Letters to the Editor: Thank you
MOUNT SINAI
Thank you
I want to express my deepest gratitude to each and every one of my volunteers and supporters for your unwavering dedication throughout my campaign for the New York State Senate. Whether you knocked on doors, made calls, donated resources or simply stood by my side, your commitment and hard work have made all the difference, and I am grateful and inspired.
After experiencing seven challenging campaigns as a Suffolk County legislator, I can tell you firsthand that it’s not easy running for political office. I first ran for school board trustee in 2005. In 2011, I ran for the county Legislature and won the 6th LD seat as a Democrat in one of the most Republican county districts, winning seven elections until I was termed-limited. I overcame political divisiveness by putting people over politics and finding common ground so we could get work done by making communities safer, cleaner and more affordable. Knowing the local issues and having both foresight and experience, I am proud to have facilitated many successful programs.
Affordability will continue to be the top issue as we enter into a very turbulent political climate. While this election is over, the work we’ve started doesn’t stop here. The connections we’ve made, the conversations we’ve had and the ideas we’ve sparked will continue to shape the future. It has been my honor to have worked alongside some of the most dedicated and inspiring people in this county as we continue to make a difference. I wish my opponent the best and look forward to a continued partnership between government and community as we address our future goals.
Sarah Anker
LAUREL
A Democrat’s decision
I am a Democrat who could find no rationale that would justify a vote for John Avlon over Nick LaLota.
If we really are advocates of bipartisanship in our politics, opposing Mr. LaLota because he is a Republican would have been counter to that principle.
John Viteritti
CUTCHOGUE
Where will we stand?
This Veterans Day, I wonder: What were the American ideals that our veterans — my father and uncles, and all fathers, grandfathers, mothers and grandmothers — were willing to risk laying down their lives to defend?
Post-election, president-elect Trump has reiterated his campaign promise to round up, incarcerate and deport millions of undocumented immigrants, a key tenet of Project 2025. CNN has reported that the stock prices of private prison companies have soared since the election.
We live on a peninsula with an economy that has become dependent on undocumented immigrant workers. They live invisibly among us. But they work in the vineyards, the nurseries, our restaurant kitchens and in the building industry. They’re the ones digging ditches with shovels, hammering roof shingles in the hot July sun, cleaning our homes and maintaining our yards. They work for menial wages and live in substandard housing. Their children attend school with ours.
As historian Heather Cox Richardson pointed out in her Nov. 8 post in her daily “Letters from an American,” Catherine Rampell and Youyou Zhou of The Washington Post showed before the election that voters overwhelmingly preferred Harris’ policies to Trumps’s if they didn’t know which candidate proposed them. Further, Republican strategist Sarah Longwell, who studies focus groups, told NPR, “When I ask voters in focus groups if they think Donald Trump is an authoritarian, the No. 1 response by far is, ‘What is an authoritarian?’” When the time comes for the roundup on the North Fork, where will we stand? Where will our community, our churches, our business leaders, our local political officeholders, our police department, our school administrations and our political party leaders stand? The ones seeking to deport will need our cooperation in order to identify our undocumented neighbors. Where will we stand? Where will you stand?
Barbara Farr
SOUTHOLD
Now’s the time to do the work of the people
Now that the votes are counted and the winners and losers declared, it is time to get back to the work of the people. Admittedly, there are a lot of priorities. But indulge me for a moment to make a plea for the people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association website, 261,000 people aged 65-plus live in Suffolk County — 30,500 of them diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. This is a prevalence of 11.7% — higher than that of 70% of counties nationally. The vast majority of these individuals live in Congressional District 1 — our families, our friends and our neighbors.
Congressman Nick LaLota cosponsored the National Alzheimer’s Project Act Reauthorization and Alzheimer’s Accountability & Investment Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in October. These two pieces of bipartisan legislation renewed the nation’s commitment to fight against Alzheimer’s and continues the work of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease by supporting research and improving the delivery of clinical care and services.
As a caregiver and nine-year Alzheimer’s Association volunteer I want to thank Mr. LaLota for his support in the past, and hope he will continue in this fight against Alzheimer’s in his second term. This is the work of the people.
Nancy Chandler
