Candidate has proven his experience, energy and compassion for his district

Mike Russo is hands down the best choice for the 43rd District New York State Senate seat.

I met Mike two years ago while I was volunteering on the Gillibrand for Congress campaign. I was witness to his energy and passion for the causes that helped get the congresswoman elected. I saw his determination to get our veterans the recognition and benefits they deserve. I have seen how hard he has worked to make sure working families can earn a decent living and afford to send their kids to college. I know Mike is leading the fight to ensure our families and our seniors have access to affordable health care.

Others may talk the talk, but Mike has a proven record of fighting for these important issues. Mike is a lifelong Democrat and a widely respected labor leader. He worked tirelessly on Kirsten Gillibrand’s election campaign and later as her congressional district director. Mike has worked with Rep. Gillibrand on issues that are important to this area. He’s worked with government leaders at all levels helping to accomplish needed results, and Mike Russo will bring all his experience and passion and tireless work ethic to the state Senate.

Mike will bring the same openness and accessibility to the 43rd Senate seat that he helped the congresswoman bring to the congressional district, but he can only accomplish that with Democrats voting in the primary on Tuesday, Sept. 9. Sometimes we Democrats tend to skip the primaries, but this is too important to skip. So Democrats, please get out and vote in the primary for Mike Russo, and he will make the 43rd Senate seat the people’s seat.

Lisa Scerbo

Mechanicville

Prime-time networks work together to raise money for cancer services

This Friday, Sept. 5 at 8 p.m, ABC, CBS and NBC will donate one hour of simultaneous, commercial-free prime time for a nationally televised fund-raising event aimed at rallying the public around the goal of ending cancer’s reign as a leading cause of death.

The Fulton, Montgomery and Schenectady counties Cancer Services Program Partnership (formerly Screen for Life, Healthy Women’s Partnership and Healthy Living Partnership) provides free breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screenings to men and women who are uninsured/underinsured. Our partnerships promote early detection, education, awareness and support services available throughout Fulton, Montgomery and Schenectady counties. Anyone can call the Cancer Services Program’s toll-free recruitment line at 1-866-442-2262 for more information.

Cancer is a disease that doesn’t discriminate, touching all families. According to the Stand Up to Cancer Web site (www.standup2cancer.org), these joint efforts will raise money to fund cutting-edge treatment and help eradicate this deadly disease once and for all. This year, more than a million people in the United States alone will be diagnosed with cancer. It’s a disease that affects countless families and communities every single day.

Network evening news anchor Charles Gibson states, “The statistics are staggering. Cancer claims one person every minute of every day in the United States. Every year in this country, it takes the lives of more than half a million people — worldwide, cancer kills more than six million people annually.”

According to the World Health Organization, about 25 million people worldwide are living with cancer. It is the second leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for about 13 percent of all deaths. Last year, cancer killed around 7.9 million people, about 72 percent of whom were in developing countries. The World Health Organization forecasts that by 2030, the annual global death toll will rise to about 11.5 million (www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/index.html)

The Stand Up to Cancer special will feature live performances by legendary recording artists and stars from film and television who will perform, as well as present filmed content giving viewers insight into cancer.

If you are uninsured and would like more information on our program in Fulton and Montgomery counties, please contact Suzanne Hagadorn, program coordinator, at 770-7516; or in Schenectady County, Margaret Brodie, program coordinator, at 347-5760.

Suzanne Hagadorn

Amsterdam