To The Editor:

Over the past 4 months, it has been my pleasure as a voluntary driver to assist Michelle Embree Ku to meet and talk to hundreds of Newtowners. Regardless of political party, she spends as much time as anyone needs to answer questions because she genuinely cares about our community. Her aim is to get out to talk to Newtowners to better represent them.

A couple of frequently asked questions addressed enroute by Michelle:

How can traffic be reduced with 1-84 congestion causing commuters to cut through Newtown, pushing local traffic, speeding, and noise onto our streets?

Michelle is known as the most active Newtown official pursuing a transportation strategy. She has called for expanding I-84 to three lanes between Waterbury and the NY State Line. She is committed to building a coalition with other legislators along the I-84 corridor. She will also support Connecticut’s access to federal funding by supporting legislation that bans open containers of alcohol in motor vehicles.

Property Taxes: Why are our property taxes so high? Michelle has explained that the state hasn’t raised its per-pupil funding in 13 years, while the cost of running our schools keeps rising due to inflation. Work needs to be done to update the education funding formula and regain the state’s fair share of costs for education and special education. Michelle will also fight to reduce healthcare costs through holding insurance companies accountable and energy costs through modernization. This will, in turn, lower town budgets and municipal taxes required.

I highly suggest visiting kuisforyou.com that fully explains the issues most important to Newtown. It also shows the background for leadership, experience, family values, dedication to her community and environmental action that makes Michelle Embree Ku the perfect choice to help Newtown as the next state representative for the 106th District!

Corinne Kondas

Newtown