In less than two weeks, the voters in the Town of Ramapo will have a chance to once again go out to vote for a few seats that are being contested in local elections. Between all of them, the most important one is the office of Ramapo Town Supervisor, which has been held for more than eight years by the Honorable Chris St. Lawrence.

Supervisor St. Lawrence is running on his record of accomplishments. The Supervisor took over a town almost a decade ago which was run down: its sewer system was overflowing, yet the town didn’t do much about it; most main roads had cracks and holes in it which made it difficult for cars to drive by without getting damaged; adults who walked to and from shopping centers and didn’t have sidewalks to walk on, or street lights at night to lighten up the darkened roads, which were overgrown by trees. In general, people didn’t feel safe to live in this area because of an ineffective Police Department. All this placed Ramapo on a course of joining parts of “upstate New York” which is miserably known for its run-down economy and ever-decreasing population.

Fast forward eight years, and Ramapo is at its best: roads are constantly repaved and expanded where needed; pedestrians have wide side-walks to use for their daily strolls or shopping needs; kids and adults don’t fear walking the streets at night, knowing that the roads are lit and the cops are around to make sure that all is fine. Instead of having local government agencies bombarding locals with so-called “code violations,” the Town works to educate residence on safety issues and helps them to live in safe environments. While expanding the roads, side-walks, and sewer system to accommodate the ever-expending local economy, the town has spent thousands of dollars to preserve open space, which is needed for the environment and for the view of it. All in all, due to the tireless work of the Supervisor and the expanding peaceful communities in the area, Ramapo was named the safest town in the U.S. in 2008, in addition to being named one of the best places to take a respite in the entire eastern seaboard.

Despite achieving all these good things, more work is needed to preserve Ramapo’s future, and Supervisor St. Lawrence is ready to do the work - this is why he is running again for another two-year term. He wants to finish jobs that he started, and take upon more of them when and if needed. The Supervisor and his team, in addition to all Town employees, specially the police and emergency personal, will continue doing their suburb work if we all go out and vote for them this upcoming September 15.