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To the Editor:

As your State Representative, my commitment is always to listen to you, collaborate on new solutions, and deliver real results. We’ve made important strides by working together, and there is more work ahead to ensure everyone can truly thrive. This November, I ask for your vote for re-election to continue serving as a champion for our community here in the 20th District of southern West Hartford and western Newington.

Knocking on doors and talking with many of you this summer and fall, I’ve heard first-hand what people love about living here and what changes we need to make. I’ve listened to families struggling to pay the bills. Seniors concerned for their safety while driving on our roads. Women worried about losing their reproductive freedom.

We need to make Connecticut more affordable by making our taxes more fair to working families and seniors, investing in more housing options, and expanding child care. We need to create healthier communities with updates to our roadway design and transit options so it’s safer and greener to get where we need to go. And with so much uncertainty at the national level, we must make certain that our hard-fought rights and freedoms are protected here in Connecticut.

I’ve now served two terms in the state legislature, through the pandemic and now in our recovery, and we are making progress toward these goals. As Vice Chair of the Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee, I worked to deliver the state’s largest tax cuts for working- and middle-class families and seniors. This year, I spearheaded a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers to unanimously pass a comprehensive bill to make childcare more affordable and accessible.

Securing millions of dollars in investment for West Hartford, with the legislative delegation and in partnership with town leadership, is a vital responsibility. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved by working together, including $1 million in funding for the town’s Vision Zero Plan implementation for safer roads, a $2.5 million grant for the town’s purchase of the former St. Brigid School as a site for a new Elmwood Community Center, as well as funding for the West Hartford Art League, West Hartford PRIDE and the Bridge Family Center. We also secured significant state financial support this year for essential infrastructure upgrades at Triumph’s advanced manufacturing facility here in the 20th District to retain and expand good jobs.

I’ve also worked closely with constituents to pass their ideas for legislation into law. I successfully led passage of a menstrual equity law with Conard High School students and  a law expanding the number of languages for the drivers’ license exam with our West Hartford Nepalese community members.

As a nonprofit professional and volunteer for over 20 years, I’ve fought for working families, women and girls, and to improve equity and fairness in healthcare, education, and the workplace. This wide-ranging experience is rooted in my values and informs my legislative role.

Thank you for being a voter in this upcoming election. As a proven champion for the 20th District, I am honored to serve you and make government work for everyone. I ask for your support and your vote for re-election as your State Representative.

Kate Farrar

Kate Farrar, D-West Hartford, represents the 20th District in the State House

Kate Farrar. Courtesy photo