To the Editor:

I’ll be voting for Rebekah Harriman-Stites to represent Newtown in Connecticut’s House of Representatives (106th District) and I urge my fellow Newtowners to do the same.

My reasons are many.

Of particular significance is that I served on the Candidates Committee of Newtown’s Democratic Town Committee while she was its chair, and was impressed with the dedication and wisdom she displayed in making sure that those who the committee recommended for membership on town commissions were well qualified.

I’m also impressed with the fact that in addition to having been a co-founder and executive of a successful fund raising consulting company, she’s currently involved with several organizations that specifically benefit our community, such as:

The Board of Education, where she’s been a member since 2015 and a former vice chair;

Newtown Forward, a nonpartison advocacy group, which she founded and whose members urge our legislators to pass laws favorable to Newtown;

Past president of the Middle Gate School Parent Teachers Association;

A founding member of My Sandy Hook Family fund.

As I’m a senior citizen and a former chair of Newtown’s Commission on Aging, I’m pleased that she’s an advocate for:

Income tax credits for seniors that are adjusted for inflation;

Funding for training home health care workers;

Paid family leave for seniors who are still working;

Funding for transportation infrastructure so that seniors will have the capacity to be mobile and independent.

I’m sure that Rebekah will bring to Connecticut’s House of Representatives the same passion, hard work, and intelligence that she has already brought to the organizations noted above.

Tom Dwyer

8 Obtuse Road, Newtown October 5, 2020