Letters to the Editor, June 5, 2026

Consider wildlife when you light the landscape 

To the Editor:

Outdoor lighting is becoming increasingly popular in our town. While you may enjoy the lights in your landscape, or feel it improves safety, it is important to consider its contribution to light pollution. 

Satellite measurements indicate that the extent and brightness of artificial light at night are increasing globally by about 2% each year. This is not without consequences. 

Darkness is essential for birds, moths, bats, and other wildlife that rely on it for feeding and navigation. Tree uplighting is especially disruptive. Artificial light can trap moths around lights until they are exhausted, and interfere with their ability to feed and reproduce. 

Insect populations have already declined dramatically, with bird populations following. 

Although often unnoticed, moths make up the majority of butterfly and moth species (Lepidoptera), and only a few species of the many thousands cause damage to clothing. Moths are important nighttime pollinators and a critical food source for wildlife, yet many are showing troubling declines. 

Most bird chicks depend on caterpillars for food, and many caterpillars are the larvae of moths whose survival depends on dark nights. Disrupting these bird and insect communities also weakens the natural balance in our yards, including the regulation of insects and other organisms we often consider pests.

So please, if lighting is desired, use motion sensors or low, downward-facing fixtures on timers. Softer, warmer light is also less harmful than bluish light. Limiting outdoor lighting not only protects wildlife, but also respects your neighbors and allows them to enjoy a natural starlit sky. 

Filippine Hoogland Bedford

Lauding Cait Conley's lifetime of service and  leadership 

To the Editor:

As voters in New York’s 17th Congressional District consider who is best prepared to represent us in Washington, Cait Conley stands out as a candidate with a lifetime of service, leadership, and results.

A fourth-generation Hudson Valley native from a working-class family, Cait understands the challenges facing local families because she has lived them. Her mother spent nearly five decades serving our communities as a postal worker, and her father worked in construction. 

Cait became the first in her family to graduate from college, earning admission to West Point after being inspired to serve following the attacks of Sept. 11. For 16 years, Cait served our nation as an Army officer, deploying six times to combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan and earning three Bronze Stars. 

She later continued her service at the White House National Security Council and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, where she worked to protect our country, our critical infrastructure, and the integrity of our elections. 

Today, families across the Hudson Valley are struggling with rising costs, unaffordable housing, aging infrastructure, and concerns about health care. 

Cait Conley has spent her career tackling difficult challenges and delivering solutions. She is not a career politician; she is a proven public servant who has led under pressure and understands how government can work for ordinary people. 

At a time when experience, integrity, and effective leadership matter more than ever, Cait Conley offers a compelling vision for the future of NY-17 and the ability to get results from day one. 

Chuck Newman Yorktown

Get to know Mike Sacks before casting your ballot

To the Editor:

Did you know that there are five candidates in the Democratic Congressional Primary on June 23, 2026? A lot of people don’t.

In the latest poll I can find (Global Strategy Poll sponsored by VoteVets Action Fund, May 7-12), Undecided won at 38%. Even after lots of money and endorsements have gone to two of the candidates early on, those candidates are still polling at 29% and 22%. This is a problem.

Democratic voters appear to be seeking something else, but something else has been thwarted.

There are reasons why you may not have heard of some of the candidates. 

Early on, candidates with lots of money flooded the field with ads and mailers, two other candidates were not invited to a large forum, and three candidates had objections filed against their nominating petitions, which are required to be on the primary ballot. There are rumors that Mike Sacks is not on the ballot. He is.

Mike Sacks has run a grassroots campaign of integrity and has avoided bashing his competitors. Every signature on the nominating petitions for Mike Sacks was gathered by unpaid Democratic Committee district leaders or unpaid Democratic volunteers like me. 

The objection against his petitions was filed as a “placeholder” by a vice chair of the Putnam County Democratic Committee who was then unable to state a reason for her objection.

Let’s get on to real business.

The job of Congress is to write and analyze law to guide our democracy. All the candidates have good ideas but without the ability to navigate the nuances of Federal law, these ideas will not get done. Without media savvy, these candidates will not get to Congress.

As a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and an Emmy Award-winning journalist who has covered federal law and the Supreme Court of the United States for decades, Mike Sacks combines a deep background in federal law with a deep understanding of media to avoid getting muddied in a vicious general election.

That’s why Mike Sacks is my candidate for Congress.

I hope he will be your candidate, too. 

Ellen Kearns Pound Ridge

Beth Davidson is a cut above the rest of the pack

To the Editor:

Beth Davidson’s résumé, track record and ability to beat the incumbent make her the most qualified candidate for CD-17. Her experience holds up to the scrutiny of voters and showcases her values — that help all constituents no matter what their gender, color, ethnicity or religion. 

She delivers for her community by bringing together legislators from both parties. When the federal government and the current representative threatened the very livelihoods and healthcare of her constituents, Beth was instrumental in ensuring gaps were filled locally. 

Getting things done doesn’t happen simply by being inspirational or by assertion but by doing the work: Beth is deeply immersed in communitåy, understands needs, shows up for constituents at all hours of the day and night and legislates in a bipartisan way. It relies on being a team player, not a fighter.

As a Rockland County legislator, she has proved in multiple elections her ability to garner votes across a diverse range of constituents, including Republicans and CD-17 can only be recaptured with strong support across the entire district, making Rockland County votes essential. With Beth, what you see is what you get — her record speaks for itself. 

Her ethical transparency makes her hard to go after on the merits. We’ve already seen the desperation of attacks from the Republican incumbent, tipping his hand that Beth is a threat. 

With so much at stake in the battle for CD-17, the way we recapture that seat is to have a candidate who is authentic, transparent, with the experience, track record, and the math to convert the votes. The only candidate that makes the cut is Beth Davidson.

Lisa Schwartz Bedford Hills

No hesitation, my vote is for Beth Davidson

To the Editor:

My past involvement in the political process has been limited to being a consistent voter. But this year, I felt the congressional campaign for NY17 required more of my attention and effort. 

And so I listened carefully to all the candidates. I paid attention to their demeanor, their positions, their voting record, and their background. After a year of listening and watching, in person and online, I decided, without hesitation, that Beth Davidson will have my vote in the Democratic congressional primary. 

Beth’s commercials inform us of her community service, her work in government, and her decades long dedication to the environment and women’s and worker’s rights. But those great contributions alone are not why I will be voting for Beth. 

More than her work, is Beth’s approach. She is a fighter without needing to go into battle. She is laser focused on the job at hand and transparent about who she is. 

She is a defender of Israel without defending the actions of Netanyahu. Beth has spent the last 20 years in NY17, raised her children in NY17, and consistently voted in NY17. She knows the area, not because of a childhood memory, but because her life has been here. 

The final consideration for me has been who will beat Mike Lawler in the general election. I have no doubt that Beth Davidson, more than any other candidate, can accomplish this. 

She knows Rockland and knows Lawler. She can speak with ease on any topic, and has the skill to take him on in real time. While I am a 30 year Westchester resident, I understand the importance of Rockland in this race.

I look forward to voting for Beth Davidson in the primary, and hope that I can do so again in the general election.

Dorothy Venditto Mount Kisco

Please decide to vote for Beth Davidson 

To the Editor:

The upcoming democratic primary in CD17 will be decided by you, the undecided voter. In fact, some say, the trajectory of our country’s future rests in your deliberative hands as we select the candidate who is most prepared to wake Congress from its slumber. 

I first met Beth Davidson on a cold winter evening on Feb. 18 at the Westchester County Democratic Convention, just months after the previous election. Long before campaign season was in full swing, she was organizing, listening, and building the coalition we need to win this seat.

As I learned more about Beth Davidson, she continued to represent the candidate we will need in November. A proven local Rockland County legislator, who won the seat by connecting with all voters to capture over half the vote. 

An advocate for housing affordability, healthcare access, humane immigration reform, public safety, the environment, gun safety and government accountability, all while campaigning for CD17. 

At Manhattanville College, I watched Beth Davidson substantively debate her competitors on these topics. She was strategic, speaking truth without raising her voice to be heard, but firm in her conviction to replace Mike Lawler in the general election. 

From her legislative seat, she has assembled a public record on the issues that you can confidently carry to your neighbors.  We will need your voice in the general election to inspire other undecided voters. 

I am asking you to prepare for those conversations in this primary by voting for Beth Davidson.

Michael Kempin Katonah

Lawler votes against interests of district 

To the Editor:

Regarding “Boost or bust? Trump stumps for Lawler” (May 29, Page 1). I appreciate Mr. Wilbur’s attempt to showcase the president’s visit in support of Congressman Lawler NY CD17 while presenting “both sides” of the discussion. That said, I’d like to clarify and correct some points made in the article.

At the rally, the president is described as “lauding Lawler for fighting for the reinstatement of a larger state and local property tax deduction,” known as the SALT cap. 

Readers should note that until 2017, with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by a Republican Congress and signed into law by then President Trump, the SALT deduction had been unlimited. The $10,000 cap was implemented in the 2017 law, to broaden the tax base and offset revenues lost by other tax cuts favoring the wealthiest. This cap disproportionately impacted states with high income and property taxes and disproportionately Democratic majority states.

It is disingenuous for the president to “laud” Mr. Lawler for raising that very cap he put in place.

Some remarks by the spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, Maureen O’Toole, reported in the article require clarification. One quote, “the congressman pushes against the president when warranted” was demonstratively inaccurate. 

Mr. Lawler votes along the MAGA party line consistently for items large and small and fails to rein in the president’s domestic and foreign policy actions upon which Congress has oversight powers. 

For example, Mr. Lawler did not oppose the unlawful tariffs that the president has levied, which cost Americans as well as our trading partners billions. 

Additionally, he has voted against the War Powers Resolution submitted numerous times to the House floor, which would allow for Congressional oversight of the Iran war.  

Nor has he demanded a formal declaration of war for the “anti-narcotic” strikes on small boats in the Atlantic and Pacific that have killed as many as 200 and which numerous legal and military experts believe to be unlawful.

Most inaccurate are her statements referring to Hudson Valley families, that “Mike Lawler always puts their needs first” and “put thousands of dollars back into the pockets of hard-working families.”

The OBBBA (One Big Beautiful Bill Act) of 2025, which Lawler supported, has tremendous adverse consequences for his district. 

With this bill, thousands of children, low income families and elderly face the loss of health care coverage; removal of ACA subsidies increases health insurance rates for all; area safety net hospitals shoulder the massive surge in uncompensated care from these health care cuts; SNAP benefit reductions threaten food security for thousands of Hudson Valley residents; and cuts to the clean energy tax credits reduce clean energy jobs and increase household energy costs while promoting on-going environmental degradation. Just to name a few.

Lastly, many of the effects of the OBBBA will not be evident until after the November elections — a clause cleverly included in the bill to shield voters from the repercussions of this damaging bill before casting their votes.

Congressman Lawler has consistently voted against the best interests of this district.

It is essential he be voted out this November.

Judith Mason Katonah 

Why I'm supporting Cait Conley in CD17

To the Editor:

I strongly urge you to vote for Cait Conley in the June primary as the Democrat to defeat Mike Lawler, incumbent, Trump pal, and self-dealer.

Any of the Democrat candidates would represent us better than Lawler. Cait and the others understand and would address the challenges in providing health care, affordable housing and education. 

They recognize the essential role of science research for our country. They each are known to listen to and respond to the needs of their constituents. They do not focus on building their own businesses and wealth as Lawler and Trump have done.

However, the unfortunate situation is that these are not normal times. President Trump and his incompetent pals Hegseth and Rubio have damaged the armed forces of the United States, through firing many in leadership, spending trillions on the still ongoing war on Iran, and enacting policies that hurt the troops. 

Cait is a decorated combat veteran and has worked at the highest levels on infrastructure security, counterterrorism and cybersecurity.  No one wants war, and nobody understands the cost of war more than a veteran. 

Cait also understands the peril and the potential of AI. We need Cait Conley.  Her knowledge, leadership experiences and skills are critical for the country.

Primary Day is June 23. Early voting is June 13–21 at Mount Kisco Public Library or any other early voting site in Westchester.

Jeanine Meyer Mount Kisco

Beth Davidson “a proven fighter, winner”

To the Editor:

In this month’s primary, Democrats must elect a candidate who can beat Mike Lawler in the November general election.

Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson is the only Democratic primary candidate who is an elected legislator who has repeatedly defeated Republicans in Lawler‘s backyard. 

In her last election, Davidson garnered 57% of the vote and helped flip the Rockland County Legislature to a Democratic supermajority. While in office, Davidson has worked to minimize the widespread damage caused by the pernicious Mike Lawler and this administration. 

Davidson helped forge a consensus to suspend the Rockland County gas tax and to protect Constitutional rights. Instead of merely talking about “fighting back,” Davidson is in the arena every day, successfully working to expand economic opportunity, empower our first responders, and protect her constituents in a place where she has deep community roots. 

Beth Davidson is a proven fighter and winner. She is experienced and prepared to do the work in Washington. No other candidate comes close to sharing her history of action, activism, and long-term commitment to the district. Beth Davidson has what it takes to beat Mike Lawler.

The Democratic Primary for NY-17 is June 23. Early voting begins on June 13.

Jennifer Saine Bedford