To the Editor:

I am writing on behalf of Heidi Smith, who is my daughter-in-law. Heidi is running for Canton Town Clerk in the November election.

As many of you know Heidi was denied the interim town clerk position by Canton Town Supervisor Maryanne Ashley and the town council. The whole process was a sham as Heidi has worked as deputy town clerk for Canton for the past three years. She worked diligently to learn the job duties of the town clerk during that time and was mentored very effectively by then town clerk, Lisa Hammond.

Last December Mrs. Hammond announced her desire to retire at the end of 2020. The town council was given plenty of time to decide on a replacement for the rest of 2020. The council knew for months Mrs. Hammond was retiring. However Ms. Ashley chose to be untruthful to the residents of the Town of Canton and claim they had no time to decide. Ashley and the town council pulled a fast one on everyone in the Town of Canton. Heidi worked throughout the year of 2020 during the COVID scare making sure the mail and phone calls were taken care of.

She engages with the public with a positive and helping attitude. Heidi is organized and thoughtful about how her actions affect others. She has worked as a nursing home aide, for Sunmount DDSO in Tupper Lake as well at a dental office.

She is aware of the necessity of confidentiality and takes this issue very seriously. Having worked in the Town Clerk's Office for the past three years, Heidi is obviously the most experienced candidate for the position of Canton town clerk.

Susanne Smith

Canton