To the editor:

Elise Stefanik’s loyalty to President Trump is strong, unswerving and, to those of us who live in her district, dangerous.

Mr. Trump knows that he will not win New York state’s 29 electoral votes, and so he does not hesitate, when it is politically advantageous to himself, to punish all New Yorkers, Democrat or Republican, urban or rural. And his actions often hit North Country residents particularly hard.

Because Ms. Stefanik is so ardently supportive of the Trump administration, she stands by the president even as his administration delays or cuts federal funding that should flow to Albany, and eventually to the hospitals, schools, and fire and police departments in our communities.

In February, when Mr. Trump’s acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection issued an order immediately excluding all New York state residents from the U.S. Trusted Traveler programs, the economy of the North Country, much of which depends on cross-border travel, was particularly hard hit. The order was, several months later, determined to be illegal, but Ms. Stefanik has maintained all along that the Trump administration’s action — denying New York residents the rights enjoyed by all other U.S. and Canadian citizens and dealing a blow to our local economy — was necessary and was somehow Gov. Cuomo’s fault.

Ms. Stefanik’s stalwart dedication to President Trump makes it impossible for her to represent us as we should be represented. If you expect Mr. Trump to be reelected, it is especially important for the health of the North Country that Ms. Stefanik be replaced by someone who can look out for us, rather than her own career interests in Washington.

Even if you have to cross party lines to do it, please vote for Tedra Cobb as our congressional representative. Ms. Cobb is a genuine resident of the North Country whose focus is here, rather than in Washington. Not restrained by the short leash of presidential loyalty, she will be able to defend our North Country interests and protect our communities from the collateral damage that the Trump administration might otherwise inflict.

Greg Quenell

Paul Smiths