To the Editor:

Election day is here. Thousands in the North Country have voted already. I often wonder “Why do people support a certain candidate?”

I will only speak for myself. I vote for a person who will represent the values and ideas which I hold most dear. I compare the ideas, the values, the approaches of the candidates and I choose the candidate who stands for those issues which I value.

Who has a true “north star” in terms of values? Who represents the honor, the hard work, the patriotism, the support of the lower and the middle class? Who is in alignment with, shoulder to shoulder with the people of NY21? Who will support our veterans and military members and their families? Who can we count upon to battle for high quality health care for all residents of the district? Who will support educational and training opportunities for all children and adults?

Who will support organized labor and help all of us with issues of salary, health care, insurance, workers’ benefits? Who will support the elderly, the ill, the infirmed? Who has an intimate knowledge of the concerns of towns, villages, recreation departments, law enforcement agencies, volunteer fire departments and rescue squads? Who can help create job training and employment opportunities? Who has been to Brainardsville, Chazy, Constable, Dickinson Center, Rossie, Hammond, and Red Mills? Who can drive her own car and take you to all of those places and be welcomed by friends at the fire hall in remote communities?

Only one person can do all of that: Tedra Cobb. I will support Tedra Cobb, not because of the party label she represents. I will vote for her because she stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the people who I know and I stand in solidarity with her in terms of the North Country values I have learned and believe.

Above all, vote. If you support the issues which I support, I hope you will vote for Tedra Cobb also.

Lawrence Casey

Canton