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To the Editor,

Kate Farrar deserves to serve another term in the State House of Representatives representing Connecticut’s 20th District because she understands the role and gets results.

In her first term, Kate championed the largest tax cut in our state’s history, providing economic relief to families and seniors. A product of public education in Connecticut, from kindergarten to UConn, Kate proudly supported the state’s largest investment in children’s mental health, which will bring more resources to our schools. She also delivered nearly $5 million in state funding for West Hartford’s new community and senior center, street improvements, and arts and cultural organizations.

Her challenger, Anastasia Yopp of Newington, has spent much of her fledgling political career parroting misleading and inaccurate conservative talking points. For example, Ms. Yopp is under the misconception that social and emotional learning (SEL) is taught at the expense of “classical” subjects like reading, writing, and arithmetic and that acknowledging the realities of racial inequity and gender diversity in an academic setting constitute “propaganda” and “indoctrination” (her words).

That Ms. Yopp has made these issues a focal point of her campaign for State Rep suggest that she’s not only out of touch with a majority of West Hartford and Newington voters, but has a fundamental lack of understanding about the office for which she’s running. Curriculums are determined by local school districts, not the state legislature. Her campaign has also spread misinformation online and at resident doorsteps, telling voters that Democrats passed a law allowing minors to receive mental health treatments without consent from parents or guardians. This is patently false and, again, an issue to be decided at the local level, not state.

Kate Farrar is a proven defender of women’s reproductive freedoms and LGBTQIA rights. Ms. Yopp claims to be pro-choice but is on record as saying that abortions should be restricted to instances of rape, incest, or medical issues. And her Facebook page is dotted with comments and reposts that are, at best, insensitive and, at worst, hostile toward LGBTQIA families.

It also goes without saying – but I’ll say it anyway – that Ms. Yopp’s decision to slap an unauthorized photo of herself alongside West Hartford’s Police Chief on her recent campaign mailer in an attempt to imply his endorsement was both reckless and irresponsible.

If the voters of West Hartford and Newington who comprise the 20th House District want a responsible, proven leader with a track record of success and a desire to serve ALL of her constituents with compassion and respect, the choice is clear: on Nov. 8, re-elect Kate Farrar.

Adam Raider
West Hartford

Adam Raider is chair of the West Hartford Democratic Town Committee’s first district.