More lip service

on domestic violence

Editor, OBSERVER:

U.S. Rep. Tom Reed, in an Oct. 6 Facebook post, reported that #TeamReed (aka his staff) had attended Domestic Violence Awareness Month events in Jamestown and Elmira. He also reported that “We recently pushed for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and are working to expand it beyond the new December 7 threshold”.

Reed has had an interesting history with the Violence Against Women Act. In 2012, he supported the House version of the VAWA which did not protect women who were Native Americans, members of the LGBTQ Community, or Immigrants. That bill passed the GOP-controlled House, but not the Senate.

The 2013 version of the VAWA did protected those three groups. It was passed by both the House and the Senate, and was signed into law. Rep. Reed, and six others, refused to vote one way or the other on that bill. Reed never voted for the present VAWA. Now, less than a month before the election he wants us to believe that he supports it. Why are the Republican leaders scheduling the vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act after the election?

RICH STEWART,

Penn Yan

Gun owners need

to support Reed

Editor, OBSERVER:

One potential national emergency the Founders feared was the government trying to take for itself more power than they intended to give. In such a case, armed citizen militias would be required to defeat the standing army of the government, just as happened at Lexington and Concord and many other battles of the Revolutionary War.

This is why our Founders included the Second amendment.

Tracy Mitrano, who is running for Congress against Rep. Tom Reed supports a national gun registry — an extreme position where the federal government would know where every gun is located, along with who owns it. I would presume so the government could take our guns away if they so decided.

This is exactly the types of actions our Founders feared. We cannot afford to send Mitrano to Washington. We should re-elect Rep. Tom Reed this November.

JAMES HAEBERLE,

South Dayton

Mitrano puts focus

on economy

Editor, OBSERVER:

On Nov. 6, we vote for our next Congressional representative. I’m voting for Tracy Mitrano, the Democratic candidate for New York’s 23rd district.

Too many of us in this district are stuck in dead-end jobs, struggling to make ends meet. Our children have to leave their hometowns because few jobs here provide them with rewarding careers. If only we were encouraged and given the resources to realize our own human potential!

This is why I’m voting for Tracy. She has an economic vision for this district that could help revive opportunity in the Southern Tier. According to Tracy, “The most important part of any economy is the people who drive it. It is the people who provide knowledge, skills and labor that push us forward. So building a dynamic economy requires thinking in terms of people and the resources they require.” Tracy takes the time to discover who we are and what we need. She travels throughout the district and honestly listens to our concerns. She cares.

You can trust that that Tracy will act on our concerns if elected. I do not see such honesty and caring in Tom Reed. His voting record suggests that his economic plan is more “Corporations First” than “People First.” Like Tracy, he holds town meetings in the district, but he has taken little real action in Congress to address the problems that constituents are facing.

On Nov. 6, vote for Mitrano! Remember a vote for Tracy is a vote for an economy that works for everyone.

JOANNE KELLEY,

Fredonia

Congressman takes

leadership role

Editor, OBSERVER:

U.S. Rep. Tom Reed is one of the most bipartisan Members of Congress. He is the Republican co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, and he has even said he would be willing to vote for a Democrat Speaker of the House if they were willing to support House rule changes to make it easier to pass bipartisan bills.

We have even seen his Democrat colleague come to Elmira to support Tom — a rare show of bipartisan support in this political climate.

Reed has stated multiple times he is willing to work with anyone in order to help people.

Meanwhile, Reed’s political opponent this year is an extreme Democrat who shows no willingness to work with members on the other side of the aisle.

Washington is already largely locked in a political stalemate which helps no one. Let’s not make it worse. Vote Tom Reed this November.

SHERRY RUPP,

Cattaraugus