"YES" Budget Campaigning at Memorial Day Parade

Today I was happy to be able to return to visit my hometown of Sayville to honor our bravest at our annual Memorial Day Parade. But I was saddened to see several individuals wearing shirts promoting a "YES" vote on the budget revote, and to hear them urging attendees to vote "YES". Today is not a day for politics. Memorial Day, and our community's parade, is about veterans who have given their all, like Lt. Michael Murphy of Patchogue, who was killed in Afghanistan and awarded the Medal of Honor.

Freedom isn't free, but our veterans have paid our share of the price. And time and time again we see that our society neglects them: they have high rates of unemployment, poor healthcare from the VA, and untreated mental health conditions. Every year, our community takes one hour out of our day to give our veterans the honor that they deserve: to say "thank you" and to pray for those who have died. It's unfortunate that some have seen opportunity in this sacred gathering to promote political causes.