In Our Opinion
The COVID-19 pandemic is hopefully a once in a lifetime experience and will be remembered by all who have lived through it, and those that have lost loved ones to the virus, as perhaps some of the toughest times in their lives.
One of the ways to work through this is to work together, and that requires leadership.
On an almost daily basis we have seen briefings from President Trump, Governor Cuomo and a few other area elected officials. We here at The Eastwick Press have been most impressed by those given by Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin and the county’s Director of Public Health Mary Fran Wachunas, as well as other officials such as Sheriff Pat Russo.
These briefings, televised by Spectrum News and live streamed on Facebook, have been quite extensive, with the daily breakdowns of where the newest cases are located, information on the unfortunate deaths, hospitalization numbers, including those in intensive care, and just as importantly, how many have recovered. The impact on area nursing homes has also been a priority.
Perhaps the most impressive part of these briefings, is when Mr. McLaughlin and Director Wachunas answer questions from county residents, in a very open and honest manner. Other officials may have answered questions directed to them from the media, but nowhere, locally anyway, have we seen such an open sharing of information and ideas as takes place in Rensselaer County.
County Executive McLaughlin has also been a strong and outspoken advocate for his county, particularly when it comes to testing for the virus. When his repeated requests to New York State to open up testing sites in the County went virtually unanswered, County Executive McLaughlin grabbed the bull by the horns, so to speak, and with the help of his staffers, obtained the needed supplies to hold mobile tests sites at the County Office Building in Troy and in the City of Rensselaer, with other sites to be announced. The County is opening up a stationary site at Hudson Valley Community College next week as well.
When this is over, discussion about Mr. McLaughlin’s policies and decisions on other county matters, and indeed politics, will undoubtedly return. However, as it relates to the current health crisis, we believe Steve McLaughlin’s leadership has been exemplary.
Tom Withcuskey
Doug La Rocque
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