I am writing this on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 4, three days before Election Day and just a short while after reading the current issue of the Syosset-Jericho Tribune and the full page advertisement taken out by Mark Fried in support of the candidacy of his cousin Conrad Singer for Family Court Judge.

I don't know Mark and I don't know Conrad. I have no idea what political party Conrad belongs to or what his judicial philosophy might be. However, after reading what Mark had to say, I have no doubt but that I'm going to vote for Conrad on Tuesday.

Like most of us, I have no clue who the judicial candidates are. They're just a bunch of names that have no meaning for me when I go into the voting booth. But thanks to Mark, and what may be the most compelling political endorsement I've ever read, I can really cast a judicial vote on Tuesday for somebody I feel comfortable voting for.

Also, like most of us, I have been absolutely appalled by the increasing negativity in political campaigns. The candidates of both parties have become increasingly vitriolic as the years go by, and I feel less and less like voting for them. Hey, if I lived in New Jersey, I would be sufficiently disgusted by the TV ads that I probably wouldn't even bother to vote, and I'm sure that most of you know what I mean. That makes Mark's ad and Conrad Singer's candidacy all the more refreshing.

Thanks, Mark, for helping me feel good about voting Tuesday.

It's just too bad that all political campaigns can't be like Conrad's.

Mike Polansky