To the Editor:

On April 19, voters in New York will have the opportunity to support Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic Party nomination.

You may not have heard much about Bernie Sanders on traditional media, but he is gaining a groundswell of support nationwide, mostly through social media. Huge crowds have thronged to hear him speak, and the more people find out about him the more they are inspired and impassioned. He has won 7 of the last 8 primaries and caucuses, many of them by large margins. In national polls Bernie Sanders has the highest favorability ratings and chances of winning a general election of any candidate in any party in this election.

I am excited about Bernie Sanders because in his 40 years of public service he has an unmatched record of integrity, pragmatism, good judgement, and standing up for working people. While in the U.S. Senate he has been outspoken against the excessive influence of the wealthy on decision making. He was one of the few people in Congress who voted against authorizing Haliburton's war in Iraq. He stood up against decisions that gave more money to wealthy banks. He has worked tirelessly to fund programs for veterans. You will not find flip-flopping in his record.

In my opinion campaign finance reform is the most important issue facing our nation. Large corporations and wealthy special interests have gained far too much influence on decision making, resulting in laws which do not reflect the interests of the majority. Bernie Sanders shows us both in words and deeds that he is our best hope for turning the tide on those issues. His campaign is financed by millions of small donations from individual citizens, not by corporate lobbyists.

Bernie Sanders has a real chance at winning the nomination and the general election, but New York is a very important milestone in that path to victory. If you aren't familiar with Bernie, please check out www.berniesanders.com/issues.

If you already support Bernie, please join us in spreading the word at www.berniesanders.com/phonebank and www.berniesanders.com/events. Thank you.

Stephen Canner

Pierrepont