Lachterman Following GOP Playbook in Suspending Water Fluoridation
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
Rick Pezzullo’s article last week on water fluoridation in Yorktown contained a few gems buried at the very end; namely, fluoridation of water is broadly accepted to have reduced tooth decay among children and adults by 25 percent throughout their lifespan. This data point should have been raised much earlier in the article, rather than at the very end.
Sadly, the article is mostly devoted to Yorktown Supervisor Ed Lachterman’s spurious reasoning for suspending water fluoridation in the town – even though the court decision that gave him his tendentious rationale didn’t require it. This is the same anti-science reflex that caused the GOP to oppose vaccine mandates despite overwhelming proof that such requirements protect the public.
The local GOP doesn’t like talking about national politics, but by suddenly slamming the brakes on a program with such clear health benefits, it is showing its obedience to national GOP talking points that are reflexively anti-science and anti-expertise. In this instance, depriving children of fluoridated water is a blatantly political act at the expense of the constituents Mr. Lachterman pretends to care about.
Michael Hickins
Yorktown Heights
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