Our small hometowns are special. We have state parks, walking trails, running rivers, and precious lakes right outside our doors, along with unique small businesses and eateries. We enjoy award-winning theater, world-renowned manufacturing, and hometown hardware stores where friendly faces are ready to help. Our community is safe, and many of our public schools are staffed by friends and neighbors. We pay our fair share to fund local and state government and insist it live within its means. We want our money spent wisely and expect a real return on that investment. We are proud to live in small towns supported by volunteers of every kind.

Yet in Hartford a growing number of legislators believe our residents can afford to hand over still more of their hard-earned money, and they push for greater government overreach into our lives. Higher taxes and more spending rank as the top priority of the super-majority party. Their agenda is very different from ours. They favor big government that expands bureaucracy and slow progress. Their first instinct when facing complex problems is to throw more of your money at them. The result has been out-of-control spending and higher taxes for all of us.

This same mindset has pockets of support here at home, including from my opponent. That is not entirely her fault; she only recently moved into the district and does not fully share our history. I am running again to make government work for you, not the other way around. I bring real roots and real results from two decades of community advocacy and volunteerism. I ask for your vote—not simply as a candidate, but as a neighbor who understands what makes our towns worth protecting with the experienced leadership you deserve.