To The Editor:

There’s a difference between being good behind the camera or microphone and being good at the job.

Rob Blanchard has spent his career in political communications, and it shows. In a social media video or an interview he’s polished, quick with an answer and never off message. That takes a lot of practice, and he’s had years of it working around the Governor’s political operation. I’d expect nothing less.

The trouble starts when you stop watching how he says things and start listening to what he says. A lot of it sounds good in the moment. Then you go back over an answer and try to find the part where he told you what he would do, and it’s nothing more than surface level. It’s smooth, confident and quick, and it leaves you about where you started. That’s what you get from someone who has been trained to get through a question and not to answer it.

Amybeth Laroche doesn’t come from that world. When you talk to her in person, what you get is a warm, friendly person who answers the question you asked directly and in detail. She doesn’t seem to be managing how she comes across or trying to “portray an image to the public”. She seems curious about what you think, and when she answers, there’s substance in it.

A State Senator votes on our taxes, our housing rules and our electric rates, and those votes should come from someone who’s heard from the people they represent and are able to bring new fresh ideas to the table instead of rehashing what’s already been done and hasn’t worked.

I’d vote for the person who’s genuine. For me that’s Amybeth.

Steven Goodridge

Newtown