To the Editor:

Lately l’ve been asked about the guy from Lisbon running for Congress. I’ve said I’ve known him for over 30 years and wouldn’t vote for him to be dog catcher, based on the type of person I believe he is. Normally, I’d sit back and let the election play out, despite being on the opposite side of him politically. But I can’t take the constant nonsense in his campaign ads anymore.

He claims to be a farmer concerned about gas and grocery prices. Funny how he didn’t seem overly concerned when Joe Biden was in charge. I believe his real concern is lining his own pockets with taxpayer money. For example, his campaign pays his farm, Twin Mill Farms, thousands in rent on a building he owns and already rents out. That’s considerably higher than average office rental rates in our area.

Before you say I’m full of it, do your own research. Visit FEC.gov, search Blake for the North Country, and look under disbursements. You’ll find rent payments and other expenses worth examining, including gas, mileage, and county fair tickets. I didn’t think you could be reimbursed for both gas and mileage and the cheapskate couldn’t pay for his own fair tickets? Paying his own business rent isn’t  illegal, just hypocritical for someone claiming to want lower prices for his neighbors. If he can’t find reasonably priced office space with campaign donations, how will he handle our tax dollars? 

I haven’t seen the local support I would have expected for him and the few campaign signs I do see, I’m not sure whether it’s out of pity or because he’s promised them something. Neither candidate will accomplish much as a new Congressman; that’s not how politics work. If the Lisbon guy wins, I would expect him to do Hakeem Jeffries bidding and get a few scraps in return. He claims to fight for friends and neighbors, yet couldn’t show up for his own town’s Homecoming. That tells me plenty about his priorities. 

He recently mentioned that he and his wife have handgun permits, but conveniently left out that they didn’t apply until after he decided to run for office. His party has been trying to put businesses like mine out of business for years, and I expect that to continue. He can claim to support the Second Amendment all he wants, but his party will tell him how to vote.

Get out and vote. We need to stop his party from doing more damage to this state and our country. Maybe someone from Lisbon will win a seat in Congress someday, but not this guy.

Scott Gray
Lisbon