To the Editor:

I am proud to endorse Rebekah Harriman-Stites for Connecticut’s 106th State Legislative District.

I have lived in Sandy Hook for 19 years. This is where my husband and I raised our four children, and I care deeply about this community. Through the years, I co-founded the Independent Party of Newtown to support education for Newtown’s children, and after the heartbreaking tragedy on 12/14, I co-founded the Newtown Action Alliance and the Newtown Foundation to protect all children, families, and other communities from gun violence. I am also one of the many leaders of the Connecticut Chapter of the Women’s March.

The Trump Presidency has been frightening. As a minority immigrant mother, I feel that everything I value is slipping away on the federal level. The 2016 Newtown Bee ad with Newtown candidates together with Donald Trump’s name and the “Make America Great Again” motto has been burned into my memory. Despite Donald Trump’s lack of compassion, integrity, morality, and transparency, polls suggest 80 percent of Republicans continue to support him.

We must elect strong, compassionate, and morally just candidates to counter any and all damage being imposed on Connecticut by the Trump Administration, his allies in Congress, and now the Supreme Court.

As my representative, Rebekah will lead on the issues that are important to my family. Rebekah is a proven leader and a compassionate human being. She has served on the Board of Education and supported Newtown Action Alliance and the Newtown Foundation’s efforts to end gun violence. She was nationally recognized for her extraordinary work with My Sandy Hook Family Fund and also founded the Newtown Forward group to engage the Newtown community members.

I urge Newtown voters to support Rebekah as well as Ned Lamont, William Tong, and the other Democrats on November 6.

Po Murray

38 Charter Ridge Drive, Sandy Hook          October 17, 2018