any attack any upon it.

Never in Orleans County politics have I seen so many people so passionate about their candidate and with good cause. Sheriff Randy Bower, Chief Deputy Tom Drennan and Investigator Don Organisciak campaigned very hard as did their supporters.

I personally know each of these three individuals having worked with them for many years. They are very capable individuals with character and integrity. They deserve our collective appreciation for the tremendous efforts they made during the election process to give us a choice. So too do their families and supporters for the many sacrifices they made on their candidate’s behalf.

That having been said now is the time for all of us to set aside our differences and to support Sheriff Randy Bower and Undersheriff Chris Bourke and their new administration.

As citizens of Orleans County we must now focus on our common good and take strength from the conviction that was shown by each of the three candidates to make this a better community.

During the next few months Sheriff Randy Bower deserves our full understanding and support while he installs his new administration. I am confident that I speak on behalf of the entire law enforcement community when I say Sheriff Bower will receive our full support and cooperation as the next Sheriff of Orleans County and that he will do a great job.

The safety and security of our community is dependent on the effective operation of the Sheriff’s Department. It is imperative that we work together to afford the citizens of this County the high quality of law enforcement they pay for and deserve.

Joseph V. Cardone
Orleans County District Attorney

Editor:

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the voters of Yates for their vote of confidence in allowing me to serve you for next 4 years.

There is much work to do and I promise to exhaustively work to the best of my ability to fulfill the responsibility you’ve entrusted to drive the Town of Yates into a meaningful future.

I am looking forward to serving you.

Best Regards,

John Riggi
Yates Town Councilman-elect

Editor:

Reflecting on the recent election is somewhat painful for us Democrats. It may sting even more once the absentee ballots are counted. At this point, we know that two outstanding candidates, Don Organisciak and James White, were defeated even though great cases can be made for each of them.

It was the first electoral experience in the brutal arena of Orleans County politics for each of them. Being a four-time loser myself has gotten me used to it, but reality hit them like a train on night of Nov. 3.

That said, the candidacy of Randy Bower was a breath of fresh air for Orleans County. The Republican Party has long needed a focus on people. Bower is clearly a “people person” who appears to understand that those who hold office are there to serve all people.

As far back as 2004, when the legislative chairperson told me the only thing the people in Orleans County care about is the tax rate, the Republican Party has focused on property taxpayers as if they were the only ones who pay taxes.

Bower’s Republican roots and his primary victory made it possible for a message that Democrats haven’t been able to sell to finally become viable.

While any Republican primary winner is virtually guaranteed victory in Orleans County, the roads to, and from, the primary for sheriff produced a massive Republican voter turnout this year. When the Omniscient Oz decided to give the sheriff’s crown to Tom Drennan back in May during the Oz caucus, it finally backfired, even though Drennan was in most respects a great candidate.

Randy Bower’s people, said, in effect, “Not this time.” The Republican wizard wasn’t going to be able to take his subjects for granted this time. Bower forced a primary and won the all-important republican line by 21 votes on September 13th. A little over 30% of eligible republicans voted in the primary.

Normally, a Democrat, working with an enrollment base roughly half that of his/her Republican opponent, stands little chance of defeating the Wizard’s choice. Not enough people vote for the best candidate. They dutifully vote row B, just as the Wizard has trained them to. Of course the Wizard tells them who (he thinks) is best every year. This year, his choice wasn’t on row B. Such confusion!

One down side to what just happened is that two sets of coattails may have doomed some really capable down ballot candidates. It is likely that close to 50 percent of Republicans came out to vote due to interest in the sheriff’s race.

Many voted for Bower. Many left row B to vote for Tom Drennan. The problem for people like Darlene Benton and Bill Lattin is that, after voting for Tom, many Republican voters returned home to row B. Darlene and Bill were on row A. (Though John Belson of Yates enjoys a broad base of support and should probably not be pigeon-holed as an insider under the thumb of Apex, I imagine interest in the sheriff’s race boosted his vote total for the reason mentioned above.)

The Wizard should be careful what conclusions he reaches from the Yates results. Concluding that the town is divided roughly 50-50 on the wind turbine issue based on the results of this particular election could well be a mistake. One might even wonder how much closer the Johnson-Lauricella race would have been had the Omniscient Oz come out in favor of the proposed Apex project before the election.

Wouldn’t it be something if the Omniscient Oz eventually spun off into irrelevance as a consequence of casting his lot with something he vastly underestimates the significance of: industrial wind turbines. Of course, Oz may just be waiting for the right survey.

Sincerely yours,

Gary Kent
Albion

Editor:

A few days have passed since the election, and most of us that ran for office have had time to reflect. In terms of my race: Mr. Allport annihilated me, winning 66 percent to my 33 percent.

I am not completely discouraged or disappointed by the unofficial results2,244 voters put their trust in me, put their faith in me, and gave me a chance.

I just want to say thank you to those voters and everyone else that supported me throughout the campaign processspecifically Jeanne Crane, Gary Kent, Janice Grabowski and the entire Democratic Committee.

The committee demonstrated that they have faith in my generation by endorsing me and supporting me. They showed that they believe young adults are capable of standing up and being leaders in government.

I truly believe that this is another example of the Democratic Party being the party of the future. I am forever thankful for their support and the opportunity that they gave me. As always, I am PROUD to be a Democrat.

To Mr. Allport: I wish you the very best, and want to thank you for your many years of service to our county. The same goes to Mr. Callard, Mrs. Johnson, Mr. DeFilipps, Mr. Eick, Mr. DeRoller and Mr. Miller. I hope that you all serve and continue to serve with the best interest of the pubic at heart.

To my supporters: I am not sure what the future holds, or where life will take me. We can never truly predict those things. What I can promise you is that no matter where life takes me, or where I may end up; I will not be silenced, I will keep fighting, and I will continue to serve the public.

With Gratitude,

James White
Gaines

Editor:

It’s finally over. Ballots cast, counted and Bower won.

There were many that showed up to vote. However, when you look at the population of Orleans County compared to the number of casted votes, it is sad.

I think many people were disgusted with the whole thing and just stayed out. While I totally understand where they are coming from; history shows that a laissez-faire attitude towards politics is how we suddenly find ourselves stuck with things like the SAFE Act, misappropriation of welfare benefits, politicians making more than military members, etc.

If we as a nation just allow things to happen then we have no right to complain when they do. This is bigger than a local political race, this is happening with everything from a sheriff’s election to the presidential election.

It saddens me when voter turnout is less than the lines to go black Friday shopping. I get people are overwhelmed with what to believe, I get people are sick of the bantering, I get people are sick of the mudslinging. But we do have a voice and people need to realize that not standing up, not debating, not caring because everything will still go on the next day is not going to solve anything.

That being said, this election brought out the best and the worst in people. I look back at the comments, posts, letters to the editor – some filled with positives, some filled with negatives.

People’s integrity, morals, beliefs all attacked because they didn’t support the candidate others thought they should. The name-calling, lies, misdirected anger, non-factual statements was a disgusting display from both sides of the election.

Passion is one thing but passion should be supported with compassion. The ridiculousness of it all was down right embarrassing. One would think that now it is over people would bow out gracefully and become part of the solution.

As I read through social media, the disgust I had is still present. Can’t it just be accepted that we need to now move forward? Why must people, inside and outside of Orleans County, continue this disgusting display of moral ineptitude?

Diane Wood
Holley

Editor:

Thank you to the Democrats who had the courage and fortitude to step forward and run for an office. Yes, we lost several of the races but be proud and hold your head high. We ran a clean campaign and gave it our all.

We also owe thanks to our supporters who had faith in us and for family and friends.

We congratulate Randy Bower and wish Tom Drennan success in the future.

Jeanne Crane
Carlton
Chairwoman of Orleans County Democratic Party