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A Truly Dismal Record

I am voting for Norm Needleman (D) for 33rd District state senator since Art Linares, Jr. (R-33) has a truly dismal record after four years in office.

Art is long on showmanship and short on results. He talks a good game about budget balancing, but can’t even convince his own party which voted 13 to 2 against him on the budget compromise to close the deficit earlier this year. He showed up for a photo op with senior citizens and then voted against funding for their center. He voted against the Newtown gun safety legislation, even though he was a member of the bipartisan panel that drafted it.

Linares only distinguishes himself by his “No” votes. He voted against a law to protect battered women. The law passed, no thanks to Linares, thus bringing Connecticut in line with 20 other states.

Linares voted not once but twice against raising the minimum wage, something that more than 70 percent of voters support. He voted against tax credits for start-up businesses; meanwhile, his own solar panel company is one of the most heavily subsidized in the state.

And then there’s the company he keeps. Linares has received the NRA’s highest rating, largely due to his responses to an NRA questionnaire that he refuses to disclose publicly. His duplicity prevents him from sharing with his constituents what he tells the NRA he will do for the gun lobby.

Linares is an enthusiastic sycophant of Donald Trump and was a Trump delegate at the Convention.

Our district and our state deserve better. I support Norm Needleman.

Michael Ruben Peck

Chester