Letter To The Editor: In Support Of Ed Lopez For 150th House District

The following was submitted by Greenwich resident and former Town Clerk Carmella Budkins

Dear Editor,

Next Tuesday we will be casting our votes and looking forward to how our next slate of elected officials works to shape our town’s future. Here, in the 150th district, I will be supporting Ed Lopez for State Representative.

I've worked with Ed at Town Hall: in my time as Town Clerk, I observed his hard work and commitment to service and to building bridges with others to get things done on the Representative Town Meeting. His service as a legislator has helped sustain our neighborhood's growth and progress through the good and the bad. In the five years he’s served on our town legislature he’s helped our district weather many of the state’s poorly planned decisions that impact our neighborhoods viscerally as well as the challenges that came during COVID. During COVID, Ed spent time reaching out to seniors and those with physical challenges in an organized effort to secure help when needed; he also helped small businesses cut through bureaucratic challenges that were making it more difficult for them to weather such an unpredictable situation.

Our neighborhood, like our overall 150th state assembly district, is an incredibly diverse part of the town. It’s a combination of many families who are deeply rooted here and new arrivals who anchor their hopes in the excellent schools, faith communities, organizations, small and large businesses, and opportunities it offers. Ed has been perceptive and has a keen understanding of that socio economic complexity.

We always stress the importance of each election as it arrives. But all elections are important. What matters is the long-term impact of each decision, each vote cast, and each leader we choose. In turn, their understanding of their constituents and the qualifications they meet to represent them matter most.

It will be important to send a message to Hartford next Tuesday. Greenwich is a unique community and the rest of the state benefits from our entrepreneurship and initiative. Our general assembly seat for the district should carry that leadership over to help drive our state to similar success; we cannot afford to be shaped by Hartford’s policies: our aspirations and sense of community deserve a voice. Join me in supporting Ed Lopez for state representative to strengthen our neighborhoods and to usher the state in a different direction. Let’s make the Greenwich Advantage a Connecticut Advantage through good governance.

Carmella Budkins

Greenwich, CT