I believe that our local municipal elections are the most important elections that we have. The decisions we make right here at home affect all of us more profoundly and more immediately than state and federal regulations. It affects the quality of our homes, neighborhoods, and the very community we call home. This can be either good or bad.

These are the elections that have historically the lowest voter turnout.

Your local government will decide what your tax rate will be, what education funding will be, whether tax exemptions will exist or not, the mill rates for service areas, services for roads, emergency responders, user fees etc. And yet it is as if not enough people care.

I want to encourage everyone to get out and vote this year. It is extremely important that you participate in your local government.

But wait, before you go there is one more thing you should do. Call all of the candidates and interview them. They are after all applying for a job. You should know how they think, what they stand for, what they believe in and what they are willing to fight for. DO NOT JUST VOTE FOR A NAME. Nobody will be offended by your call and if they are you probably will want to take a look at another candidate.

You should know about their background, where they came from, what they do for a living, recreation, are they going to be here after their term is over to see the consequences of their decisions.

This is why I believe I am the best candidate for this job. I am here to stay! I am an issue driven candidate. The issues facing us today and in the near future are of course the LNG project, the governor’s quest for new revenue, (state wide sales tax, income tax, capping the pfd or a combination of all the above), potential consolidation of hospital service areas, a rewrite of the borough’s tax codes and more. Decisions made on all or any of these issues can have a profound impact on us here at home. You may not share my concerns on these issue today but one thing is certain, change is coming and I prefer to be out ahead of these and other issues.

As a former assemblyman and assembly president I bring to the table experience, a willingness to compromise, an ability to find common ground on issues, and common sense.

I would appreciate your support and vote on Oct. 6th

Gary Knopp

252-4457 cell

283-9494 home