To the Editor:
Judging by the comments coming from the town of New Scotland Republican Committee last week, they are not happy with the way our town looks and the amenities available to its residents. The statement referring to New Scotland was that here in town there is “not much of anything when you think about it.”

Well, I thought that the lack of unsightly growth here was one of the primary reasons people were moving here! 

Isn’t it odd that people move to New Scotland because it’s not like Colonie and Guilderland but then argue in favor of bringing more business and housing developments so that it’s more like Colonie and Guilderland! What is wrong with these people? 

I say, if you want businesses like in Colonie and Guilderland, go live there. Don’t change the character of New Scotland to suit your desires. We who have lived here all our lives want growth limited specifically so we are not like Colonie and Guilderland and don’t lose our town’s identity!

Our Democratic leaders surveyed the citizens of this town and are following the people’s desires as expressed by a majority of voters. Fortunately for the citizens of this town, majority rules and we don’t have an electoral-college system that steals from that majority like the last two times we had a Republican president. That’s why nationally Republicans are repressing the right to vote and redrawing districts in their favor.

Because they know, vote for vote, they cannot win without the electoral-college system.

To Republicans: Why don’t you stop spreading the farce about how more businesses in the town will lessen the residents taxes?

All you have to do is talk to residents of Colonie and Guilderland where they have an unsightly amount of businesses and they will tell you they are not getting any noticeable tax relief.

As for the town government being all from the same party, that’s what the people voted for with good reason; that is the will of the majority. As long as there is complete transparency in government and the majority of the electorate are satisfied with the actions of the town supervisor and town board, we don’t need someone from the opposing party on the board just because.

To the issue brought up about Smith’s Tavern being gone, that was a decision made by its owners who wanted to retire. As for Stewart’s being gone, that, too, was their decision. When their lawyers offered the owners of Smitty’s a purchase price that was unattainable for other competing entrepreneurs, and didn’t make that offer contingent on their plans be accepted by the village of Voorheesville, they acted like children who couldn’t have it their way and, to spite the village, they closed the store that had been profitable for them for years.

Now because they overpaid for Smith’s Tavern and gutted it, they are asking too much money. That’s not the town’s fault!

The Phillips Hardware store left because the owners were entering into a new store at their old location at Osborne Corners and concluded that the Voorheesville shop was not profitable enough. 

These businesses did not leave New Scotland because of decisions made by the town’s current administration. It is a lie to suggest that they did!

If you don’t like driving to Guilderland, Bethlehem, or Colonie for services, entertainment, clothes, or shoes, then I guess Republicans have chosen the wrong place in which to live.

Why did you move here in the first place? So that you could change the character of our town?

The current town board is allowing businesses into the town while following the guidelines requested by the majority of the town’s inhabitants.

The inhabitants and citizens are free to review all rules, regulations, and policies that apply in our town and challenge them if they are unhappy. 

I am happy with the many accomplishments of our current town supervisor and town board and those that came before them. The Republicans are constantly bellyaching about the Hilton/LeVie barn and park projects along the rail trail. If they had their way, possibly nothing historical within the town would be saved from the wrecking ball. 

You’ll see that what the town and the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy along with the Albany County Rail Trail have combined with their projects will be something that all regional citizens will be thankful for in generations to come and even now as the use grows and the project comes to completion.

No one in town has suffered financially due to this project. Show me how it has hurt you as an individual! 

Come on, stop your whining and stop the false accusations and lies. These are practices that Republicans on a national level have made commonplace and acceptable at a level never before seen by either party.

The current Republicans are wolves in sheep’s clothing when they portray themselves as wanting to preserve the current character of the town of New Scotland. They would like to break down the rules we have pertaining to how our town develops and make it a free for all and every kind of business.

Their priority has always been business and not the residents who live here. We’re not anti-business; we just want the plan we constructed for our town’s development and business to be followed.

Thanks to the experience of our current Democratic ticket, Doug LaGrange (supervisor), Adam Greenberg (town council), Dan Leinung (town council), Bob Johnson (town justice), Lisa Williams (town clerk) and Ken Guyer (highway superintendent), I know New Scotland will retain its most desirable characteristics while still allowing controlled growth in the way the majority of its citizens have asked for.

I wonder if our local Republicans lose the election if they will be sore losers like their supreme leader Donald Trump and claim the election was rigged.

They'll be whining for years to come, saying, “Stop the Steal, Stop the Steal!”

Republicans have allowed Trump to drain respect for their party! It really is a shame!

Timothy J. Albright

Meadowdale