Ledyard’s political climate has been anything but business as usual. With residents more actively participating in local politics, many Republicans are resorting to extremist acts and doubling down on their exclusionary values.

When Councilor Ingalls proposed that there's a counterperspective to social justice, it took media attention for her comments to be addressed. After hearing disapproval from residents, councilors suggested that residents attend meetings to bring their concerns and questions. However, when we did just that at a Community Relations Committee meeting in May, another Republican councilor shut the meeting down instead of engaging with genuine, thoughtful questions from residents. Video of the meeting can be watched at: http://bit.ly/LedyardCRCMay5.

Personally, witnessing our elected Republican officials' inability to answer difficult questions, or at least hold each other accountable, has encouraged me, an unaffiliated voter, to seek out representatives who can communicate more clearly and are willing to address the concerns of our community. Nicole Cruz-Glacken, Joanne Kelley and Naomi Rodriguez listen to residents' concerns and act with integrity and transparency. They will have my vote on Nov. 2.

Ann Holland

Ledyard