LETTER: Words from the 7th Senatorial District Challenger

My name is Annie Hornish, and I am the Democratic and Working Families Party candidate for the 7th State Senate seat. North central Connecticut needs an effective senator who understands and fights for the things important to us, and fights for hardworking families, who are increasingly finding it harder to get ahead. I will fight for the hardworking families of the 7th, not special interests. Term limits will be my top priority, as career politicians are the fundamental impediment to meaningful policy changes that are so desperately needed. Like many of the senators in Hartford, my opponent, who is a corporate attorney for Eversource, has been in office for a very long time: 23 years. Serving as a legislator should be a public service, not a career.

I grew up in Enfield, and now live in Granby with my husband of 26 years, Neil, and my mother, Agnes Wosko. My father, Eddie Wosko, was a police officer in Enfield for many years. I graduated from Fermi, UConn’s College of Agriculture, and earned my MBA at Western New England College.

I worked in healthcare for 20 years before taking on the job of state director for a large animal welfare organization, and I was honored to receive this year’s Community Leader Award from Hartford Magazine for my work.

Another honor I received this year was being inducted, as part of the 1984 Enrico Fermi 18-0 softball team, into the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame—a memory that I will forever cherish.

As a state representative for Granby (2009-10)), I have a track record of government reform and job creation: I co-sponsored the bill that created transparency.ct.gov, as well as several innovative jobs bills that created high tech jobs and helped students afford college. I also championed laws that helped protect animals from cruelty.

When elected, my top priorities will be government reform (term limits and transparency) and growing the economy through high quality jobs.

I will work to make government more transparent, efficient, and less beholden to special interests. We need to reform government with term limits, even greater transparency, and results-based budgeting in order to break the cycle of legislators caring more for special interests than they do for the hardworking families in our state.

As your senator, I will work to provide an environment conducive to high quality jobs. High quality jobs provide workers a living wage, thereby reducing reliance on government assistance (and saves taxpayer dollars). Supporting education at all levels, from public school to innovation and research at our state community colleges and universities, plays a vital role in bringing good jobs to our state.

My endorsements include Working Families Party, Connecticut State Building Trades, AFSCME Council 4, AFL-CIO, AFT CT (teachers), CSU-AAUP (college professors), Clean Water Action, and CT League of Conservation Voters.

We must maintain a clear vision for Connecticut’s future by being strong in the present with key investments while continuing to tackle the neglect and bad decisions of the past. We must maintain a vision that includes maintaining our state’s high quality of life.

Economies around the globe have changed since the Great Recession of 2008, and the new economy that has taken shape dictates that we must provide an environment conducive to high quality jobs, both for those currently underemployed and in order to attract and retain college graduates. I will support policies that will strengthen the middle class by bringing high paying jobs to the state.

We are not going to tax our way out of this. We are not going to cut our way out of this. We are going to grow our way out of this.

Whether it’s fighting for term limits, bringing more high quality jobs to the state, advocating for a streamlined, transparent government, improving infrastructure, making college more affordable, or honoring our seniors and veterans by providing tax credits and easier access to prescription drugs, I will be the advocate our community needs in Hartford. I will be an effective, fearless, and innovative reformer, not another career politician.

In 2011, I fought breast cancer. It was a transformative experience that left me with an even stronger desire to do as much service as I can with my life. Hence, I am back in the political ring, and I ask for your vote on November 8.

Annie Hornish
Granby

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