Local candidates close to hearth, heart, and home add challenge to picking one over the other.

This year, two of the three seats representing Newtown in the General Assembly at Hartford are contested. Newtown resident Rebekah Harriman-Stites, for the second time, is locking horns with incumbent Mitch Bolinsky to represent Newtown’s largest district, that of the 106th. In the 2nd District, Dan Carter, who served in that position from 2011 to 2017 would like to unseat current Representative Raghib Allie-Brennan. (JP Sredzinski, representative for the 112th District, is unchallenged.)

Fairfield resident Michelle McCabe, a repeat challenger for the senate seat, is taking on Senator Tony Hwang of the 28th District.

The Newtown Bee’s virtual Friday Forums, from September 11 through October 2, introducing candidates to the public, as well as profiles in this paper and other venues provided for and by those running for office have offered a look at this pool of candidates.

Our local candidates have been subjected to truth and lies, praise and disparagement, and misinformation and useful facts this year, when they have not had ample opportunity to meet people in person. It has paved a difficult path to walk. How nimbly or not the public feels they have walked this walk will be the determining factor for many who have not yet cast a vote. These candidates have the interests of the greater public at heart, though each professes different ways to reach that goal. Each candidate, from the least to most experienced, is cognizant of the difficulties facing our town and state, this year more than ever.

It cannot be about political parties at this time. Leaping, not just reaching, across the Republican-Democratic divide is an essential skill for whomever we send to Hartford. Experience and an energized approach to progress at the town and state level are two attributes we need in representation.

The three people vying for the office in the US Congress for the 5th District include Republican David X. Sullivan, Bruce Walczak, and current Congresswoman Jahana Hayes.

Sullivan, a former federal prosecutor, has viewpoints that come from that experience, and professes to be forward looking in areas of environment, jobs, and public safety.

Independent candidate Walczak, though late to this ball, hopes his views on health care, environment, racism, and divisiveness have been spread widely enough to elicit votes. His willingness, expressed by other candidates, as well, to make this election more about policies than politics, is a plus.

Jahana Hayes has slipped into the role of Congresswoman from our state with ease. She is committed to bettering our environment; she has supported funding for those who are food insecure; and she looks to legislation that will provide access to good health care for more people. Married to a police officer, she is sensitive to the needs of reform and an advocate for policies to protect citizens from gun violence. Her part in passing legislation to protect Americans during this pandemic is commendable, as is her grace in responding to a hate-filled Zoombombing during a virtual Newtown town hall. She deserves to be returned to this office.

Can McCabe easily step into the role demanded by senatorship in these uncertain times? Her experience as director of the Center for Food Equity and Economic Development would be valuable at this time, when the pandemic has left a great number of the state’s residents suffering from food insecurity. Investing in tech and green industries are paths to creating jobs, she asserts. She is unafraid to support controversial issues, such as tolls to partially fund transportation infrastructure, and the legalization of recreational marijuana.

Senator Hwang, whose presence in Newtown is so profound that many do not realize he does not live here, has proven himself reliable. He sees work skills training, youth programs and school safety, support for first responders, the elimination of the Business Entity Tax, and federal and public/private initiatives to improve transportation infrastructure among the actions that make Connecticut a better, safer state for all residents. He offers a measure of known comfort as we exit a demonstrably difficult year and head into an uncertain future.

Unopposed, JP Sredzinski continues in his role as representative of not just a piece of Newtown, but as he vows, a representative of all of the town. He hopes to build on the relationships he has formed at the state level to advance the needs of local citizens. His willingness to work with Democrats as well as fellow Republicans will be necessary if critical issues are readily addressed in the next two years.

Dan Carter is no stranger to the Capitol and the culture there. With health insurance and aging issues in this race, Carter’s experience in the healthcare world are positives for this candidate. His moderate approach is appealing to many.

Incumbent Raghib Allie-Brennan has navigated the coronavirus-demanded virtual workspace, keeping the needs of his constituents in the forefront and leaning into difficult issues that cannot be sidestepped in today’s environment. His is an ongoing lesson of learning, but having waded into the political waters, gaining experience as assistant majority leader, vice chair of the energy and technology committee, and co-chair of the bipartisan energy caucus, he is prepared to keep his head, and those of the people he represents, above water.

Bolinsky and Harriman-Stites are familiar faces in Newtown. Their involvement in community activities and local presence (when it once was feasible) has enabled residents to see them for who they are.

Because the pandemic has placed the economy on a tightwire across an as yet unmeasurable chasm and precisely because the state continues to grapple, even prior to the health crisis, with a budget that also walks that shaky wire, a “can do” attitude is essential.

Rebekah Harriman-Stites has proven to be an effective leader on the Board of Education, as well as being proactive for issues of inequality. Her professed devotion to the town, its people, business experience, and willingness to right the wrongs she sees, as well as a sense of practicality and ability to take on challenges, are desirable characteristics for the office she seeks. As a former small business owner and lobbyist she forged relationships at the state level, which would be to her benefit inside the Capitol. Harriman-Stites has proven she “can do.”

Rep Bolinsky has assisted many people in his eight years of service and emphasizes his relationship with senior citizens. His willingness to help, as any elected representative should, has served the population. He has been given the opportunity over four campaigns, particularly that of serving on the appropriations committee, to help implement changes that could restart Connecticut’s engine. Moving forward means a bold move is necessary, as well as a willingness to take on the tough issues locally and statewide.

Bolinsky embraces a “will do” attitude in representing the 106th District. If reelected, he must use his influence and listen to those voices in Newtown that have not been heard and take action to improve inequalities of which many are only recently aware.

We need experienced personalities to set aside partisan politics and embrace insightful and courageous changes urged by this community.

Many residents of Newtown have voted this past month via absentee ballots, sure of their choices. Those who have waited out the final weeks of campaigning have had the opportunity to see and hear more from those who wish to represent this town in order to gain confidence their vote is for people they believe best suited to these critically important and demanding jobs.

We are days away from the general election. To wake up on November 4 and find that Hwang, Allie-Brennan, Sredzinski, and Bolinsky will continue on, will mean the public has faith that the are committed to turning an ugly election year into a year of kept promises and progressive changes.

But neither would it spell disaster to wake up on November 4 and find any combination of the incumbents and challengers taking a victory lap. We are fortunate to know that the abilities each has could be in its own way a boon to our community, our state. We are lucky to have candidates running for office whose familiarity with the unique needs of this region, valuable skill sets, and love of Newtown and Connecticut are not so different, one from the other. Who has the courage to take action where it is needed? Who will bring unity where division exists?

If you have not yet cast your vote by absentee ballot, now is the time to vote your heart and head at the polls on November 3.