There has been a great deal of fear surrounding the election of Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City.

The city of Elkins has already had a Democratic socialist mayor and that was me from 2009 to 2013.

By bringing together a very diverse coalition of citizens –liberals, conservatives, Democrats, Republicans, various racial, civic, and religious groups of the city and working objectively together — we were able to accomplish a lot for our citizens.

We got financing for the new water plant, which is the biggest local public works project in the history of Randolph County and provides good, pure, reliable water for many of our citizens.

We reorganized the police department, making it among the best in the state.

We set up a new Financial Administration system that for the past 11 years has remained on a perfect rating from the state auditor’s office, which is something very few communities in the state have ever been able to do.

We closed a bankrupt landfill which was seriously draining the city’s financial resources and got the state to pick up the enormous costs associated with its closure.

It was deeply humbling when Judge Robert Maxwell, the chief federal judge for Northern West Virginia, phoned one day and told me I was the best mayor Elkins ever had. Even The Inter-Mountain had enormous editorial praise for our administration when they endorsed me for re-election in 2011.

Democratic socialists attend to the needs of all citizens of the community, not just the elite or the wealthy few, and we make our cities, state and country a much better place in which to work and live. That is why I am a Democratic socialist and why I support other Democratic socialists for election.

America is our amazing country and exists for all of us. I am a decorated Vietnam veteran who has fought communism firsthand, and I will fight fascism just as valiantly.

Duke Talbott

Elkins