We-Ha.com welcomes Letters to the Editor from the public, including endorsements. Letters submitted by political candidates will be considered for publication up to 14 days prior to an election and most will be published within 48 hours of receipt. Letters that contain personal attacks or include profanity of any type will not be published. Rebuttals to letters should be submitted as a separate document if possible. Please provide your full name and town, as well as your phone number at the end of the letter. Phone numbers will not be published but are required in case verification is needed.

Please submit letters to [email protected]. For letters prior to Friday, Oct. 23 2026, email Interim Editor Mia Jaworski at [email protected].

Dear West Hartford Residents,

I am writing in support of candidate Philip Tummescheit in the upcoming CT State House 18th District election.  When I first heard about Philip’s candidacy, I wondered whether someone so young had the experience and judgment needed to serve effectively in the legislature. But as I’ve gotten to know him, I’ve become increasingly impressed.  I’d like to write and express my support of him.

Philip is, first and foremost, a genuinely lovely person.  He represents a great example of participatory American democracy: someone who comes from the community, and wants to make our future more sustainable and prosperous.  He is sincere and incredibly likable.  Philip also has something that is very rare among people who have been long-immersed in the culture of politics.  He has an open mind.  He is the kind of representative who is going to listen to his constituents and work with both sides, and he seems to possess the intelligence and empathy to represent us effectively. 

In the recent debate televised on WHCI, I was impressed by Philip’s ability to communicate.  If you haven’t watched it, I would strongly suggest you do so before casting your vote in the coming weeks.  He raised alarms about the trajectory of our state, especially with respect to affordability and fiscal sustainability.  He was willing to challenge the narrative that all of our problems stem from Washington.  Our affordability problems very much predate the current administration, and our ranking as one of the least affordable states in the country suggests that there are many factors within our state’s control.

I think his criticism of high annual West Hartford tax increases is very valid.  Our town budget is rapidly approaching $400 million per year, and it is incorrect to assert that there is absolutely nothing we can do to control the budget.  There are conscious choices that have led us to this huge expenditure.  The West Hartford budget is not sheer fate, it is a collection of policy decisions which have almost always pointed in the direction of higher costs.

I share Philip’s concern about current policies which are driving out residents, whether they are young people trying to find a foothold, retirees trying to stay in their homes, or everyone in between.  We would do well to hear out his concerns and to build a state that can retain young people such as himself, instead of pushing them out with extraordinarily high housing, electricity, and tax costs.  People are hurting.  Many West Hartford residents look at their current bills, project them out into the future, and wonder if they can afford to stay and put down roots here.

I also found myself in agreement with Philip’s concerns about Flock cameras and other AI-enabled automated license plate readers (ALPRs).  He has listened to voters on the campaign trail and seems to understand our reluctance about giving up privacy about our movements in exchange for promises of increased security.  ALPRs are certainly a useful tool for law enforcement.  However, there are serious, unresolved privacy concerns inherent to the underlying design of the systems which recent efforts are not going to completely fix.  I think Philip is right to question the security of these systems, and to call for increased transparency around their implementation.

Philip Tummescheit comes across as mature beyond his years, sincere, humble, likable, and is a very strong communicator.  He surely will have much to learn – but that is true for all of us who undertake public office, no matter what our prior experience.  I believe he would meet the challenge of public office well, and would represent our community well.  I am proud to endorse Philip Tummescheit for state representative in the 18th District, and I encourage West Hartford residents to give him their vote.