To the Editor:

Knox residents: Please get out and vote. It’s an important election, even though we are not voting for national offices. The results will have a direct impact on all of us in town.

We’ve suffered through nearly four years with our current supervisor Vas Lefkaditis in charge. It’s been divisive and unpleasant.

Lefkaditis seems to thrive on controversy, setting people against each other by creating controversies rather than finding solutions to real problems.

Financial improprieties seem to be a key issue. While Lefkaditis has been in office, board members have had to FOIL [use the Freedom of Information Law] to get information on finances; financial reports required by the state have not been filed as required, and considerable money has been wasted because Lefkaditis has alienated or fired people on a whim. 

By driving out a town employee who oversaw the park for over 30 years — requiring his replacement by four people — and illegally firing transfer-station employees, which led to back wages being awarded by the courts; money has been spent with no benefit to the town.

This election matters. People are being appointed to town boards who act as if the positions give them the right to decide outcomes without referring to the laws set by town and state, often without even bothering to learn those laws.

Many people in town will be affected by the actions of these boards.  Let's get a supervisor and a town board who respect the rule of law, try to treat everyone fairly, and are transparent about town government.

Some changes people would like to see in town come up repeatedly, like having a grocery and gas station. Let’s work together to see what’s possible, rather than pretending things don’t happen because “the other side” is against them, or avoiding doing anything by proposing ideas that are no more than fantasies, like a huge community center that has no possibility of being built.

Let’s spend effort on things like high-speed internet, something potentially within reach, and of benefit to many people in town.

We need people who are not afraid of ideas, and who try to find a way to make things happen. A good example is the $130,000 energy grant obtained by a group of citizens working together, with no input from the supervisor.

If the current supervisor had used it to winterize the town garage, the town could have started saving money last winter. It still hasn't happened, although the difficult part was done when the grant was written and the energy goals met. So if the current supervisor stays in office, we can watch more town money disappear into cold air.

We have two current town board members, Earl Barcomb and Dennis Barber, running for re-election.  We need them, along with Russ Pokorny for supervisor, to get back to civility and to having a board that can work together.

We also need Joan Adriance as town clerk, so that minutes of the meetings will say what actually happens at a board meeting, rather than just points selected by Lefkaditis. There are lots of opportunities to improve the town, but with the current board and supervisor, nothing is going to get better.

If you’ve been watching town government over the past four years, you know how dysfunctional it’s become. We need a functioning, transparent, responsible local government.  Please get out there and vote!

Dee Woessner

Knox

Editor’s note: Vasilios Lefkaditis responds, “I do not have the power to fire people on a whim nor have I ever done so … To the best of my knowledge no back wages have been awarded to any employees … All of the appointees on the various boards have received their required training … High speed internet has been achieved in the signing of the Hudson Valley Wireless lease about two weeks ago … Town board minutes and their accuracy are approved by the town board.”