To the Editor:

Election Day, Tuesday, November 4th, is almost here. From the comments made in recent letters to the editor written by past and current Democratic Legislators, I didn’t realize that I and my five fellow Republicans on the St. Lawrence Co. Legislative Board were wreaking so much havoc on the majority of nine, bloc voting Democrats.

If this were to go on for another week, I’m sure we, the Republicans, would be accused of roasting children over an open fire. Enough silliness. Let’s state some facts.

Republican County Legislators have continually opposed the spending of $60,000 yearly plus expenses of your tax money on a lobbyist in Albany. Democrat County Legislators continually state that without the lobbyist, we never would have gotten the sales tax increase. Great…they used your tax dollars to increase your taxes. No further explanation needed.

Democrat Jon Putney, in his recent letter, claims that Republicans are against putting money into infrastructure. Two years ago, the nine Democrats took $750,000 out of the county highway budget. Mr. Putney must have forgotten about that. Last month, the nine Democrats voted unanimously to spend your county tax dollars and three months of the highway department’s time to repair a village bridge in Hermon. The county doesn’t even own it, and there is an excellent county bridge one block away. We, the Republicans, voted no.

Mr. Putney and Democratic Party Chair, Mark Bellardini accuses Republicans of being “soft on crime” because of our opposition to pay raises for the assistant D.A.s. No, Republicans are not soft on crime, and, yes, Republicans are always against 20% increases in salaries when using taxpayer money. We voted no.

Democrat Legislators state in several letters that Republicans will privatize everything if given the chance. Not true. However, we, the Republicans, treat the money we receive from you, the tax payer, as if it was our own. An example was the closing within Public Health of the Certified Home Health Agency (CHHA). The CHHA was losing taxpayer monies of over a million dollars every year that it operated. We, the Republicans, voted to end this loss of taxpayer money. The nine Democrats blocked it for six months at a further cost to you of over $800,000. Finally, the Democrats couldn’t ignore the continued losses and a resolution was passed to end this service. Now, two reputable private agencies are providing these services at NO county cost to the people of St. Lawrence Co. We, the Republicans, will continue to look at all departments and levels of county government to see that your money is spent wisely and not wasted.

There are more examples of what we, the Republicans, have fought against and exposed to the public: 1) The waste of $20,000 spent on brochures and lapel pins for I-98. 2) The fraud and dishonesty of a Democrat resolution to repeal the SAFE Act one year after fighting “tooth and nail” against Republican Legislators who immediately put forth a resolution for repeal when the SAFE Act was passed. Republicans believe in the Constitution and value your Second Amendment rights. 3) The nine Democrat votes to cut funding to the Veterans Affairs Department, forcing the director, Mike Boprey, to use his own car and gas without reimbursement, to help veterans get to job interviews and to counseling.

We, the Republicans, are serious about our responsibilities to you, our constituents. We are men who operate in the private sector, own businesses and know how to operate when margins get tight. We treat department heads with respect, and don’t pretend to know how to do their jobs. We put the interests of the County first and foremost. We’re not looking for a political job or interested in building political resumes. We don’t answer to a party chair or a party agenda. We answer to you. Please vote this Tuesday, November 4th. Believe in America.

Kevin Acres

County Legislator District 8