To The Editor:

I know lots of people who own small businesses, and truthfully, I don’t know how they’re able to do it. Rent has gone up. Costs have gone up. Everything from insurance to the price of basic supplies keeps climbing, and there's only so much that they can pass along to customers before they just stop coming in.

I hear a lot of talk from Hartford about supporting small businesses. I don't see that talk turn into action in ways that matter. What these people need isn't a ribbon cutting or a press release. They need someone who understands that a town like Newtown runs on these mom-and-pop shops and one-off restaurants. They need someone who’ll stand up and fight for policies that keep the lights on, not just talk about how important Main Street is during election season.

I’ve talked with Amybeth Laroche and she truly understands this. She’s befriended local store and restaurant owners long before she ever decided to run for office, not to use them as a talking point or chess piece, but because she genuinely loves and supports her community here in Newtown. I simply don’t believe that Rob Blanchard can make this same sort of genuine connection here in Newtown by moving here four months before election day and expect to understand our town in the same way. Newtown residents have always been exceptionally warm and welcoming people, but we’re also not stupid when it looks like we’re being used.

Vincent Cuocci

Newtown