Dear Mr. Stec: If you want our vote answer these questions

Jimmy Carter earned by first vote for president and got me my first front page photo

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You never really know what you are going to get when you ask for a reader response, but after Sen. Dan Stec announced he was running for Elise Stefanik's congressional seat last week, I had lots of questions and I suspected others did as well.

I was right.

The first thing to know is that this isn't a "gotcha" moment or a "bash Dan Stec" endeavor. It is a legitimate attempt to find out where he stands on many issues that are important to his constituents.

I always had a lot of respect for Stec when he was Queensbury's supervisor and chairman of the Warren County Board of Supervisors. That Dan Stec would make a good congressman. The state senator and politician he has become leaves questions.

From the moment Elise Stefanik went all in on Trump, Stec followed in her footsteps. If you read the political tea leaves, he may have been playing the long game to succeed Stefanik.

Only Stec can answer that question.

It's doubtful we will hear from Stec directly, although I will make an attempt to submit the questions to his staff in hopes he responds.

I hope Stec looks at this as an opportunity to show he will be a representative of all the people and not just the most electable Republican. It is also a chance to show his commitment, not to to national politics, but how he plans to help local residents.

There were 60 responses to my "Ask Dan Stec" newsletter from last week and they cover two dozen or so topics.

One thing that repeatedly came up was whether Stec would hold public events and town halls with constituents. It is the lynchpin to our democracy. If you want represent the people you have to hear from them directly. That has not been the case with Stefanik.

One reader suggested the new congressional representative answer questions "under oath and connected to a polygraph."

It shows how far we have fallen in our trust of political leadership.

Victoria Wirth asked an important question about how our discourse is conducted: "Will he use less abrasive and divisive language?" It became Stefanik's calling card.

One foundational questions we need to know came from Rene Rountree and was the type of question newspaper editorial boards used to ask:

"I would like to know, what characteristics makes you the best candidate for becoming the next Congressman from NY21? What is your platform that would help/support the area? What have you done or who have you partnered with to help with our childcare issues to include before and after school childcare? Have you supported any bill to help with Aging in place to include more home health workers? What actions have you taken to make ambulance services an essential service in NY state? What have you done to ensure everyone in NY21 has access to broadband? Have you partnered with anyone to advocate for more cellphone towers in the area? Will you abide by the unofficial Navy motto, “Not self, but country” and work for everyone in NY21?"

Answering that one question would go a long way toward understanding Stec's mission.

There were lots of concerns about Stec's support of democracy, the MAGA movement, Trump's authoritarian leanings, whether he thought Trump won the 2020 election and if he could call those jailed for their violence on Jan. 6 "hostages," as Elise Stefanik did?

Asking where a candidate stood on democracy is a question I never had to ask before as editor of a daily newspaper.

Bob Meyer put it simply: "Ask Dan Stec if he, like Stefanik, will kiss the ring of Trump or have the courage to buck the MAGA crowd and govern with integrity and actually serve the people of his district and beyond."

Not surprisingly, Stec's views on the immigration issue were of interest, especially since the agricultural and hospitality industries often depend on foreign workers.

Harris Seegram asked this critical question, "The North Country has been reliant on H-1B visas in the the areas of hospitality and agriculture. As there appear to be differences within factions of the Republican party on the continuance or expansion of the H-1B program, describe how you view the H-1B program with respect to program goals and the impact on the North Country economy."

And while there were a couple of questions about climate change and whether Stec would support incentives for green energy.

Jim Hudon put a local slant on it: "The horrible images of the ever increasing death and destruction from global warming are moving closer and closer to the 21st district. Over the 20 years living in our current home and looking across the valley, we see the West Mountain Ski Area working ever harder to provide skiable trails. Businesses built around our winter wonderland are struggling to add year-round attractions to survive. With the increasing number of sweltering days and nights, even our AC unit is costing more and more to run each year. With the world careening toward the tipping point of global disaster, how will you help slow and reverse this frightening trend?"

And this from Paul Hancock:

"In July of this year you called for ending the state’s green agenda because it would mean eliminating the energy sources most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions and hence the extreme weather events that you argue will require even more GHG emissions from fossil fuel sources in order to keep heating and cooling costs affordable. So, are you saying we should trade off a long-term catastrophe for a short-term gain?"

As you can see these are reasonable, responsible questions that our next representative in Congress needs to address.

What was so impressive about the responses was the scope of understanding and passionate concern over the issues.

There were also questions about short-term rentals in the Adirondacks, the United States' role in NATO, its support for Ukraine, Stec's position on the Child Tax Credit, whether he would support investigations of the Jan. 6 committee, legalizing marijuana on the federal level so local marijuana businesses can avoid all-cash transactions, how he would preserve Social Security and Medicare, what he would do to rein in the national debt, what he would to help the middle class gain affordable housing, how would he improve the Affordable Health Care Act, would he support defunding federal agencies such as the Department of Education, would he go along with proposals to make vaccines voluntary in states and does he support a woman's right to choose?

Important issues and shocking that our current congresswoman has not addressed any of them.

Dave Sawyer had a question about Stec's ability to get things done: "State one piece of legislation that you were the sole sponsor of that was signed into law that provided a verifiable, quantifiable benefit to the vast majority of your constituents."

OK, that may be a "gotcha" question since it is doubtful he got anything done while in the minority.

And finally this from Dave Whitman about his integrity: "Would Dan Stec be brave enough to call a lie a lie when he hears one from a Trump toady? Would he help lead Republicans back into an evidence-based real world, or keep them in the entertainment-based cesspool of authoritarian misinformation? Would he support NATO and resist Putin? Would he stand up for U.S.-Canada cooperation and mutual respect?"

I suppose tough questions like this were why Elise Stefanik has been in hiding for five years.

I hope we hear the answers to some of these questions.

The person that can answer them should be elected.

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My first president

As a newly-minted 18-year-old with the right to vote for the first time, Jimmy Carter was my selection for president in 1976.

Our paths would cross again when I was a senior in college and attending the National Governor's Conference in Washington, D.C. as a member of the collegiate press.

While attending a function, President Carter made a brief appearance. He worked the room filled with governors and political operatives and a few college kids who did not know what they were doing.

I remember pulling out my new 35-millimeter Pentax camera and squeezing off one shot of a smiling Carter.

When we got back to campus and were looking for a photo of the president for the front page, it turned out I had the only one that was usable. The first photo I ever had published was of President Carter on the front page of The Eastern Progress.

History has been kinder than voters were. Reading accounts of his presidency and the work he did afterward are impressive and a reminder that just when we needed someone of Jimmy Carter's moral standing, he has left us.

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No helmet

After reading my account of my ice skating experience in New Orleans, one former colleague chastised me for not wearing a helmet.

It was my head, not my hip that I should have been worried about.

It was something I did not even consider, particular because here in New Orleans there are no rules. There was not one person wearing a helmet on the ice - including very young children - and there were no helmets available.

It is another way other parts of the country are different than New York.

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It was a sports holiday weekend with me with a chance to see the great James Harden of the Los Angeles Clippers while watching the Pelicans Monday. I started out with the Saints on Sunday and will be going to the Sugar Bowl game between Notre Dame and Georgia today.

Sports weekend

My brother left New Orleans Sunday after celebrating Christmas with us after completing "Dave and Ken's Excellent Adventure" road trip from Glens Falls to New Orleans.

My son flew out Monday to spend New Year's with his girlfriend and catch up on a belated Christmas with her.

Before leaving, my son told he was sorry for leaving me alone over the holiday.I told him I was not going to be alone because I had the Saints, the Pelicans and the Sugar Bowl game between Notre Dame and Georgia.

I went to the Saints game Sunday, 10th-row seats for the Pelicans' NBA game Monday and after checking out the New Year's Eve celebration in the French Quarter last night, I will be attending the Sugar Bowl game between Notre Dame and Georgia that is part of the new national championship format.

I'm going to be fine.

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Not sure what was better Monday night, the strawberry smoothie or the 10th-row tickets at the Pelicans game.

Finally, a smoothie

When I attended a New Orleans Pelicans game at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, I lamented that the smoothie stands was out of smoothies during the fourth quarter.

I found that ironic.

I did not take any chances on Monday and got my smoothie before the game began.

It was delicious.

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Ken Tingley spent more than four decades working in small community newspapers in upstate New York. Since retirement in 2020 he has written three books and is currently adapting his second book "The Last American Newspaper" into a play. He currently lives in Queensbury, N.Y.