I believe the call of removing the mayor of Lewiston, Larry Raymond, has gone too far, especially from those using our welfare and hospitality.

The mayor was looking at the city’s current resources and realized they’re not in great abundance.

Take a look at housing as one of our resources and see if you would invite your family to live there. Dilapidated buildings previously scheduled for the wrecking ball are not ideal housing for anyone! There’s no pride in giving someone something that you wouldn’t want to live in yourself.

We’ve had high welfare and unemployment in this city for years because of our ever-closing manufacturing plants. Is this a place you would recommend to your friends and family to move and endure all of the above? No.

I don’t believe Mayor Larry Raymond, who served as a probate judge for years, deserves to be expelled because of his candidness. I don’t believe he is a racist or a bigot. He’s a man who won’t invite company to his home if his cupboards are bare.

For the numbers who continue to show up for the morsels that are left, is this the world you want for your family?

As for my ancestors who came generations ago to work in the employment-hungry mills, they had dreams of owning a home, plenty of food, supporting a family they could afford, all with pride and integrity.

I believe it is time we stop looking at all the wrong reasons and look for solutions for our current problems. Anyone throwing words like bigotry and racism in the picture is looking for pity or to sell newspapers.

Deal with reality such as substandard housing, high unemployment, overcrowded schools and high taxes. Now you have a truer picture of what our problems really are.

Deal with common sense and the solutions will come much easier.

Steven J. Goulet, Greene