Letter to the editor

 The Star-Gazette published my letter to the editor this morning.

They cut off my ending, so here is the full letter as submitted:

So often, political messaging only tells you what to be against. For me, it’s better to be for something. What I’m for is honesty, accountability and transparency in government. I’m also for turning around the economy in Chemung County by helping people pursue their dreams here. That’s why I’m running for Chemung County legislature in the 4th District.

My 25 years in journalism trained me for this job. Much of that time was spent diving into complex government issues to explain to people what they needed to know. As a reporter at various newspapers across the country, I wrote about issues from planning and zoning all the way up to the federal level. But it was as a local government reporter for the Star-Gazette that I began to appreciate elected officials who strove to be public servants and not just politicians. 

That’s also where I met my wife Amy, who helped me fall in love with Horseheads.

My career at the paper ended with a layoff in 2009, and that forced me to reinvent myself. It took a bit to figure it out, but I eventually became an entrepreneur and launched a laser-cutting business. Running a business is very much about survival of the fittest. You have to find a product customers will buy and provide that product in a cost-effective way so that you can make enough profit to survive.  As a member of the entrepreneurial community, I've realized the energy of these fledgling business owners is an untapped resource for the county economy. Let’s invest in the people who already love living in this county and help them build a business.

Now, you should also understand what is at stake in this election. Your current legislator, Joe Brennan, has used his position to attack the gay community, the Chemung County Library District, the Chemung County Health Department as well as science and medicine. None of these campaigns have done anything to help provide more effective, efficient government for the residents of Horseheads, Big Flats or Chemung County at large. You, the voter, must choose whether to keep supporting his agenda.

County government comes down to providing the services we all need with the resources we have available, as efficiently as possible. These are items like roads, bridges, sewer, sheriff, jail, health department and the nursing facility. Each of these, and many others, are expensive operations that impact our quality of life but also affect the tax levy.

My approach to making decisions on these and any other issues will be to:

1) Get the facts right

2) Listen to all sides

3) Have an ongoing conversation with people

If you like this approach, please vote for me on November 8.