Editor: On Oct. 9, 2018, the Ogdensburg Historical Society hosted a candidates night. Candidates from all political parties on local and county levels spoke about their positions. The firehouse was packed.

Editor:

On Oct. 9, 2018, the Ogdensburg Historical Society hosted a candidates night. Candidates from all political parties on local and county levels spoke about their positions. The firehouse was packed. Thank you, Ogdensburg Historical Society, for hosting and running the event so well.

Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jay Webber, running for U.S. Congress for New Jersey's 11th Congressional District, spoke last. They also answered written questions from the audience that were collected and selected by the moderator before the program began.

Mikie Sherrill, a mother of four, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. She is a military veteran who flew helicopters, and she's a former prosecutor. Her stances on issues regarding reproductive rights, health care, repealing the SALT cap, and protecting LGBTQ rights are opposite to Jay Webber's.

The subject of guns did not come up on Oct. 9. Reading Jay Webber's website, unlike reading Mikie Sherrill's, gives me little insight into Webber's views on guns. I have attended events where I heard Sherrill express her views. Her father, a hunter, taught her about gun safety. She trained on military weapons. Mikie Sherrill supports gun rights for responsible gun owners. She believes, however, that weapons of war designed to quickly kill as many people as possible do not belong on our streets or in our neighborhoods. She supports a federal ban on assault weapons.

Mikie Sherrill is not favored by the gun lobby. She is favored by voters who want sensible gun laws. She is favored by voters who want affordable healthcare, freedom of reproductive choice, no return to discrimination based on sexual preference or gender identity, and a repeal of SALT cap, which harms New Jersey more than any other state.

If you believe in Mikie Sherrill's positions, vote for her on Nov. 6.

Ann M. Pompelio

Sparta