To the Editor:

In Mark Grimm’s letter published in The Altamont Enterprise on March 15 “Likening me to Trump is a personal attack: Dems have a strategy to prevent me from speaking out,” he writes that I am “a town political appointee who works for Supervisor Peter Barber.”

I find his statement repugnant and repulsive. First, I work for the town of Guilderland, no individual; and second, I have performed the function of community-gardens coordinator since 1995, that’s 24 years and counting and under both Republican and Democrat supervisors and boards.

The issue that I raised in my letter of March 8, “Has Mr. Grimm violated his oath of office as an Albany County Legislator?,” was written in response to his March 1 letter in which he stated in no uncertain terms that former Guilderland Town Justice Richard Sherwood is guilty of certain charges brought against Judge Sherwood and prior to a trial or a verdict by a jury.

I would remind Mr. Grimm that he took the following oath of office:

“I, Mark Grimm, do solemnly promise and swear that I will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of New York and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of Albany County Legislator, according to the best of my ability, so help me God.”

Any elected official who takes a solemn oath should not then speak in direct violation of that oath; every citizen is presumed innocent until proven guilty. I believe Mr. Grimm in his extreme partisan politics has violated his oath.

He should publicly apologize for this violation and the Albany County Legislature should reprimand him for violating his solemn oath.

Gerard Houser

Coordinator

Guilderland Community Gardens