To the Editor:

I’ve been reviewing the minutes and news articles about the conversation at the last regular Massena town board meeting. My opponent gave the impression that I wasn’t in favor of protecting town workers because I didn’t want the town hall locked up tighter than Fort Knox, making it difficult for the public to receive the proper, friendly service that town employees are used to dispensing. (Editor's note: This is in reference to a post on Joe Gray's campaign Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SuperJoe2018/ )

Perhaps, if my opponent ever came out of his doubly locked doors from his office, he would observe that customers have a hard time finding the right people, or sometimes anyone at all who isn’t locked behind doors.

I’ve had over 34 years of experience dealing with security matters, as a public safety officer at a state university, as a police sergeant here in Massena and as the security manager, responsible for the safety and security of a nearby hydro electric dam and all of its property. I can provide a long drawn out plan with reasons and theories about best practice to secure a building and property, or i can put it in a more simple way: we should provide training and teach employees how to observe their area and report suspicious activities; we should show employees how to control their environment and insure that they take great measures to not let themselves get in harms way and most importantly, do not advertise that you are in possession of something that others might want to take.

I was somewhat stunned at the last board meeting when this topic came up and my opponent advised everyone at the meeting and anyone who might catch it on Youtube that a department in the town hall collects a large amount of cash on certain days. Anyone want to point an arrow at the door which says ‘rob here!’? It was ludicrous and dangerous to make such a statement and he should apologize to the involved staff.

In my years dealing with law enforcement and security, the best security is to use a low profile. Establish a plan, institute it and then don’t bother talking to everyone about that plan. That kind of contradicts ‘security’.

If you elect me as your Massena town supervisor, the first thing I will do is build an access hallway to my office that will be wide open and encouraging. There will be a light over the door that will indicate that ‘the supervisor is in’. I promise you that it will be lit more than an hour or two a day, as it would be now.

Please vote for me, Steve O’Shaughnessy, on November 7. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Steve O’Shaughnessy

Massena town supervisor candidate