AARP has worked for over a decade to address and rectify the fraud, misleading advertising and unscrupulous practices that has plagued and undermined Connecticut’s deregulated third-party electric market place. This has frequently resembled a game of whack-a-mole with a new scheme or trick popping up every time AARP and other consumer advocates knock down a deceptive supplier tactic through legislation or a Public Utilities Regulatory Authority ruling.

Nobody denies that there is an infrastructure crisis in Connecticut: 57 percent of public roads are in poor condition; 338 bridges are rated as structurally deficient. No one wants a repeat of the Mianus Bridge collapse, but that is where we are headed if nothing is done soon.

Since becoming a parent and moving back to Connecticut, I have supported the various paid family and medical bills that have been proposed in the legislature over the past few years because of my experience with California’s paid leave system. In one of the wealthiest states in the wealthiest country in the world, many people are forced to make a choice between work and health. If the legislature establishes a paid family and medical leave system, Connecticut’s workers will no longer have to face having a baby, taking care of a sick relative, or dealing with their own illnesses while being afraid of losing their jobs or watching their savings dwindle.

As the leader of an organization advocating for education equity and excellence, I don’t often find myself speaking out on health issues. However, there’s a debate taking place right now at the State Capitol which, I believe, requires all of us to raise our voices. I’m talking about the brave efforts by some legislative leaders to remove the existing religious exemption from school vaccinations.