I want to feel welcomed at local restaurants, not endorse their ideology with my hard-earned money

To the Editor:

When I enter a restaurant, I want to feel welcomed. If I see a sign endorsing one candidate over another, I am being asked to endorse their ideology with my hard-earned money. You know what? I am there to relax and enjoy myself, not align myself with their candidate or political leanings.

Now we come to the crux of the matter. If Milford Hospitality Group owns 90% of the restaurants in town, and they all openly endorse Lisa Emery, how can I feel comfortable in any one of these places? I feel terribly conflicted because I want the future of Milford to be ensured. The workers in these establishments are suffering as well. Tips will suffer when people just go to restaurants who don’t serve their political agenda as an appetizer. With workers so hard to come by, why would the MHG put their employees in such a polarizing position? With times so tough, why would any business owner overlook 50% of the population?

Since I have lived here, the roots of our town have shown themselves to be patience, kindness, tolerance, open-mindedness, and neighborly behavior. It hasn’t been divisive or mean spirited. I implore the MHG to remove politics from their menus as soon as possible. Under the present circumstances, I will not be patronizing any of the businesses displaying these signs.

Edward Ehler

Milford