To the editor: No better endorsement of a leader than old guard mobilizing against him

I am a licensed clinical social worker and have worked within child welfare, community mental health and addiction treatment for over 10 years. Our system of care is highly reactive and punitive, rather than proactive and restorative.

This is the context in which I met my friend Joshua Lake. Josh is a gifted speaker, funny and sharp as a tack, but his most important feature is his empathy. It’s genuine and powerful. It drives him in a way that inspires me. He is running for Windsor County Sheriff and I am thrilled to support him.

He and I don’t agree on everything, but that’s OK and probably for the best. But he agrees and sees the fundamental worth of every human being. During his interactions, he sees the person in front of him as a human in a system setting them up to fail, rather than the stigmatized and judged person too many of us find before our eyes. I get why we do, we’re sad. We’re sad that our neighbors and families are suffering and it’s not clear what each of us can do about it ourselves.

So I’m voting for Joshua Lake. The next sheriff of Windsor County has to be someone of firm character, and ready to put through the kind of systemic changes that will make the lives of working class people in our county better. Restorative justice, resource referral and social work are all parts of his plans. We cannot afford to have more of the same and allow our neighbors to continue to fall through the cracks.

The people who are invested in nothing changing in the Windsor County sheriffs department, and who enabled Ryan Palmer, will do everything they can to undermine Josh. They will tell lies about Josh and his family, but this is because they are threatened by him and the change that he represents. When the old guard mobilizes to prevent change, there can be no better endorsement of a leader.

We need Joshua Lake as our next sheriff. Please get involved at www.lakeforsheriff.com.

Ethan Avendaño-Lawrence, LICSW
Windsor