The Stefanik campaign has been tweeting out to taunt her opponent, Matt Castelli, because he has never voted in District 21. The effort to identify him negatively, disqualifying him as “never voting in District 21 before” and being a “downstate Democrat” would apply to all of us in Schoharie County by these standards.
It’s true that I’ve never voted in District 21 before. Schoharie County has just been redistricted to be part of District 21. To say that a person is somehow not a valid part of the democratic process in the district and is inadequate to serve the district because of their voting history in a different district, is distortion and DISRESPECTFUL.
It’s also true that the Catskills are not the Adirondacks. Is Gilboa “downstate” in some pejorative way? Does the fact that a person lives at the southern edge of the district mean we are somehow not worthy citizens or our ideas and needs don’t matter in District 21?
Disparaging remarks about another person do not bring credibility to the one making the remarks.
Let’s demand that our politicians talk about what they can do to make a positive impact on our safety, our schools, our health care, our business generation, our community cohesiveness, our environmental future, our international relationships. Enough of this nonsense about labeling each other as bad people in some way. Good people can disagree, so let’s get to the real disagreements, and stop this disrespect with twisted truth.
S. Meredith, Gilboa, Schoharie County, NY 12076