Three thoughtful women are running to represent Waterford and a section of Montville in the 38th House of Representatives District.

Voters in the district are fortunate to have the distinct options of incumbent Republican Kathleen McCarty, Democrat and former labor commissioner Sharon Palmer, and the Green Party candidate, Lauren Shaw. They have a real choice.

McCarty is running for her second term. A former school board chair, she has been a member of the General Assembly's Education Committee. Of all the experiences of being a freshman Republican in a Democrat-controlled legislature, the one that upsets her most is the loss of Education Cost Sharing funds for Waterford in the current state budget. She blames party politics for shutting Republicans out of the discussions that ended with cuts to towns in House districts represented by Republicans, including hers.

She is joining other Republicans in calling for "structural change" in state budgeting, using as a road map the Republicans' "Pathway to Sustainability" proposal.

Her Democratic opponent, Sharon Palmer, has been the state Commissioner of Labor under the Malloy administration. Like McCarty and Shaw, she is from Waterford, where she has been active in politics for many years. She has strong ties to organized labor but told The Day she hopes "everyone will come to the table" to resolve a looming $1 billion deficit.

Shaw speaks eloquently of the disadvantages and opportunities of third-party candidates, who must campaign without use of Citizens Election Program funds because of the difficulty minor party candidates face in accessing them. She urges voters to vote "for someone," rather than against, and says a vote for a candidate who is unlikely to be elected can help build the third party's strength for future elections.

The town of Montville came up only twice in the candidates' debate at The Day. The 38th was historically a Waterford and southern New London district until the last redistricting. Whichever Waterford resident is elected would do well by Montville constituents by making sure their concerns are as visible as those of Waterford.

The Day agrees that what the General Assembly has lacked most is bipartisanship in solving the state's financial problems. Greater balance in numbers between the majority and the minority should help. Returning the incumbent will help in that regard. The Day endorses Kathleen McCarty for a second term.