To the Editor:

This November we citizens in the Town of Canton have an opportunity to retain an exceptional individual on our Town Board.

Martha Foley-Smith brings an almost ideal background to the work of local government. For the past forty years, mostly as News Director of North Country Public Radio, Foley-Smith has covered the important local news and developments in our region, and she has done so with the objectivity required of a professional, award-winning journalist.

As a reporter, she was trained to see issues from all sides, and she will bring to the important work of the Town Board this habit of fairness and broad contextual thinking.

As well she has an unusually informed background with historical depth on the many issues she has covered and which we continue to face: farming, our changing economy, work, education, population loss, homelessness, criminal justice, land use – issues she addresses with our rural needs in mind.

As a longtime resident of the Town of Canton, Martha has invested in our region. She attended college here and began her journalism career covering the Town Council for The Plaindealer. Now in retirement she joined the Town Board in a temporary appointment which began last January, serving on Town and Village committees on economic development, communications, technology, and recreation.

Thus, she has already proven how well her deep knowledge of our community has equipped her to carry out the Board’s business. She has more than earned our vote for a full term in the November elections.

Pat Alden

Canton