Letters to the editor — Oct. 23, 2026

Pierce’s representation never more important

To the Editor:

Westchester faces difficult choices in the years ahead. Federal changes have cut Washington’s contribution to SNAP administrative costs in half, shifting more expense onto counties responsible for connecting residents with food assistance. 

How do we protect essential services while limiting the burden on taxpayers? How do we invest wisely in energy efficiency and renewable power to reduce long-term costs and dependence on fossil fuels? How do we strengthen partnerships between the county and our towns to share services, stretch public dollars and resolve local problems?

These questions require a county legislator who understands both county government and the communities it serves. Erika Pierce brings financial management experience and service on the county’s Budget and Appropriations Committee. She also chairs its Parks and Environment Committee. 

She understands that responsible budgeting, reliable services and environmental stewardship are practical responsibilities that affect our daily lives.Erika Pierce shows up. She picks up when you call. She responds to your email. She comes to your meetings, programs and events. She embodies servant leadership — listening to our concerns, doing her homework and fighting for our needs at the county level. Her representation has never been more important.

Erika knows the issues and follows through on our concerns. She has been showing up for our community for years. On Nov. 3, I hope you’ll join me in showing up for her by voting to reelect her.

Kevin McAvey Bedford

Pierce does essential work for environment

To the Editor:

It is quite common for politicians to answer questions about science and the environment generically along the lines of “it is so important to protect the environment” and “we need to combat climate change.”  It is unusual for a politician to have a nuanced, well-thought-out response to the questions and then proceed to document all the ways she works to follow up on her answers and protect the environment. 

Erika Pierce does that. Erika is the kind of representative you want for your community, because she takes the time to understand the questions and work towards practical, implementable solutions. 

Erika is smart, perceptive, extremely hard-working, and has the ability to explain complex issues so we can understand the reasons behind her solutions. Erika’s skills are being noticed. In addition to chairing the county Parks and Environment Committee, Erika is the vice chair of the National Association of Counties’ Environment, Energy and Land Use Policy Steering Committee, where she works on national policy issues. 

We are lucky to have Erika as our county representative. We need Erika to continue her essential work to protect our water supply, improve wastewater infrastructure, reduce plastic waste in the environment and make sure the perspectives of Northern Westchester are taken seriously.

Ellen Ivens Pound Ridge

Luzio and McGuirk for Village Board

To the Editor:

I have lived in Mount Kisco for 15 years, and serve on the Leonard Park Committee. I have also spent enough time around village government to know that local government is rarely simple, and that experience matters. 

That is why I am supporting Tom Luzio and Mike McGuirk for village trustee. Tom has alreadyserved on the Village Board and brings decades of government and legal experience to the job. 

Mike has spent years on the Planning Board, where he has dealt firsthand with development, traffic, parking, zoning and the difficult balancing act that comes with protecting neighborhoods while allowing Mount Kisco to grow responsibly. 

Their opponents, Sean Moran and Jennifer Vallejos, are clearly people who care about Mount Kisco. Mr. Moran has a long record of public service as a firefighter and former police officer, and Ms. Vallejos has spent many years educating children in our community. 

They deserve respect for stepping forward. At a time when the Village is dealing with major issues — Preston Way, development, traffic, infrastructure, housing, downtown vitality and communication with residents — I believe continuity and experience matter. 

Mount Kisco does not need more division, rumor or political theater. It needs people who understand how local government actually works, who know the issues, and who are prepared to do the work. 

And, speaking as a chef, experience matters in government much the same way it matters in a kitchen: you can have plenty of enthusiasm, but eventually somebody has to know how to get the meal out of the kitchen. 

For me, that choice is clear. I will be voting for Tom Luzio and Mike McGuirk on Nov. 3, and I encourage my neighbors to do the same.

Philip DuBon Mount Kisco

‘Flush Bedford 2030’ is no political football

To the Editor:

While making a turn in downtown Katonah recently I was dismayed to see a sign that said “Flush Bedford 2030” as part of its message. 

Really? Is this an issue that Bedford Republicans want to be known for?

I was proud to be asked to help learn about the effort to promote more environmentally favorable actions when B2020, as it was known then, was just a hope of some good people in this town of ours. 

So many joined in back in 2008 and helped launch this effort. Business people, religious leaders, educators, our Republican town supervisor and lots of others were involved. 

I can’t help but think of a few very good people, no longer with us, like the late Jim Wood and Marybeth Kass, who gave no thought to which side of the political spectrum you belonged on, who would also probably be dismayed to see B2030, as it’s known now, become a political football. 

Bedford 2020 and 2030 have never been political issues and I, for one, think it is unfair and untenable to make it one. I am hopeful that many Republicans and Democrats would feel as I do — that it was a good idea for this town to help its residents find ways to heat and cool their homes more efficiently, recycle and compost its trash, encourage a more robust local food system, and plant some more local and native plants in their gardens. 

I am also hopeful that all of us would applaud the students from our school systems and beyond that participate in B2030’s Greenlight Award competition every year.Political parties don’t matter in this effort, have never mattered, and shouldn’t matter. 

And for those who want their gas leaf blowers back, may I suggest a Luddite’s solution? A good old-fashioned rake — no fumes and lots of exercise!

Vicki Marwel lKatonah

Conley will restore environmental laws 

To the Editor:

At a time when our federal government is rolling back basic environmental standards — from lowering auto fuel efficiency standards to waging war on renewable energy, and even labeling climate change a “hoax” — we need Cait Conley in Congress to fight back and restore policies that protect our environment.

Recognizing climate change as a critical national security priority, Cait Conley will work to reverse the harmful actions of the past two years and address the changes that we see unfolding before our eyes: the increasingly damaging storms, rising sea levels driven by warming oceans, unprecedented heat waves, severe droughts, floods and forest fires. 

Cait will push to have the U.S. resume global leadership in this crucial area, including rejoining the Paris Climate Accords. Cait favors investing in wind, solar and geothermal, and opposes Mike Lawler’s drive to reopen the Indian Point Nuclear reactor, a dangerous idea in our densely populated area. 

And Cait knows that addressing PFAS and other toxic contaminants endangering our water supply cannot wait, as we in Lewisboro can testify.

This is no time to deny climate change and its drastic consequences: Cait Conley will not shirk from these challenges, but will fight them head on!

Linda Rae South Salem

Conley will care about constituents

To the Editor:

For a moment, let’s step aside from the fact that Mike Lawler’s smear campaign against Cait Conley is riddled with lies. 

Let’s take a look at Mike Lawler, himself. Congressman Lawler claims to be a moderate. Yet I have received several text messages from his campaign reminding me/urging me to register for MAGA membership. 

Can someone please explain to me how a government representative can be aligned with and promote the MAGA agenda, and still be a moderate? Of course no one can, as they are, by definition, antithetical!

Let’s also consider MAGA Mike’s voting record. In this space I just want to highlight three votes: 

1. MAGA Mike voted for the “Big Beautiful Bill.” 

2. MAGA Mike voted to support Trump’s tariffs. 

3. MAGA Mike has voted six times to continue funding the war in Iran. If you are uncertain as to how these have impacted your cost of living, please look it up.  

As you likely know, the list of Trump’s initiatives which Lawler supports goes on …

A vote for Lawler is a vote that will allow the corruption in Washington, D.C., to continue, unchecked. It is a vote that will allow the administration to further their agenda with the already nonexistent guardrails. 

It is a vote that will do nothing to address the affordability crisis so many constituents in NY-17 and beyond are facing every day in a very real way.  Again, the list goes on ...

A vote for Cait Conley is a vote that will ensure we elect a representative who not only truly cares about the constituents in NY-17, but also a representative who will fight for the preservation of our democracy.

Kathryn Rothfeld South Salem

Control of Congress is most important

To the Editor:

In the congressional contest between Democrat Cait Conley and Republican Mike Lawler, the single most important issue is which party should control the U.S. House of Representatives.

Other issues debated by the candidates are important, but not as crucial. Since Donald Trump controls all the levers of federal power, the best way to control his well-known excesses is to put the Democrats in charge of Congress. 

That’s the single best argument for choosing Cait Conley. But there are others. It’s difficult to call Mike Lawler courageous: On big issues, he does the bidding of Donald Trump. For example, he voted in favor of healthcare cuts, supported Trump’s effort to gut government services, trim funding for the arts and foreign aid, raise tariffs, halt efforts to prevent climate change, reduce voting rights — among other measures that are weakening our country. While Lawler did help raise our tax deductions (SALT) from $10,000 to $40,000, that happened only after Trump said it was OK to do so. And remember, Republicans like him created these limits to begin with. 

So, come Election Day, we’ll have two decisions in one: Who should represent us in Congress and which political party should be in control? Trump has said that voters should pretend he’s on the ballot. Let’s take him at his word and vote against him.

Roger Savitt Bedford Corners 

The case for giving Conley your vote

To the Editor:

Cait Conley has working-class roots and 16 years of service to our country. She has vowed to take on corruption so politicians can’t keep lining their pockets at our expense. She wants to ban stock trading by members of Congress. She’ll work to hold utility companies and Big Pharma accountable in order to lower costs.

When Mike Lawler ran for Congress he promised to tackle inflation, lower costs and make life more affordable. But instead he is largely to blame for these soaring prices. And he votes with Donald Trump, even when it hurts his constituents.

Lawler voted eight times for Trump’s tariffs. Those tariffs are costing households across the Hudson Valley $4,200 more — which he shrugged off as “a little bit of short-term pain.” 

Lawler voted six times for Trump’s war with Iran that has sent gas prices through the roof. 

Lawler was a deciding vote on Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which paid for tax breaks for billionaires and many of his own donors and by kicking nearly half a million New Yorkers off their healthcare and raising healthcare costs for thousands more.

Lawler has also voted to raise our energy costs and utility bills, to give $80 billion in tax breaks to data center developers.

His allegiance to Donald Trump has dramatically raised our cost of living.

Cait is the daughter of a construction worker and a postal worker. She understands the value of a dollar. She would never write off $4,200 as “a little bit of short-term pain.”

We need her in Congress. Please join me in voting for Cait Conley on Nov. 3 or earlier.

Bobbe Stultz Goldens Bridge