To the Editor:

I am writing to urge voters in District 15 to elect John Michno as their County Legislator. I have known John for almost 30 years, since he arrived in St Lawrence County to take a position as a counselor in a BOCES program. I was a teacher in that same program, and I have worked closely with John for many years.

John and I have spent many hours over the years talking about the issues facing our society at all levels and at the local level specifically. I know that John is deeply concerned about cultural issues such as; disregard for truth in reporting and political discourse, the divisiveness of politics in the current era, and irrational intolerance. He believes that it’s not only possible, but necessary, to find practical and meaningful solutions to everyday problems that face the residents of our county such as; economic development, access to quality education and healthcare, environmental protection, and economic and social justice.

None of these problems is simple. Every effective policy is the result of compromise and negotiation. John knows this; he is a problem solver. His approach to problem solving is one of listening, giving careful attention to all sides of an issue, and using his strong intellect, creative thinking, and hard work to propose and refine potential solutions. These are the characteristics we need in our county legislators, but I think his greatest strength may be the nature of his motivation for running in the first place.

When John was approached by someone on the democratic committee and asked if he would run for County Legislator in his district, his response came only after careful consideration. While John is a gifted communicator and a talented mediator and negotiator, he is by nature a private person, committed to his family. He had no political ambitions. If he was going to do this it would be purely out of a sense of civic duty. He recognized that it was time to do more than just talk about these pressing issues.

I am confident that, if elected, his actions and decisions will be based on a set of allegiances that seem to be rare in politics at every level. His allegiance will not be to party, to some cult of personality, or to any special interest. His allegiance will be to principles, values, and to those whom he is elected to represent.

Bryan Burnett
Winthrop