Voting for Carl Sciortino

I’m voting for Carl Sciortino for Congress, and I encourage everyone in this district to do the same. This is not criticism of the other candidates. This is wholehearted enthusiasm for Carl.

I’ve known Carl for many years as my state rep. I actually spoke with him as a state rep before I was redistricted into his district a couple of years ago. I’ve seen him at dozens of public meetings and events, and I’ve spoken with him at length about issues ranging from taxes to transportation to arts funding to CORI reform. He is smart, thoughtful, friendly, and genuine. (That’s not true of enough people, let alone enough politicians.) When I have talked with him about an issue that was new to him, he has listened to my thoughts, gone and learned more, and then gotten back to me. I agree with him on many issues, but more importantly I trust his priorities. He values people, he values transparency, and he values clear and open communication. He is clear about his views without dismissing others.

Carl has also been a very effective state rep. He has been a leader within the legislature on transportation issues, education reform, and human rights. He has been extremely accessible to his constituents, open to talking to anyone. I’ve often written in his name when I was not satisfied with the choices on the ballot for various races. I would love to have him as my Congressman.

Our Congress is currently extremely broken. I’m under no illusion that Carl will be able to fix that. But he will stand up for progressive values without increasing the polarization, he will work to pass and improve legislation that can make it through a broken Congress, and he will be in a good position to help our country become a better country as Congress eventually returns to the important work of governing.

So I’m voting for Carl Sciortino, and I hope you do as well.