"All politics is local," a phrase attributed to the late Tip O'Neill, is clearly exemplified in an op-ed piece written by state Rep.  Holly Cheeseman and published in The Day, "Local Republican leaders have more pressing matters than Trump's conduct," (Nov. 16).

In the article, she writes of issues from the granular — correcting a pedestrian safety hazard at the intersection of two state highways in downtown Niantic — to broader issues of finding safe shelter for victims of domestic violence and helping constituents find testing for COVID-19.

These issues are important to the health and safety of her constituents and are not in the least affected by her opinion of Donald Trump's post-election antics. Which brings to mind another aphorism, "Never argue with a man who buys ink by the barrel," because in the same edition that The Day published Ms. Cheeseman's essay, they found it necessary to criticize her refusal to be baited by a reporter's questions regarding Trump.

In my opinion, Cheeseman has beat the odds and won this particular argument as we re-elected her to attend to local issues of economy, health and safety, and that is what she is doing.

Thomas M. Moriarty

East Lyme