The sad and shocking news of a Little Falls, New York, Magistrate being arrested on multiple drug-related felonies should serve as a wake-up call to everyone living in the Little Falls / Herkimer area.

Voting for an elected office, such as a town magistrate, should not be a popularity contest.

I don’t know who this fellow is or how popular he is (or was), but I will say this: the Little Falls town court has been looking for someone suitable to run that Court for years.

After the retirement of the Honorable Judge Oldick, Chris Farber (another popular name in area politics) won the job of Town Judge – yet – decided NOT to accept the Magistrate’s position.

I cannot help but think that a vacuum was caused by Mr. Farber’s unwillingness to lead the township as a judge after he won the elected position.

Little Falls needs winners – this community does not need alleged criminals running our courtroom!

Despicable. Simply despicable.

Where are all the honorable men and women of this area?

Stand up and be counted, or remain silent and watch the fallout as our community disintegrates from the inside.

Little Falls is not a very big community but there must be a few law-abiding citizens living within this community…folks who are interested in public service and not necessarily the public paycheck that accompanies the position.

We need leaders who can rise above these awful headlines – yes – Little Falls is now known all over the state as the spot where a judge was arrested for selling cocaine!!!

I don’t know about you, but I am full of shame right now – just for being from Little Falls.

Yes, in a courtroom, everyone is innocent until proven guilty by a judge or a group of their peers. However – in the real world, the simple implication, the simple arrest, means to many who read headlines that it’s all true.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are talking about a person who took an oath to uphold the sanctity of the law and to be a fair and honorable judge…only to be arrested on multiple felonious drug-related charges!!?? Good Grief.

Hats off to the New York State Police and their specialized unit for bringing to light and arresting this alleged evildoer.

I grew up during the Reagan era – the “Just say no” era – and unfortunately, I’ve watched illicit drugs ruin people, families, and communities over the last 40 years.

With this most recent arrest — I am writing this letter to remind the citizens of Little Falls that hard drugs ruin communities!

Cocaine ruins communities! Crack cocaine ruins communities…. And good people doing nothing about it also ruins communities!!

It’s time to wake up, ladies and gentlemen. We need to get tougher on the criminal element within our small community.

We need a local police force that is willing to do the hard job of policing…a simple request, but yet somehow we needed to bring in the gang unit of the New York State Police to conduct this investigation???

Our Little Falls Police Department has a Detective — a DETECTIVE!!!

Why can’t LFPD take an active role in weeding out and rooting out the evil doers of Little Falls?

Maybe they’re just in it for the money, alas – the detective’s pay grade is above Sergeant, so maybe that’s why!

What a civil service fiasco. I feel like my taxes are being stolen from me when proper service is not rendered effectively.

We have a chance here, ladies and gentlemen – to elect a new mayor of Little Falls – a new leader…and I realize the township is not the city… but to an outsider reading headlines – the city and the town are the same.

We need a clean slate. A fresh start.

During the upcoming election cycles, I urge everyone to vote Conservative – not just Republican — I’m talking about bringing back hardline Conservative values. And anyone who knows me knows that I am a blue-dog Democrat; however since moving back to Little Falls, the lack of initiative I’ve seen in our city in municipal leaders has pushed me into becoming a conservative-minded individual.

Another term with a Democratic mayor means nothing more than more drugs on our city streets and more criminals coming to our area to sell drugs to our local residents.

When voting for the mayor of Little Falls – don’t vote for the popular person… Because if you do — your vote may be cast for a candidate who might just focus on getting golf carts allowed on our city streets instead of focusing on the real Public Service disaster that’s lying just underneath the facade of our “progressive” community.

Thank you for your time while reading this editorial. It’s just my opinion…. And I certainly hope it’s shared amongst a few of you.

Branden Jaquays
79 W Monroe St.