To the editor:

In considering the better candidate for our 115th Assembly District, whatever our party loyalties or feelings, what it really should come down to is which candidate will likely be better for our families, communities and our region. While the towns in most of our district struggle for economic health, the town of Plattsburgh has thrived.

No doubt, many factors have contributed to this, but Michael Cashman has certainly been one of them, as his reelection by his voters shows. Watching and reading the news, I’ve constantly seen Cashman being associated with Plattsburgh’s success in increasing business investment, education and housing improvements. He has worked to sustain and improve cross-border ties with Canada (unlike the leader of his opponent’s party). He clearly loves to achieve success for his constituents, regardless of party affiliation.

As a veteran who benefitted from a North Country Honor Flight, I deeply appreciated Michael’s dedication to this project, as well as the attitude toward those of us who served that it reflects. As someone familiar with state government, Michael knows how to navigate the system and work for our advantage. And, as a Democrat, he will be on the inside of the rooms where decisions are made, not on the outside, complaining about them.

While the Republican candidate, Brent Davison, brings a distinguished law enforcement career to the race, he is in no way as qualified as Cashman. Michael was accountable to his voters and taxpayers of a community, not the state police bureaucracy, for success.

Finally, I must point out something Mr. Davison said in the 37th minute of his debate with Cashman on Mountain Lake PBS. It went something like, “It is well-known that regions with the toughest gun laws have the most gun crimes.” I am a gun owner and by no means anti-Second Amendment. But what Davison said is factually untrue. An article in the April 28 edition of Forbes states the opposite. Massachusetts, with some of the toughest gun laws, has the lowest level of gun violence. We all know about the toughness of New York’s gun laws, and it has the fourth-lowest rate of gun deaths. Whatever you may think about the gun issue, is it not troubling that someone with Mr. Davison’s level of experience in law enforcement should be so confused about such an important fact of public safety?

Clearly, Michael Cashman is the more qualified candidate to represent us in the 115th Assembly District.

Phil Newton

Saranac Lake