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Community Corner

The Driving Force Behind the Campaign

This has been a very nasty election, one of the nastiest election I have ever witnessed.  While I was having a conversation last night, it was mentioned that Republicans and conservatives are now stupid.  I am not a Republican or a Democrat, but I could certainly not agree with this comment.  After driving through the town and seeing the placement of the Republican signs, I finally figured out what had caused this election to be so nasty.  It is certainly not that Republicans or conservatives are stupid, it is that they are so filled with hatred it blinds them to any sensible or reasonable thought.  (Note: That does not mean that there are not stupid Republicans or Democrats, just that they’re not all stupid.) 

After seeing the Republican signs try to hide the Democrats signs, I likened this election to a middle school popularity contest.  The problem is, this is not middle school.  This impacts people’s lives, livelihood and careers.  All this hatred being thrown around has a real life impact, and though no one seems to realize, it sometimes hurts innocent bystanders too.  But no one seems to care; it’s more important to win than to care about and respect other people. 

Many of these evil comments have been thrown around online, and many anonymous, which means you have no idea who is on the other side of those comments.  So before you hastily write a response about how I am evil or stupid or whatever hatred you have to spread, keep in mind that you have no idea who I am, what I do or don’t do or what my situation in life has been.  Similarly, many of you probably don’t know the candidates personally.  If you are involved in one side or the other, you may know one slate candidates, but not the other.  I would bet that most people on here only know what they have been told by someone else, or they have made something up entirely.  How can you judge another for being a bad person, when your actions make you just as bad?  Bottom line, who do you think you are to judge other people, especially people you have never met?

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I urge everyone to stop spreading hatred and focus on the whole truth, not just the one sided truths that we have been subject to.  Here are some facts to get you started:

1.       John Monteleone had federal tax liens filed against him.

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a.       He was not aware that what he was doing was wrong and remedied the situation when he was told to.

2.       Ed Edelson’s Bed and Breakfast did not comply entirely with zoning laws.

a.       He and his wife ran the business the same way the previous two owners had and applied for zoning permits openly stating what they were doing and they were granted by the town.  They were never told it was illegal until a hateful citizen tried to destroy their life as well as other businesses in town.  This has been explained ad nauseam and they are remediating the situation.    

3.       John Monteleone has very, very limited experience in town governance.

a.       Many people start jobs where they are ill prepared, and learn to do just fine by taking the advice of more experienced employees.  (But will that mean a return to a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” style of government?  Maybe, maybe not)

4.       Ed Edelson has made many improvements to the town including getting town hall more efficiently organized, making IT improvements to town hall and saving the town cost on health insurance by partnering with Region 15 (just to name a few)

5.       Everyone makes mistakes.  Personal mistakes, professional mistakes, emotional mistakes.  And it is from mistakes that we LEARN and move forward!  No one is perfect and if we continue to hate based on past mistakes, then we are in serious trouble.  We need to learn to let go of this hatred for each other and celebrate the fact that we have different opinions.  Respect and value other people, regardless of their race, religion, political affiliation, etc and understand that the person you fight today, may be a powerful ally in the future.   

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