To the Editor:

I am unaware of any lies, Mr. Supervisor.

I am Sean S. Lyons; along with Rick Otto, I am running for Berne Town Council and this letter is in regards to a submission last week from town of Berne Supervisor Mr. Kevin Crosier.

Mr. Crosier has stated our political palm cards are full of misinformation and “outright lies”; this is the gap between the town board and the people Rick Otto and I want to fill. Our palm cards lay out a vision for putting the people back in charge of Berne; this vision was derived from countless hours spent with residents, listening to how they feel about town government.

Nothing in our palm cards is an assault on the records of our opponents or the other members of the Berne Town Board. The board may feel they are doing what is best, but the people do not agree.

I, too, have lived in Berne my whole life and want what is best for the residents. The 64.8 square miles that makeup Berne are the best this country has to offer my wife and I, and I would never consider living anywhere else. Family, the views, the people, the heritage are what is best about our town.

Rick and his wife chose Berne for their retirement home and neither Rick nor I have ever condemned or said negative things about our town; we only want to see it improve.

How did we paint the town in a negative light? By wanting referendums? Wanting to reduce costs, even lower taxes? Wanting to reduce the number of for sale signs and keep the businesses we have operating and attracting more business?

It is true under the current administration I have not attended town board meetings, but to say I have never been to one is false.

My booth at the Berne Summerfest 2014 that focused on repeal of the NY (un) SAFE Act [New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act] and for support of Senator George Amedore, Congressional hopeful Jim Fischer, and Pete Vrooman for Assembly was a huge success — especially for the vendors on either side of my booth whose sales benefitted from all those who visited my booth.

However, a Summerfest representative at the end of the day informed me my booth did not exactly fit the image they were looking for and thought it best I don’t return for 2015. When the town requests residents to be a part of groups being formed (most recently the Game Farm Road board), I always send in a submission but am never chosen. I am up to date on all the meeting minutes from the town board and other departments utilizing the town’s website.

I did not aspire to or seek out this public service. Before my father passed last year, he told me they will be coming for you; I asked him, “Who?”

He said, “The people of Berne, Councilman Lyons.”

I thought he was joking but this summer the people of Berne did come calling. I changed my lifelong status as a Democrat to Republican and I accepted the nominations of the Conservative, Republican, and Reform parties.

When elected, Rick and I will work in unison with the returning members of the town board for all the residents of Berne.

Sean S. Lyons, candidate

For Berne councilman

Editor’s note: See related profile.

Karen Schimmer, Democratic Berne councilwoman running against Sean S. Lyons, mannaged the vendors for the Summerfest and said she was unaware of Lyons’s being told he could not return to Summerfest. She said she had talked to those with political booths before the event and told not to go through the crowd, campaigning.