Candidate, Connecticut House of Representatives, District 134, 2012

Member, Representative Town Meeting, 2003-2009, 2011

Treasurer, Kim Fawcett for State Representative, 2010

Campaign Manager, Thomas Drew for State Representative, 2004-2006

Campaign Manager, Kenneth A. Flatto for First Selectman, 2005

Member, Board of Education’s Cultural Diversity Task Force, 2009-present

Former Member, Education and Recreation Committee, Representative Town Meeting

Member, Finance Committee, Representative Town Meeting, present

Former Chair, Public Works and Planning Committee, Representative Town Meeting

Former Secretary, Public Works and Planning Committee, Representative Town Meeting

Member, Democratic Town Committee, 2004-2012

Head Teacher, Child Link, Student Age Child Care, Limited Liability Company, 2002-2005

Owner, Bright Futures Child Care Learning Center, 2003

Head Teacher, Kids’ Place, Student Age Child Care, Limited Liability Company, Osborn Hill School, 1997-2000

Director, Kids’ Place, Student Age Child Care, Limited Liability Company, Osborn Hill School, 1997-2000

Member, Outreach Board, First Church Congregational, Fairfield, 2008-present

Teacher, K-6 Religious Education, First Church Congregational, Fairfield, 1999-present

Members, First Church Congregational, Fairfield, present

President, Osborn Hill School Parent-Teacher Association

Former Secretary, Roger Ludlow Middle School Parent Teacher Student Association

Member, Sound View Knitting Guild, Trumbull, Connecticut

Former President, Sound View Knitting Guild, Trumbull, Connecticut

Awards:

U.S. Presidential Volunteer Service Award (2011)
Denise Dougiello Young Turk Award (Fairfield Democratic Town Committee, 2011)

Reason for Seeking Public Office:

I am running for State Representative because I want to continue to improve the quality of life for the people in the 134th District and throughout the State. Going door-to-door meeting the people of the District, I have learned that the top three concerns of voters are jobs, taxes, and education. If I am elected, my priorities will reflect these concerns. I will work to:

* Make responsible cuts to the State budget that will ease the tax burden on middle class families and small businesses;
* Support initiatives to help small business owners create new jobs and grow their businesses;
* Support education reforms, including applying evaluations to administrators as well as teachers, and ensuring that all teacher and administrator evaluations are fair and balanced;
* Stabilize and improve our infrastructure. We learned, following the back-to-back storms last year, that our utilities need to get up and running again as quickly as possible after an outage. Small businesses and families suffered financial losses after losing power and water for several days at a time; and
* Support initiatives to improve our commuter rail system to include heavy and light rail system, along with expanding our bus service.

"Why are you running?"

As I walk through the neighborhoods of the 134th, the question I am asked most is, "Why are you running?" The answer is I know I can do a better job than my opponent.

I've always been about community service and volunteering. I got involved in town politics when the former First Selectman asked me to run for the RTM. I had always been civic minded but never considered running for office until then. After winning, with the highest number of votes out of 10 candidates in my district, I was honored to be elected and beholden to the voters to do a good job and provide the leadership they were looking for on the RTM.

I am now in my fourth term on the RTM and genuinely enjoy helping my constituents and other Fairfielders. I am proud of my ability to work with members from both sides of the aisle. I've chaired committees and have striven to be fair and let all voices be heard while also asking the tough questions so my vote is always an informed one.

There are three differences between me and my opponent; our work ethic and our willingness to tackle controversy head-on. And, I am not running with the intent of building my own business.

Willing to do the Hard Work

From the beginning, I've never shied away from hard work. I give it my all from start to finish, long after the photographers and the crowds leave. Hard work and real leadership go hand in hand. Real leadership is showing up ready to work, not grip and grin. Whether it's the PTA, the Church Outreach Board, or the RTM, I don't hesitate to roll up my sleeves and do what takes to get the job done.

I don't shy away from controversy either. I got my first taste of controversy when I led a committee to start a wrap around child care program at Osborn Hill Elementary School in 1997. We faced multiple challenges getting the community to accept that we were no longer a society of stay-at-home moms, but instead a diverse neighborhood of working families that needed safe, affordable, high quality care for their children. I didn't personally need the program at the time and could have just walked away from the headache, but I didn't. Today, I am still proud to be a part of the team that created Kids' Place, a program that continues to flourish and provide quality before and after school care.

If I am elected State Representative, I promise the voters that I will serve them with the same tenacity and commitment that I have brought to the RTM and other volunteer leadership roles. I'll listen to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, look for common ground, seek out ways to work out differences, and advocate for solutions that are good policy, not politics as usual. If I attach my name to a bill, I will work to see it through to passage. Likewise, if I tell you I support something here, I won't go to Hartford and vote against it. Most importantly, if I am given the honor of representing the people of the 134th in Hartford, I will always be accessible and return phone calls and e-mails.