Vote For A Candidate That Actually Cares
You should vote the way you want, as long as you vote.
But please vote for someone who actually acts like they give a damn about you and your community.
Someone who talks the talk AND walks the walk. And does it respectfully.
Recently, I was tagged to introduce our local congressional representative, Elissa Slotkin, at a campaign event here in the village. This is not something I generally do, to be honest. Initially, they contacted me to ask about local people who might be able to perform the introduction, so I gave them a few names and contact information, and then made the mistake of offering to be a back-up. You can guess how that turned out.
I had about a day to come up with something. You can see the live version on Facebook and YouTube, (complete with Slotkin’s talk and Q&A - even if you are not a fan, her stories about getting PPE to Michigan are hilarious, and also…not). Below is a written version of my intro. Without the campaign signage in the background, I think it is easier to see that the central point of the piece is a call to vote for someone who cares.
We should all want to be represented by candidates who meet us where we are, in our community.
We should all want to vote for more than a sign in someone’s yard, some junk postcard we got in the mail (funny how those still seem to show up!), or a talking point that has nothing to do with our local concerns.
Hi everyone, I am Rebecca Foster, former village President and current President pro tem - which I think is Latin for “spare” - and it is my great honor to introduce our current congressional representative, Elissa Slotkin.
There is this wonky political term - “retail politics” - that is supposed to convey an on-the-ground effort, a politician who spends time in their district, connecting with constituents. You would think that is a no-brainer - isn’t that how it’s supposed to work? - but showing up where we are, at the farmers markets, the parades, the festivals, the coffee shops, isn’t always a priority for the representatives we send to Washington. It’s a priority for Elissa, who wants to see us, hear us, and meet us where we live.
COVID brought her usual ground game to a grinding halt...but Elissa pivoted to the virtual platform as well as anyone and made sure town halls and community calls continued throughout the stay-at-home period. That connection was crucial to her and to our community. In the pandemic times, we need the opportunity to be heard by someone who would work as best she could to get us information, funds, solutions, and even masks.
It’s been a minute since we had a representative who felt this need to connect with us regular folks - actually, the last one was over 5 years ago. That was Mike Rogers, who, I must point out, was a Republican - so this is not a partisan feature. It’s a hallmark of an elected who cares. Rep Slotkin has made that kind of connection and accessibility a priority. When she is not in DC, she is here - in Pinckney, in Howell, in Brighton and all the other communities in her district. She’s listening. She’s taking our priorities - not just yours, not just mine, but that big, broad, sometimes troublesome “ours” - back to Washington, and while the politics of getting things done can derail what she can reasonably accomplish on our behalf…she makes every effort to explain what has and hasn’t happened, and why.
A couple of examples of our congresswoman in action...Elissa knows that our rural communities rely heavily on the post office - and not just for the junk mail and the social scene. Mail delays mean we are all getting mail that was postmarked two weeks ago - or just not getting mail. Recently, I almost missed a wedding shower because the invitation was so late. More important, and possibly life-threatening - a mail-order prescription got stuck in Indiana somewhere, and I had to jump through a bunch of hoops with my doctor, my insurance and the pharmacy to get some interim refills. Our congresswoman is headed to DC tomorrow to work on postal service funding so we can feel confident that our checks, our bills, our medical supplies - and of course our absentee/mail-in ballots - won’t go the way of my prescription. Which never did show up.
PFAS is another huge issue here. Our recreation and water access convenes around the Huron River, its tributaries and the Chain of Lakes. The discovery of high levels of PFAS - a cancer-causing substance that is in everything from fire-fighting foam to chrome-plating processes to dental floss and fast food wrappers - sounded an alarm state-wide and locally, complete with ridiculous-sounding warnings about not eating the river foam (seriously)(as tempting as it is, don’t eat it). We may not be able to eat fish caught in the Huron for years. Water supplies have been threatened by current and obsolete facilities that used these chemicals. Elissa pushed those concerns in Washington, crafting provisions included in two legislative acts that addressed PFAS drinking water standards, testing and clean-up - and holds the Pentagon accountable for its role in PFAS contamination at military facilities throughout the state. This year, the House passed another Slotkin amendment requiring the Defense Department to follow Michigan’s new, very strict PFAS standards.
I’ve been a Pinckney resident for over 20 years - so, yeah, I’m still new here. But over half of those years have been spent as an non-partisan elected official here in the village, where I am also very much a “retail politician.” I’m not interested in hearing partisan talking points. I want representatives who listen and respond. I think communication and connection is simply part of the job from our little local level, all the way to the top. I notice when it’s missing. And I don’t like it.
I may not agree with everything Elissa does or doesn’t do - do we agree with anyone 100%? But I know I want that kind of connection with our community and someone who will voice our small town and district-wide concerns in Washington as best she can. And you should want that too.