To the editor:

I find it astounding that the Sullivan County Democrat is giving 4 campaign ads to a Chairman of the Legislature whose position is up for a vote in January, 2022 during an investigation into possible misconduct and possible malfeasance.

I never saw this paper run articles quoting the workers inside the processing plants or the nursing homes who were the first to get sick/die during this pandemic. This pandemic, which presently is entering its third year, has a county vaccination rate [for the fully vaccinated] of 56.5 percent.

I never saw this paper truly dig deeply into what it is like for county workers, healthcare workers, retail workers, etc. to describe their work, to risk their lives and to be unable to speak out because they could lose their jobs. This has been accomplished by the good citizens of Sullivan County who speak out, consistently, on behalf of those who cannot during Public Comment at Legislative Meetings.

We have had no leadership to shepherd us through a plague in a county which is 61 out of 62 in terms of poorest health except for Public Health employees. The powers that be are afraid of advising folks to wear masks and to get vaccinated for fear of upsetting their political base.

Seven million dollars in Covid relief money was spent on roads and boilers. This is an act which will live in infamy for this county and its leadership.

So the real question is “Who gets a voice in Sullivan County?” And it's certainly not the people who work hard, risk their lives and have few options also known as the “cogs” in the wheel.