LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Mayor sticking to campaign promise

I applaud Saratoga Springs Mayor Meg Kelly and our 4 Commissioners for making two important decisions.

First, after 17 years and 3 failed referendums to overturn our Commission form of government; the Mayor and Commissioners have initiated an honest review to update the City’s Charter.

Second, the appointed committee is composed of knowledgeable people who work in City Hall and understand what should be changed to improve services for our residents. This is in contrast to the 3 failed attempts that were lead by people with no City government experience.

The committee members represent the Mayor’s office and all Commissioners and include both elected officials and appointed managers, including the City Attorney and all Deputy Commissioners.

I can’t resist commenting that when our Mayor wanted the most knowledgeable people to improve our government, she appointed all 5 Deputy Commissioners, whom the chair of the previous Charter Change Group disparaged as “political hacks.” Obviously Mayor Kelly, herself a former Deputy, knows better.

Mayor Kelly has taken some unjust heat from those who lost the referendum to toss out our form of government. It would be more appropriate to praise her for being consistent with her campaign promise to work within the Commission government should this be the voters decision. Richard Sellers Saratoga Springs her point. To give perspective to the joy she felt in acknowledging the advances made by the feminist movement, she called upon all the other female nominees to stand with her in the room.

She asked them to stand, and for brief seconds nothing happened. Meryl Streep was seated front and center before her, and McDormand urged, “Meryl, if you do it, everyone else will.” Meryl stood, and then so did the other women, most if not all of them.

I can understand why many exploited women did not speak out at the time. Some feared for their jobs, their livelihoods, or their reputations.

But the women in the audience at this years’s Oscars have had the ground broken for them, and many are successful, with nothing to fear by speaking out for themselves or voicing their support for other victims.

Their initial reluctance to stand in support, as evidenced by McDormand’s plea to Meryl Streep, puts the MeToo movement in a diminished light. Women will gain rightfully deserved respect and the power that accompanies it when as individuals they stand up one by one, without fear of consequences. They should not have to look to a megastar such as Meryl Streep to validate their responses. There is work to be done. Mary Schroder Valley Falls She said there was absolutely no “good” reason for anyone to own an assault type weapon. She emphasized that they have no place in hunting, and are only meant for killing lots of people, like we’ve seen in malls, concerts and schools. She was not mincing words, when she started blaming the NRA for pitting gun owners and non-gun owners with its unreasonable hang-tough stance, no matter the cost to the country. And then, she faulted the country’s leaders for not having the courage to pass sensible laws. She was sure that most people, after years of bloodshed, would understand why certain guns had to be banned and people had to be screened more carefully.

So, I am sending a copy of this letter to the editor, not only to my cousin, but also to the Saratoga Springs mayor and council, who similarly impressed me with their reconsideration of the gun show by voting not to hold it anymore. Margarita Muinelo Saratoga our country. I’m referring to the ban of gun sales at the Saratoga Springs City Center. I realize that it is part of Mr. Petronis’ livelihood. Too bad, but our safety comes first.

I realize the truth in the statement being overused by so many that “Guns Don’t Kill People. People Do.” That’s an easy way out as far as I’m concerned. And I realize the constitutional reality in the 2nd Amendment. But there is absolutely no need — NONE — to own an AK47 or any other weapon of it’s type that was designed for mass killings of human beings in wartime. For those of you who side with the NRA, can’t you see the plain truth in what I just said?

Congress should look at the bigger problem of mental health in the United States and try to do something about it. But in the meantime, they’ll should earn part of their salaries and impose some strict gun laws.

I’m sure that the vast majority of Americans agree with me. Vern Hellijas Burnt Hills