I write as I return from the candidate forum for the Town Council race this year, where we witnessed a disturbing display of unwarranted, distracting, partisan attacks on Cindy Couture by Hannah Toth and Allen Skillicorn.

These attacks politicize what should be an apolitical race and expose the disturbing degree to which such antics have taken hold in our town. Cindy is not someone who is a “radical Leftist,” as the attacks from these candidates (which ultimately forced the forum to end abruptly) as well as recently-added signs in our community would have you believe, but a caring, compassionate person with the town’s best interests in mind. She has years of experience helping around town to work toward making it a better place, and is undoubtedly the most qualified and deserving of the four for a seat on Town Council. I urge each and every one of you to support Cindy in this race.

I will give credit where it is due to Brenda Kalivianakis, who impressed me with her answers not rooted in partisan attacks, but in real solutions, which was a real breath of fresh air compared to the other two conservative candidates. It is clear she is someone who is solution-oriented rather than focused on appeasing extremists on her side of the aisle, unlike Toth and Skillicorn.

The attacks that ended the forum show exactly what is wrong with our town, and I strongly urge all future candidates as well as residents as a whole to reject such divisive rhetoric. I’m proud to support Kalivianakis and Couture for Town Council this August. You should, too.