Our choices, national and local

Town of Babylon

In the Town of Babylon two very competent and caring individuals are running for the board. Both have a history of working for their communities and families.

Democrat Antonio Martinez, who was appointed in July to fill the unexpired term of Councilwoman Carol Quirk, and Joe Barone, a local businessman and athletic coach of Lindenhurst, are seeking a four-year term on the board.

As always, our priority is to support good government. Certainly the administration of Babylon Town Supervisor Steve Bellone, a Democrat, is a standard bearer on this front, with a focus on the public good. Bellone says he needs Martinez to assist him as he continues his work.

Joe Barone, a Republican, believes the Town needs to have greater political diversity on the Town Board, and that his voice will make government work better for the people.

Currently the Town Board is made up of four Democrats, including Bellone, and one Independence Party candidate, Lindsay Henry, who has been both an outspoken critic and supporter of the Bellone administration over the years. Adding a Republican to that mix would undoubtedly strengthen the checks and balances of local government.

Our choice, however, is for the Democrat, Antonio Martinez. With a mixed board already in place in Babylon, and an administration that has demonstrated openness and a bipartisan spirit, Martinez represents, we believe, the best candidate to ensure the continuation of an effective and efficient government under Bellone.

President

Without question, our support goes to the Republican Presidential candidate John McCain, who we believe, can help move this Country in the right direction. His opponent, Barack Obama, though a decent man, and a good candidate who has elevated the discourse in American politics, represents a political move too far to the left and one that we do not believe represents the culture, politics or history of America.

This is solidified by the fact that Obama has, over his many years as a civic leader and Senator, edged dangerously close to the radical views expressed, verbally and overtly by some of his closest allies, including William Ayers, a member of the murderous and militant Weatherman organization in the 1960s. This, we believe, shows a lack of sophistication and solid judgment that would be devastating in the Oval Office.

McCain, on the other hand, has, throughout his life, showed his commitment to country. He made the toughest of choices while a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, a war that Ayers and his ilk were violently protesting in what we now know was an effort to overthrow the government. It is that William Ayers that Obama calls his friend and colleague.

McCain is sound, optimistic about America and broad-minded enough to make dramatic changes in these dramatic times. He represents the best hope we have for a future that our Founding Fathers would recognize.