My message

 My message has stayed fairly simple. At every door, I usually say some version of what's on these cards.

Then I ask, "Do you have any local concerns or issues you care about?"

And then, I listen.

It's a great way to learn.

Who was Lynn Morse?

Came across this street while on a walk in the town of Erwin a couple of years ago.
Who was Lynn Morse?
When I was a reporter in the Star-Gazette's Corning bureau, Lynn was Erwin Town Supervisor.
He was a dedicated public servant, and I respected him.
One small anecdote sticks in my mind.
At one point, Lynn came up with a plan to build a structure for the town -- sorry I don't remember exactly what, possibly a garage for the highway department.
But this was a very important project for him. To him, it was an absolute necessity and he came up with a plan to fund it with a bond issue. Then he went out and campaigned for it publicly to get it passed on a ballot referendum.
Election day came and I happened to be standing next to him at the town hall as the final votes came in. His ballot measure lost.
"So be it," was all he said.
Even though he knew the importance of his cause and had fought hard for it, he had to listen to the voters and find another path forward.
The fact that they named this road after him is testament to how he succeeded in so many other ways, but I like to think he succeeded at least in part because he listened to people.

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.

First union endorsement

I was proud to receive this union endorsement recently. 

Unions built the middle class and gave workers many essential protections. 

When I met with some union leaders recently, I realized that it is much more than that.

"We just want to work where we live," I was told. Doing more to ensure local jobs are performed by local union workers helps keep money here in Chemung County, and using union workers ensures that proper safety measures are taken on the job site. When those standards are ignored or skipped, workers are seriously injured or killed. 

It's not just about livelihood. It is a matter of life and death.

Legislators work in words. That's their trade, but what some do not realize is that the wrong words in the wrong place can get someone killed or can take away someone's livelihood. That's why I look forward to advocating for local unions on the Chemung County Legislature.

The result of apathy

 Often I get asked something like: "Why are you running? Why even put yourself through this?"

Yes, why? Politics is so toxic, wouldn't it be the saner thing to just stay home?

Sure it would be the easier thing, but the what happens when too many people stay home and don't even vote?

The result is bad government. That's why I run.

Common sense???

 A resident made a good point about common sense. It is a matter of perspective. What is common sense to you may not be common sense to someone else. This is true in these highly polarized political times.

My response:

...excellent point! I could make a completely ridiculous statement and support it by saying it's common sense. Afterall, that is why humans thought the Earth was the center of the universe and that objects of different weights would fall at different rates. Common sense. Then people like Galileo came along and proved a lot of common sense to be wrong. 

I suppose what I really mean is that we need to find common ground, areas where there is agreement where we can work together. 

Response to a resident

A resident who received my campaign card while I was canvassing this weekend emailed me to ask for more specifics about me. Here is some of what I had to say:

... OK, so political affiliation. I'm on the ballot on two lines, Democrat and an independent line called the Middle Party. I'm asking people to consider meeting me in the middle so we can find common sense solutions to problems. 

I think that one of the things that have gone wrong in politics is that it has become too polarized to get anything done. Too often politicians focus on playing to their base, whether that is left or right, and they don't make a message that is meant for the voting public as a whole. 

Too often politicians want to tell you what to think rather than listen to what you have to say. 

These are two reasons why so many get disillusioned with politics and sit out elections. I'd like to turn that around. I know that'd be like trying to push back the ocean with a broom, so I can't make the big changes. But I can make a small change and deal with the issues that are right in front of me. So, I'm running for county legislature. 

Why did I decide to run?

It'd be easy to stay home and focus on my family and my business. Politics is just so toxic, why would any sane person want to run for office? But what happens when too many people sit out elections? You get bad government.

It took me a long time to realize that my background and experience had prepped me to run for office. I spent 25 years in journalism, including a stint covering the Steuben County legislature for the Star-Gazette, but also writing for other newspapers in other states, from everything from planning and zoning meetings up to the federal level. I'd also been a copy editor, layout designer and a journalism professor. So much of this had to do with diving into complicated public policy issues and explaining to the public how government action affects their lives. One of the important lessons I learned from many county government meetings is that public officials need to be mindful that every decision they make could ultimately affect the tax levy for the county and impact the tax rate for the homeowners. That number was always the lede whenever I wrote a story about the final budget package for the Star-Gazette.

... in 2009, I was laid off from the paper -- along with many of my colleagues -- and I had to reinvent myself. It took some time to figure it out, but eventually I became an entrepreneur. I now have a laser-cutting business that also makes board games. That's been another useful set of lessons. Running a business is very much about survival of the fittest. You have to find a product customers will buy, and you have to provide that product in a cost-effective way so that you can make enough profit to survive. A friend of mine describes being an entrepreneur as "Jumping off a cliff and trying to invent the airplane on the way down."

 But as I've gotten involved in the entrepreneurial community, I've realized this is an untapped resource for the county economy. We should do more to help people who already love living in this county to start a business and pursue their dreams.

So, for now, I'll end by sharing my approach to dealing with any problem:

1) Get your facts right

2) Listen to all sides

3) Have an ongoing conversation with people

Do you have any local issues before the county government that are particularly important to you?

Ed Bond