A Governor Who Understood Us

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A GOVERNOR (not Hochul or Cuomo) WHO UNDERSTOOD US:

State of New York
Executive Chambers
Albany, NY

Thomas E. Dewey, Governor

June 19, 1942

Mr. Harry J. Wellebil, Secretary
Nassau County Village Officials Association
375 Sunrise Highway,
Lynbrook, NY

Dear Mr. Wellebil

I am happy to greet the members of the Nassau County Village Officials Association through its report and seventeen years of service to Nassau County.

Your Association makes an invaluable contribution to good government in the State of New York. It is too easily forgotten that no government is no better than its roots in every locality. The officials closest to the ideas and needs of the people are the officials of the villages, towns and counties. They are the foundation of free government. Without the knowledge and the work that they are able to provide, a free republic would not be able to exist.

So, today, near the end of the long trend to remove all power from the people to a centralized government, I want to greet you on stout service during these difficult years. You have never lost sight of the fundamentals of government. May you continue to grow ever stronger in your service to the people.

With warm personal regards, I am

sincerely yours,
Governor Thomas E. Dewey