This article was submitted by Jamie Sorrentino, who can be contacted at nydistrict23@gmail.

Many voters in NY’s 23^rd district are concerned about what might happen to this country in an incoming Trump administration:

• Will ACA be repealed without a sensible plan to take its place?
• Will freedoms of the press be protected?
• Will the President-elect continue using Twitter as a forum for policy statements or making personal attacks against citizens?
• Are hard-fought gains in civil rights under threat?
• Will regulations that protect the environment and consumers be rolled back?

These represent a small fraction of the questions being asked. Many voters in the 23^rd district – from all sides of the political aisle – see our incoming President as unfit to serve, and even dangerous. How will voters withstand FOUR years of President Trump shaping issues critical to district 23? Four years is a long time and this prospect can feel daunting and hopeless.

What can concerned voters in this district do, and do now? Think national, act local!

NY-23’s concerns are represented in Washington, DC, by Congressman Tom Reed (R). In fact, Congressman Reed was recently appointed as Vice-Chair of President-elect Trump’s transition team. This means that Mr. Reed will play a major role in supporting the Trump administration’s efforts.

NY-23 voters cannot change the fact that Mr. Trump will soon be the 45^th President of theUS. However, in the short term, NY-23 voters can vote out politicians, like Mr. Reed, who support and defend the policies and behaviors of the Trump administration. Even though Mr. Reed was just re-elected in November, he is already up for re-election again NEXT year – in 2018! A House of Representative only serves a two year term. These mid-

year elections are a golden opportunity for voters in the district to be heard. All too often, voters sit out the mid-term elections and wait around for the national election cycle. Any campaign to unseat Rep. Reed next year would need to start mobilizing as soon as possible. It is not too early to start.

This effort can take any number of forms:

• Call a planning meeting among like-minded voters in your community. The NY-23 is vast so reach out to local voters first to gain some steam.
• Become active in your local Democratic or Republican parties to support a candidate who better represents your concerns.
• Attend Mr. Reed’s town hall meetings and visit his district offices to express your concerns and challenge him on positions with which you disagree.

Whatever you do, don’t sit idle. As a citizen, it behooves all to be active participants in governance. As President Obama said the other night in his farewell speech in Chicago, voters must be “anxious,jealous guardians” of democracy for it to prosper.

Feel free to reach out to this writer at nydistrict23@gmail if interested in forming connections to this end across the district.