We-Ha.com welcomes Letters to the Editor from the public, including endorsements, but letters submitted by political candidates 60 days prior to an election will not be published. Please provide your 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 Phone numbers will not be published but are required in case verification is needed.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]. 

To the Editor:

State Senator Beth Bye and I have been crossing paths since I entrusted my first daughter to her care as interim director of the Trinity College Child Care Center nine years ago, and since then I have learned a great deal about the work she is doing on behalf of families.

After she was elected to the Senate, she came to work with the students at Hall High School where I work as a library media specialist. Beth helped Hall with our mission to engage students in their community by demonstrating to the students how she partnered with community organizations to develop the Great by 8 program, which helps families in need access quality child care and programs. She explained the logistics of identifying these families, knocking on doors, and spending time with each family in order to ensure that they were fully taking advantage of the opportunities available to them. We all sat with rapt attention as we considered the level of compassion, dedication and innovation it takes to make a difference in your community. Here she was, quietly, humbly putting her head down and making a difference.

This is why I will never laugh along or nod when I hear comments about how politicians are all power-hungry or ineffectual. I know about the often thankless grueling work that public servants like Beth do every single day. I point to people like her to quiet the cynics; I hope that you will join me in supporting Beth Bye for re-election to the State Senate.

Monica Ahern
West Hartford