Letter to the Editor:
Oct. 24th begins early voting in CD17 and this election offers a stark choice between two candidates. Cait Conley has devoted her life to service to her country — first as a 3X Bronze Star-winning soldier and officer, then as a Director of Counter Terrorism. She will fight for the working-class folks she grew up with here in the Hudson Valley.
The other is Mike Lawler, a former lobbyist and public-relations co-owner who promoted fossil fuels at the expense of clean-energy programs. Now he serves as a dutiful political operative in service to himself and his mentor, Donald Trump — not to his constituency.
That said, whatever your usual party affiliation, ask yourself a simple question: Are you personally better off today than before Mike Lawler became Trump’s enabler?
Despite his claims of bipartisanship, Lawler has voted with Trump 100% of the time on key issues of critical importance to our district. He has helped divert precious resources toward the wealthiest and least needy, while ordinary families struggle with rising costs. Were Lawler to somehow prevail, count on more of the same after Nov. 3rd.
When he boasts about the millions of dollars he has brought to CD17, he conveniently fails to mention his votes for the “Big Beautiful Bill” – legislation that ensures cuts of more than $1 billion from Medicaid and SNAP, with more than 30,000 CD17 constituents losing access to healthcare. His support for astronomical tariffs and billions spent funding an endless war has driven up the costs of food, fuel, housing and healthcare. Energy costs alone have gone up more than 50% a yr since Lawler took office.
And the concerns go well beyond affordability. What about Lawler’s support for restricting voting by mail? His failure to act against armed, masked and unidentified ICE agents? His silence as crony capitalism enriches Trump’s family, tech oligarchs and politicians through scams, promotions, cryptocurrency and private investments — while public education, childcare and essential social services are shortchanged?
Do you favor the five data centers that have sprung up in CD17, with three more on the way with his support? Or his costly and dangerous endorsement of reinstating Indian Point at its present location near a fault line?
A vote for Cait Conley is a vote to bring skill, determination and accountability to Congress, contain soaring costs and ending the corruption that has marked Lawler’s time in office. As Cait has said, “This is not a contest between right and left, but between right and wrong.” Now is the time to get off that fence and give Cait a chance to end the chaos and deliver for all of us.
Jay Forbes, Peekskill