The election season comes into full swing a little earlier in this first year of early voting in New York State, which begins on Saturday, October 26th. This email is sent to my Friends list for political and campaign news, not from my County account, so you know what comes at the beginning and end of this message. Yes, the ask for the money for lawn signs and mailings to make people aware of this off-year election and the great differences in governing philosophy and particular policy choices between me and my opponent. Please consider contributing to my re-election campaign now, or come to one of my fun fundraisers, the first one tonight, and more in October. Or both. And if you have time, please volunteer for the campaign. We’re ringing doorbells to get out the vote every weekend. Please visit — and like — my Facebook page Friends of Damon Maher for announcements and events. And you can go to my County page to be added to my County email list for general County and local news and events.

If you’re still reading, I ask you: what three things would you like to see in an elected official? You might say, and I would definitely say: empathy, persistence and a sense of humor. Then you would be in luck having me as your representative in County Government. These three things just happen to be embedded in the Maher family DNA.

Let’s take a sense of humor first: Like everyone in my family, I take the job and the issues very seriously, but don’t take myself so seriously. Here’s the first of three family stories. Although it’s not the funniest, it lets me use one of my all time favorite photos.

1989

At the Christmas gathering of my extended family in 1989, some of us were kidding our dad about the piles of baseball caps in the back of his car, on the upstairs and downstairs banisters and in several closets. My brother Bob and sister Christine gathered up armfuls of caps and started putting them on family members, finding the most appropriate cap for the wearer. Particularly funny was getting my grandmother (now long deceased) at the far right of the photo, who always carried herself elegantly and with great dignity, wearing a baseball cap, likely for the first and only time in her life. My brother-in-law, a Boston native and die-hard Red Sox fan, wore the Yankees cap he was given with good humor, too. And what’s cuter and goofier than the babies — our niece and nephew, and our 10-month-old foster child living with Deb and me at the time, front and center on my lap — with their over-sized caps.

2019

Our then-foster son, our godson, now has his own beautiful family. We enjoyed their visit this summer! Baby Nathaniel was napping and missed the photo op.

Persistence

My sister Susan (second from right) lives in Hawaii and races with the Kailua Canoe Club on outrigger canoes — which always makes me think of the old Hawaii Five-0 television series.  Her team recently won the State Championship in the Over-50 year-old Female Division. Then she jumped in with a younger team and won in the Over-40 age bracket, too!

Doing my day job as an attorney, working hard as County Legislator, and running for re-election leaves me with little time to train properly to maintain my status as a winning age-bracket distance runner, but I’ll be back some day.  In the meantime, I persist in my Legislative job until I get all the information needed to get the best possible outcome for my constituents and the County. 

Empathy

My sister Lisa and her kindergarten pupils, with help from their parents, took up my suggestion to constituents and bought several meals’ worth of sandwiches and pizzas, from local shops, for TSA agents at the County Airport earlier this year when they were forced to work without pay during the Republican-created U.S. Government shutdown.  In this photo, an airport’s TSA agent came to school to give the kindergarten class a special citation of thanks.  

Please support my campaign so I can continue my work for you.  Thank you.

Damon