To the Editor:

I would like to take a moment to publicly acknowledge my endorsement for New Scotland town supervisor by the Democratic committee and current supervisor, Tom Dolin. It is always humbling and gratifying to have people put their trust in me, and the residents of our community have done just that several times. Being a part of town government for the last 15 years was totally unexpected but it has been my pleasure working with and for you!

I have been serving on your town board for nine-and-one-half years now, including serving as deputy supervisor under both Ed Clark and Tom Dolin, preceded by four years on your planning board. Each day brings another experience in dealing with town issues and I value every one.

Everything has added to my knowledge and ability to take on the daily challenges of the office. As a side note, this town board and the staff at town hall, elected or otherwise, are the best public servants I have ever had the pleasure to know.

As Supervisor Dolin noted in his letter to the Enterprise editor last week, we have accomplished many things. I would like to mention some others that I am personally proud of:

— A right-to-farm law that protects our farms from nuisance lawsuits and actually helps preserve our rural character;

— The creation of a salary scale for town employees. This was done for fairness to our employees and the taxpayer;

— The implementation of an attendance requirement and term limits for our planning board and zoning board of appeals.

We worked with the Clarksville community to try to keep the elementary school open and, when that failed, partnered with Sheriff Craig Apple to consolidate his offices there.  

We then moved our court offices and "courtroom" to the sheriff's complex to offer better security for both the public and the courts.

I recently worked with County Legislator Mike Mackey on his water well protection law. This law protects our residents from potential negative results of pipeline blasting.

My last point was proven during the "big box" issue. There is little difference among our residents when it comes to issues in our town. Keep our roads in good repair and plowed, pick up the garbage and do the proactive planning it takes to keep our town's unique character, even as we add commercial and residential developments.

The difference is between the Republican committee and the rest of us. Proper zoning is necessary, we don't want fracking waste dumped in our community, and we want to do all these things with one of the lowest tax rates in the area. Mission accomplished!

I have yet to hear if the Republican committee has a candidate to run against me, but I do welcome it. I doubt anyone could have a better history with those he or she serves, than our slate of candidates does. Either way, I hope to see you again this campaign season to get your input and opinions on your town government.

Doug LaGrange

New Scotland