EDITORIAL: Thank you to our letter writers for sharing “Your Voice”

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As the calendar flipped from 2021 to 2022, the new year brought with it many of the same national, state and local issues as the previous year.

But the new year also provided an opportunity for our readers to share updated perspectives on those issues and to offer their viewpoints on newer matters.

The year 2022 was a big year for politics, as every member of the House of Representatives, a third of the U.S. Senate, the entire New York State Legislature and all statewide elected seats were on the ballot.

The issues related to the elections brought their fair share of comments from readers in our daily letters to the editor.

We call our letters section “Your Voice” because it’s your opportunity as readers to interpret the news and to offer your thoughts without interference from anyone — including us.

And as you do each year, you had a lot to say.

In 2022, The Gazette published more than 1,600 letters from more than 960 individual writers. That works out to almost 134 letters per month, or an average of nearly 4.5 letters per day, every day of the year.

Among the many issues you wrote about this year, politics was the most popular.

National politics, as always, was among your favorite topics, and the names Trump and Biden appeared frequently. One particular politician, Rep. Elise Stefanik, was the strong focus of many of your letters, both for and against. Many writers were particularly inspired to write a letter by our endorsement of her re-election campaign.

Russia, Putin, climate change, elections, education, the Supreme Court and the U.S. Capitol insurrection were among the top national topics readers discussed in “Your Voice this year.”

Local politics, the St. Clare’s pension crisis, the Schoharie limousine crash case, violence in Saratoga Springs’ entertainment district, solar arrays and that pesky train overpass in Glenville that keeps getting hit also spurred a lot of reader interest in our letters column.

You also used our letters section to offer compliments and to thank individuals and institutions for their kindness and degree of care.

We like those letters the most.

You not only offered your opinions on the issues, you also commented on what others said about those issues. That’s how “Your Voice” serves as a forum for community discussion and debate.

We welcome comments from all political points of view. We feel that exposing readers to differing viewpoints is healthy for a functioning democracy.

As long you stick to opinions based on your honest interpretation of generally accepted facts — and as long as you maintain a reasonable degree of decorum, discuss timely issues and contain your comments to our generous word limit — we provide access to our pages without interference or comment.

We don’t hold our letter writers to strict journalistic standards for accuracy. But if you attempt to deliberately spread misinformation by promoting proven lies or debunked theories, we do our best to weed those comments out.

Most of the letters we reject are not due to misinformation, but simply because they exceed our 250-word limit for letters. We have to impose a word limit because we only have a finite amount of space to publish the hundreds of letters we receive, and we strive to publish letters within a week to 10 days at the latest of when we receive them so they remain timely.

We also limit writers to one letter every 30 days to ensure that one writer doesn’t dominate the forum and to allow the greatest variety of reader viewpoints.

Submitting letters is easy.

We prefer letters that are submitted via our website and email so we don’t have to retype them. And it’s easier to verify the identity of writers if we have an email address to respond to. But we still accept letters sent by regular mail and fax.

Information on how to submit letters appears at the bottom of each day’s Opinion page.

Martha Melville is the gatekeeper of the letters, contacting letter writers to verify their identities, advising writers when they exceed our word limit and giving them an opportunity to shorten their letters, and notifying them when they violate our rules. She also keeps track of the letters so they don’t get lost or delayed. Her work is invaluable.

As we do each year, we use this space to thank each individual writer who contributed their voice to our letters section over the past year.

If you see your name below, we thank you and hope you’ll continue to write in the new year. If you don’t see your name, we hope you’ll consider sharing “Your Voice” in 2023.

We believe your comments enhance our newspaper and our communities, and we’re grateful for all the time, effort and thought you each put into your letters.

Happy New Year.

— Mark Mahoney, Editorial Page Editor

List of letter writers for 2022

Josepha Mastroianni Abba
Serge Abergel
Debbie Abréu
B. Donald Ackerman
Bill Adam
Marcia Adams
William Aiken
Vince Alescio
Albert Alexander
Patricia Alexandre
Curt Alheim
John Amidon
Brian Anderson
Jean Anderson
Scott Anderson
Elizabeth Andolina
Beverly Andrews
Laura Angehr
John Angilletta
Richard Antokol
Michael Aragosa
Mary Ann Arcesi
Elinor Arendt
Christina Armstrong
Eleanor Aronstein
Phil Arony
Claudina Ashelman
Erik Augspurger
James Ault
Hugo Bach
Tina Bacon
Fred Bahr
Paul Bahrmann
Crystal Baker
Mary Baker
Nate Baker
Richard & Susan Baker
Brian Baldwin
Bruce Ballan
Jim Banagan
Julius Barbanel
Roma Barbera
Renee Barchitta
Jason Bare
Tom Barkley
Mark Barkyoumb, Sr.
Dave Barnes
Janet Baron
James Barrett
Philip Barrett
Harry Bartik
Nancyjane Batten
Robert Becker
Stephen Bedzis
Andy Beiniks
Bob Belive
Tom Bell
Laura Bellinger
Deborah Bender
Armon Benny
Kenneth Benson
Thomas Benson
Stephen Benton
Cathy Bern-Smith
Karyn Berry
Charles Bishop
Christine Bishop
Don Blaha
Frank Blair
Ky’Asia Blanchard
Stanley Blanchard
Vic Bobnick
Coral Boehlke
Jerry Boehm
Michael Boehm
Mark Bohne
Diane Bollinger
Tad Boniewski
Sander Bonvell
Beverly Borgeest
Lyn Bouton
Patricia Bowers
Chip Bowles
Gordon Boyd
Sharon Boyd
Bob Bradley
Karen Bradley
Eric Bratt
Walter “Neal” Brazell
Denis Brennan
Laura Brennan
Margaret Brennan
Ken Bress
Meredith Briere
David Brigham
Maxine Brisport
Ciaran Britton
Mark Brockbank
James Brodie
Bill Brooks
Caroline Brooks
Evan Brooksby
George Brougham
Dave Brown
Grace Boyajian Brown
Lynne Bruning
Mary Ann Bruno
Eddie Brush
Mac Bryant
George Bryjak
Jerry Bubniak
Gary Buczkowski
Dahn Bull
Stephen Buonome
Anne Burger
Abigail Burke
Bernard Burns
Peter Butryn
Paul Bylenok
Bonita Cade
James Calkins
Jim Callahan
Beth Cammarata
Brenny Campbell
Bruce Campbell
Concetta Cannizzaro
Chris Capozzola
Lauri Cardinali
Vincent & Carol Carelli
Florence Carnahan
Anthony Carota
Kelsey Carpe
Christopher Carpenter
Livia Carroll
Tony Cascarano
Julie Case
Erin Cassady-Dorion
Bruce Castka
Steve Catanzazro
Don Cerniglia
Fred Chambers
Ginger Champain
Katie Chao
William Chapman
Russell & Marsha Chase
Jim Chatfield
Sarah Chaudhry
Robert Chauvin
Jon Cherrier
Mary Chichester
David Childs
Robert Chindamo
John Chrisman
Kristin Young Christman
Joe Chrys
Rose Ann Chrysler
Frank Ciervo
James Cimino
Michael Cinquanti
John H. Ciulla, Jr. Esq.
Art Clayman
Jeff Cleary
Mary Clemens
Joyce M. Cockerham
Peter V. Coffey
Bill Coffin
Rev. Anna Blinn Cole
Kristine Collie
Gregory Collins
Richard Colyer
Fred Como
Lora Como
Thomas Comparin
Tim Connolly
Robert Connors
Deana Constantino
Justin Cook
Don Cooper
Dr. Jeffrey Corbin
Elise Corbin
Robert Corliss
Kirk Cornwell
Ann Cotrupi
Kevin Crampton
Denise Crisci
Carol Crocco
Michael Croce, Sr.
Mark Crockett
Kevin Crosier
Ann Crowell
Paul Cuddihy
Ed Culhane, Jr.
Dick Curtis
Rob Curtiss
Rabbi Matthew Cutler
Vince Dacquisto
Mark D’Alessandro
Zachary Daniels
Dave Dankanich
Stephen Dansereau
Harry Darling
Joanne Darling
Amy David
Donald Davis
Jonathan Davis
Scott Davis
Grace Dawson
Edmond Day
Gerald DeAngelus
Annie Deiber
Paul Deierlein
Virginia DelGallo
Tom Della Sala
David G. DeMarco
Joe DeMarco
Christine DeMaria
Paul DeMichele
Esther Denham
Bill Denison
Marc DeNofio
Deborah DePoala
Frank DeSantis
Joanna DeSilva
Amber DeSimony
Patricia Johnson Devine
Susan Devito
Domenico DiCaprio
Michela Dicaprio
Richard DiCristofaro
Bruce Dieffenbach
Michael DiFulvio
Terry Diggory
Ellie Dillon
Robert Dillon
Sheila Ditoro
Ron Dobies
Jenna Dodd
Paul Dolhy
Michele Dollar
Carole Donahue
Paul Donahue
Jackie Donegan
Brian Donovan
Jeremy Douglas
Jeffrey Downing
Mary Mastroianni Drescher
John Drislane
Joe Druzba
Michael Dudick
Riley Duesler
Robert Dufek
Kevin Duffy
Robert Dufresne
Marc Duquette
Julia Durgee
Jeff Duxbury
Paul Dworkin
Edward Dybas
Mark Eagan
Lorraine Eaton
Dave Edwards
Jeff Edwardsen
Alyssa Kahn Ehrlich
Rev. John A. Ekman
Linda Eldeen
Lewis Elia
Eric Eliassen
David Ellis
Patti Ellis
Tom Ellis
George Elston
Daniel Ertel
Donna Esposito
Richard Evans
Cynthia Fairbanks
Joseph Farina
Darcey Anne Farrow
Bill Farstad
Ray Faught
Tom Favata
Tony Fazzone
Julia Febo
Richard Felak
Luigi Ferraro
Patricia Fialkowski
Barry Finley
Tabbatha Finn
Jacqueline Fiore
Jerry Fiore
John Fisher
Kris Fitzgerald
Kyle Fitzpatrick
Jim Flint
Joelle Flint
Tom Florey
Mary Flynn
James Fogarty
Douglas Ford
Marion Foster
Michael Foster
Carole Anne Frank
Lance Frasier
Brian Frederick
Michele Freeman
Anne Fringo
Ellen Frueh
Dominic Fulgieri
Joel Fuoco
David Furman, Jr.
John Gaetani
Wayne Gage
Norlene Gageway
Brian Gain
Kathryn Gallien
David Gallup
Joseph Gambino
Mary Jo Garofalo-Venditti
Todd Garofano
Ray Gawlas
John Gentile
Joseph Gentile
David Gerhan
William Gettman
David Giacalone
Mark Gibbons
David Gibson
Tom Gifford
Jeral Gillis
Mildred Gittinger
Michael Glenn
Andrew Gnoinski, Jr.
Michael Godlewski
Robert Godlewski
William Goergen
Kevin Goggins
Clare Goliber
Neil Golub
Isabela Goncalves
Lawrence Goodwin
Paul Gordon
Sid Gordon
James Graczyk
Laura Grandy
Peggy Grandy
K. Natalia Granger
Mary Grassfield
Angelo Grasso
Joe Grasso
Walter Grattidge
Glenn Gray
Bishop Tony Green
Rick Green
Gary Greenberg
Martin Greenberg
Stacy Greene
Norm Griffin
Robert Grimm
Peter Grippo
Michael Grygus
Kathy Guidarelli
Marilyn B. Guidarelli
Shirley Guidarelli
Michael Guido
Fran Gully
Hank Haas
Fred Haefeli
Mohamed Hafez
Suzanne Hagadorn
Mahmood Karimi Hakak
Howard Halstead
Jack Ham
Mark Hammond
YiMei Han
Evelyn Hanna
Patricia Harrington
Raymond Harris
Elle Harrison
Chris Hart
Donna Hart
Mary Hartshorne
Les Hassen
Ann Hatke
Kurt Haushalter
Gerard F. Havasy
Susan Hawkes-Teeter
Connie Hayner
Randy Hayner
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Sandra Heddesheimer
Anne Marie Heim
Ted Helveston
Art Henningson
Colleen Henry
Lori Herasimtschuk
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Thomas Herrmann
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Karen Hess
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Junior Hitlall
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Tom Holland
Kurt Hollocher
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Diane Sanders Hombach
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Jason Houck
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Judy Hughes
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Dr. Roger H. Hull
Paula Hunt
Jack Hunter
Kristina Hunter
Nancy Hunter
Carolyn Huston
Joanne Hwaszcz
Jared Iacolucci
Martha Iacolucci
Richard Ippolito
Marjorie & Carl Ireland
Lance Jackson
Beth Jacobs
Jerry Jasinski
Kimberly Jefferson
Richard Johnson
Ken Jones
Bonnie Jorgensen
Daniel Jorgensen
Mary Joyce
Joseph Kaczynski
Lewis Kain
Mark Kaplan
Robert Karandy
David Karasz
Mimi Katz
Paul Kazee
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Paula Kelly
Debra Kenfield
Jeannette Kenneally
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Penny Kennedy
Tom Kennedy
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Barbara Kerr
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Kenneth Kimball
Ashleigh King
Donald Kingsley
Ed Kinowski
James Kirby
Bill Kitchen
Diane Klementowski
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Ray Knapik
Kathleen Kniskern
John Kolwaite
Marisa Korytko
Tom Koval
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Nancy Krawczeski
Geraldine Krawitz
Brian Kreis
Deborah Krol
Mike Kruger
Talia Kruger
David Kruk
John Kucji
Mary Kuykendall
Sally Kwak
Tracey LaBelle
Ginny LaJuene
Kim Lake
Gina Lamagna
Paul Lamar
John Lang
Lucie Lang
Diane Lange
John Lant
Gaetano Lanzi
Peg Lapo
Janice Latus
Raymond LeBel
James Lechowicz
Donna Lee
Jon Lemelin
Robert Lemmerman
Mabel Leon
Matt Leon
Gary Lessard
Linda LeTendre
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Bruce Levy
Kirk Lewis
Larry Lewis
Linda Lewis
Ricki Lewis
Richard W. Lewis, Jr.
Barry Lindenberg
David Lindsay
Steven Lippincott
Jonathan Liptak
Gary Locatelli
Matthew Lofchie
Nora Lohmann
Michael Long
Peter Looker
Ottavio LoPiccolo
Christina Loukides

Dr. Michael Lozman
Wendy Lucas
Martin Lyden, Ph.D.
Richard Lyford
S. John Lynch
Edgar Lynk
Christopher MacDermot
Deanndra Macomber
Bill MacTiernan
Alvin Magid
Sally Magid
Bernard Malone
Bill Manfred
Robert Mangino
Bob Mantello
Paul Mantica
Tommy Marcellino
Diane Marco
Angela Marczewski
Allison Marinucci
Jared Mark
Gerald V. Marmuscak
Patricia Marra
Janice Martin
Jim Martin
Marcia Martin
Bruce Martindale
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Liz Mastrianni
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John Matarazzo
James Maxfield
Dakota Torales Maxwell
Ginni Mazur
Dorie McArthur
Barbara McBride
Mary McClaine
Marlene McCleary
Anne McCoy
Bill McCullough
Carol McDonald
Cecilia McFadden
Douglas McFadden
Thomas McGarry
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Robert McMorris
Maura McNulty
Tim McNulty
Andrew McPherson
John M. Medeiros
Virginia Mee
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Sarah Meredith
Renee Mertens
Michael Messinger
Marnie Messitt
Meg Messitt
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Joe Meuse
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Kurtis Miller
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Norman Miller
Lois Mills
George Milner
Tom Minnick
John Mishanec
Tom Mithen
Ainsley Gordon Moloney
Lesley Montenaro
Richard Moody
Earl Moon
Calvin Moore
Jeff Moore
Jerry Moore
Kenneth Moore
Lynn Moore
Michael Moore
Betsy Moore-Galinsky
Jim Moorhead
Roberto Morado
Richard Moran, Sr.
Shirley Morehouse
Anthony Morelli
G. Thomas Moynihan
Nancy Muldoon
Amanda Mulhern
Sean Mulkerrin
Bill Mullins
Lawrence Mulvaney
Frank Munoff
Jim Murphy
Jeff Murtagh
Frank Myers
John Myers
Tymesia Nabors
Ryan Nadareski
John Naple
Michael Nardacci
Sandra J. Natale
Frank Natalie
Linda Neil
Matt Nelligan
Doug Nelson
Joel Nelson
William Nelson
John Nett
Virginia Newton
Jean Nicholas
Sara & Ray Nichols
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Richard Nicolella
Greg Niforos
George Nigriny
William Nikas
Everett Noakes
Judy Nocera
Olivia Noonan
Barbara Norton
Margaret Novak
Jim Novotny
Theresa Nowicki
Patricia Nugent
Neil Nusbaum
Suzanne Nye
Cynthia O’Bryan
David Ochse
Rory O’Connor
Diane O’Donnell
Christopher Ognibene
Malcolm O’Hara
Leesa Oliver
Timothy O’Neill
Gwendolyn Ossenkop
Nancy Ostapow
Jack Osterlitz
Zoe Oxley
Art Pagano
Robert Palmateer
Frank Palmeri
Wallace Paprocki
Martha Paraszczak
Ann Parillo
Gerard Parisi
Linda Parker-Kucik
Mike Parwana
Carmela Pasquarella
Michael Pasquarella
Paul Paterakis
Carmel Patrick
Tammy Patrick
James Pavoldi
Robert Payst
Duane Pechtel
Jeffrey Pelky
Vincent Pelliccia
Lawrence Penna
Larry Penner
Norman Perazzo
Mary Cuffe Perez
Melinda Perrin
Christine Pesses
David Pesses
Barbara Petersen
Kathleen Petersen
Robert Petticrew
Forman & Zlata Phillips
Edward Pickett
Barbara Pidgeon
Pete Pidgeon
Ralph Pidgeon
Betty Pieper
Chuck Piotrowski
Al Pirigyi
Lori Pirrone
Nicolette Pirrone
Gerald Plante
Keith Plummer
Bruce Pomeroy
Greer Pomeroy
Bill Poppino
Don Porter
Thomas Porter
Charles Potter
Martha Price
Mal Provost
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Chad Putman
Gail Pyatt
Elaine Pyszkowski
Cindi Pytlovany
Patricia Pytlovany
John Quinn
Kelly Quist-Demars
Anne Rabe
Mark Rahn
Frank Ralbovsky
Flora Ramonowski
Christopher Randolph
Dr. Govind Rao
Eva Raymer
Jean Raymond
Vincent Reda
Jacob Reed
Linda Reeves
Renate Reeves-Ellington
Ann Reffue
Paul Rehm
Kaleigh Reid
Mike Reilly
Jane Reisenger
Bruce Reisner
Allen R. Remaley
Patricia Renna
Louis Restifo, Sr.
Brandy Richards
Theresa Rickard
Jaime Riegel
Dana Riell
Charles Rielly
Vince Riggi
Susannah Risley
Linda Rizzo
Karen Roarty-Dansfield
Victor Roberts
Dylan Robichaud
Ethel Robinson
Jack Robinson
John Robinson
Katherine Robinson
Kimberly Rodecker
Carmen Rodriguez
Ramon Rodriguez
Sarah Rogerson
Sandy “Rogo” Roginski
Dean Romano
John Romano
Susan Rossi
Frank Rossi, Jr.
Sylvia Rowan
Joseph Rowny
Pastor Joyce Royal
James Rudaitis
Donna Rulison
Diane Rumrill-Hall
Richard Ruzzo
Karen Sacchetti
Aliya Saeed
Dr. Arthur Salvatore
Jennifer Samaniuk
Angelo & Maria Santabarbara
Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara
Hannie Santana
Anthony J. Santo
Paul Santo
Camille Sasinowski
Paul Sator
John Savage
Rick Savage
Paula Schaeffer
Christian Scharl
Gordon Schaufelberg
Bob Scher
Brian Schilling
Norman Schneider
Dave Schoch
Allison Schultz
Marg Schwab
Sandra Scott
Timothy Scrom
Paul Sebesta
Joe Seeman
James Sefcik
Bonnie Sellers
Arnold F. Serapilio
Stuart Serekis
Cathy Severino
Daniel Sexton
Charlie Sgroi
Marty Shanty
Bill Shapiro
Bill Shaw
Noah Shaw
Jim & Celeste Shear
Paul Sheehan
Roger Sheffer
Kathy Sieg
JoAnn Sifo
Stephen Signore
Mike Silvestri
Al Singer
John Sirtoli
Michael Skrebutenas
Butch Slater
Eric Smassanow
Rita Smith
Robert Smith
Sherrill Smith
Elizabeth Smith-Boivin
Elizabeth Sobol
Inga Solomos
George Solotruck
Earl Spencer
Eugene Spicer
Stephen Splain
Rick Splawnik
Robert Sponable
Julienne Sproat
Lynn St. Andrews
Diane St. Onge
Paul St. Onge
Anna Stanko
Matt Stanley
Michele Stater
Joe Statile
Don Steiner
Charlie Stephens
Bennett Stevens
Barbara Stowell
Walker C. Stowell
Allesandro Stramenga
Lisa Streeter
Carl Strock
Harvey Strum
Joe Suhrada
Jay Summerson
Bob Suski
Jahnn Swanker-Gibson
Cynthia Swanson
George Sykala
Geraldine Szawiela
Rit Szczepanski
Helen Tatarek
Jean Taylor
Senator Jim Tedisco
Kyra Teis
George Thiessen
Janice Evans Thompson
Ted & Norrine Thompson
Robert Thorpe
Sarah Tishler
Bill Toffenetti
Dominic Tom
Marianna Tomasino
Bruce Trachtenberg
Anne Trow
Wally Truesdell
Ken Truman
Carl Tucker
Nancy Tudor
Kevin Tully
Benjamin Turon
Dennis Ulery
Frances Underhill
Jack Underwood, MD
Richard Unger
Suzanne Unger
William Vacca
Mark Valberg
Stephen Valenti
Leonard Van Buren
John Van Patten
Bernadette Vandeinse
Lorraine VanDerWerken
Penny VanDusan
Ed Varno
Mario Vazquez
Mary Jo Venditti
Linda Veraska
Maxim Verenich
Bob Verhayden
Amy Versocki
Michael Villa
Howard “Bud” Vincent
Margaret Viscosi
Linda Walczak
Mary Wallinger
Janice Walz
Don Ward
Lawrence Wareing
Jeffrey Warrick
Anthony Wassil
Louise Wasson
Peter Watrous
Greg Way
Jennifer Weaver
Suzanne Webb
Eric Weber
Paul Webster
Russ Wege
Ray Weidman
Allison Weingarten
Keely Robelotto Weise
Addy Welch
Casper Wells
Robert Wells
Donald Wharton
Bill Whipple
John White
Tiffany White
Marlene Whitehead
Jim Whiting
Frank Wicks
Gina Wierzbowski
William Wilday
Jean Wildgrube
Tom Williams
William Wills
James Wilson
Polly Windels
Eric Winders
Martha Winsten
Tom Winterstein
Mary Wirchansky
Andrea Wise
Christine Witkowski
Donna Wojcik
Bryan Wood
Walter Wouk
Connie Woytowich
Erin Wright
Joshua Wyman
Rebecca Yates
Neil Yetwin
Kathleen Young
Colin Yunick
Matt Yunick
Lorene Zabin
Gerald Zahavi
Steve Zahurak
Eileen Zampella
Al Zanger
Paul Zawistowski
Frederick Ziemann
Joy Zimberlin
Paul Zonderman
Robert Zordan
Robin Zucker
John Zuckerberg

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Categories: Editorial, Opinion, Opinion