To the Editor:

I’m disturbed to see events back home. My family has lived in the towns of Guilderland and Berne for well over 200 years. I grew up in Altamont and went to high school in Berne when my family moved there in 1970.

I look forward to my weekly Altamont Enterprise to keep up with events and to keep me connected to the land of my birth and youth and that of my ancestors going back to the 1600s. Over the past few years, I’ve been disturbed to read of the happenings in Berne in particular. The downward spiral of Berne town government into one of ineffectiveness and dissention is truly disappointing and disturbing.

I’ve known Joel Willsey since 1970 when we moved to Berne. In our 50 years of friendship, he has always been an honest and caring person. He, too, has deep roots in Berne and wants the best for the people there. That is why he ran for town council in the first place.

His “agenda” has been one of effective and open government since day one. Local government impacts people’s lives every day especially when it comes to issues like the construction and maintenance of roads and highway safety. He is very knowledgeable of the regulations of New York state concerning road and highway safety since he worked in that arena for most of his adult life. It was his concern over this issue that motivated him to become more involved in local government and run for office.

I’ve heard claims that Joel hates military members and doesn’t respect their service. This is news to me.  Joel’s father is a World War II veteran and I’m a retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant who served on active duty for over 27 years.

Joel appreciates the service and sacrifice of vets and we’ve discussed issues that affect veterans many times. Joel and I have also discussed the issues he faces with the other board members in his attempt to hold people accountable whose job it is to protect the safety of the citizens who use the town roads.  We’ve discussed other issues such as the inappropriate behavior of other elected officials that he has to work with.

I’ve followed the deterioration of civility and effectiveness of the town board over the past few years. (Of course, this is a reflection of national politics as well.)

I’ve heard the recording of threats against Joel, I read with concern about the “supporters” (who weren’t from Berne) that showed up after false information was spread in local media, and I’ve read with alarm the underhanded actions of the current majority to appoint a man who is a convicted felon for taking bribes as a State Supreme Court judge to a position in town government.

I’ve seen a presentation that Mr. [Deputy Supervisor Dennis] Palow became incensed over. It is clear and fact-based. Joel is trying to hold public servants accountable to the public and this angers a member of the town board? What a concept.

Laws are put in place to protect —  protect people. We come to expect that things like roads and highways are built to standards — standards that are laid out in regulations — and designed to enhance safety.

In another instance, members of the town board read a censure of the town supervisor, Sean Lyons, for covertly making decisions and implementing them without any consultation with the town board. The fact that this underhanded action was called out in public angered Mr. Palow who then “dared” Joel to vote for the censure and threatened him with bodily harm.

In a recording, you can clearly hear Mr. Palow threatening Joel. As a result of being threatened, Joel voiced concern about the overly aggressive and totally inappropriate behavior of Mr. Palow.

This has been shifted by Mr. Palow and his allies to an anti-veteran claim against Joel and is beyond the pale. This is a common tactic — shift away from facts and appeal to emotion no matter how false the claim. (If you haven’t been paying attention this seems to happen regularly in our country — I see it every day.)

Facts are ignored, anger and fear are stirred up to distract from what is actually happening, an us-versus-them atmosphere is created. Then, fueled by false claims about Joel’s feelings towards veterans spread through local media, appealing to emotion and anger, an angry mob [many] not from the town of Berne but neighboring towns shows up to a board meeting.

There has even been a ridiculous and false claim of sexual harassment filed by Mr. Palow against Joel.  The basis was that Joel sexually harassed him and others by pointing out that Palow and others had erected huge campaign signs illegally on state rights-of-way without permits or safety evaluation.  The signs resulted in a safety hazard as they blocked view when pulling onto the highway.

How can this be sexual harassment you say?  Because Joel said they had “erected” huge signs. Are these people really that ignorant; do they not speak English?  From Merriam Webster’s Dictionary: Erect, verb, erected (past tense); erected (past participle) construct (a building, wall, or other upright structure). Good grief. When will it end?

I support good government. I support transparent government. I support effective government. I support civility. We should support those who stand up for these principles.

Jacob Lee

Bluemont, Virginia

Editor’s note: See related story.