BRATTLEBORO — Mollie Burke has been my representative in the state legislature since 2009, and I will be voting for her on Nov. 8.
Burke has been an effective member of the House Committee on Transportation, always looking for creative ways to balance our need for mobility with our stewardship of the environment. Her support for expanding public transportation is a case in point.
She has also championed issues relating to women, working people, education, criminal-justice reform, and health care. She seeks to understand the underlying causes of the problems she is trying to solve, rather than just going for the quickest fix.
Burke takes her responsibilities to her constituents seriously. Every time I have left her a phone message or sent her an email, she has gotten back to me. That's a 100-percent response record!
If I let her know that I'll be at the Statehouse, she makes time to meet over lunch if possible. If she's busy at lunchtime, she makes a point of finding me to at least have a brief chat.
I know that she has a lot of other demands on her time, so her responsiveness means that in the midst of everything she is doing, she understands that she is there to represent the people of District 2.
I trust Burke to listen carefully and respectfully and to consider what I and other constituents have to say. To me, that is one of the most important qualities in a representative, one that is at the heart of the democratic process.
I hope that other voters will join me in returning Mollie Burke to the Statehouse.