We live in a time of growing political divide: democracy through the warped lens of 24-hour news (opinion) cycles, and the subsequent regurgitation of those opinions on social media. It gets exhausting. It decays faith in government and our elected officials.
Every once in a while, a moment arises when we have an opportunity to elect someone genuine. Southampton voters have that opportunity with Karen Sartain running to retain her seat as Southampton Town justice.
In our flawed system of fusion voting, where the candidate who accumulates the most lines typically wins, it would be refreshing for voters to look at the person as opposed to the R’s, D’s, I’s and C’s next to his/her name. The question “Who is this person?” should be put before “What line is this person running on?”
Who is Karen Sartain? Karen is a person who listens and considers things carefully. There is no ego, no bravado, no default dismissal of a point of view. Karen brings an abundance of knowledge and experience to the bench. Through that experience, and because of who she is as a person, Karen brings much needed fairness and compassion to the bench. These are the traits that we should be looking for in our elected officials.
Who is Karen Sartain? She is someone that deserves your vote if you want a qualified and decent person as your Southampton Town justice.
The lawn signs read, “Retain Sartain.” I sincerely hope that we do, because Karen Sartain is exactly what we need to start narrowing the political divide.
Craig Catalanotto
Speonk
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