The following essay was submitted by Westville’s Thea Buxbaum and Nick Fabiani. See below for their full bios. Pat Dillon is a force of nature — a clear example of what we should expect from the people we elect to public office. She tells you honestly how she will help accomplish your goals for our community and she keeps her word. We believe that the best way to fight back against the direction our country is going is by proactively building the world we want to see right here. That work takes lived experience, community ties, know-how, and persistence. That’s what Pat Dillon delivers, through good times and tough times, with the kind of integrity that feels too uncommon these days. And she does so by building coalitions and showing up for her constituents — the individuals, families, and businesses that make our community. While phonebanking recently, a neighbor asked Thea to hear not just about Pat’s record, but about her vision. We have all been bombarded with a lot of well-crafted and tailored messaging of late. What we really want to know is what our representative will do and how — especially during these times of federal funding cuts and reduced resources. Pat’s record demonstrates her vision, one that sustains and expands affordable housing, access to healthcare, infrastructure improvements to improve climate resilience, direct and indirect support of local businesses, and support for transportation, education, and public health — and, crucially, that she knows how to get it all done. How do we know this? Because Pat continues to deliver. Though from different generations, we’ve both come to know Pat as a tireless force to be reckoned with and as someone who is relentlessly curious about the wellbeing of her neighbors, finds ways to improve the condition of our lives. She is just as quick to jump into action to provide local businesses with the resources they need to survive, as she did for restaurants during the pandemic, as she is to listen about the challenges of finding affordable childcare. As quick to sit at a beer garden and talk about what the state government can do to help cover overhead for universities losing federal grant support as she is to help build coalitions to address blight on Whalley Avenue. When downtown Westville is flooding, she jumps into action to help neighbors. When neighbors say Edgewood needs improved lighting for safety, she gets to work and gets it done. Did we mention that she shows up?  Westville is a very special community. In many regards it is a model for how neighbors can step up and how elected officials show up to build something wonderful together. We are all in it for the long haul. That is what it takes to foster real change and stability. The work to make our neighborhoods more affordable and accessible, to better fund our schools, to make us healthier is urgent — but has no easy solutions. Pat’s track record of delivering for the 92nd district demonstrates her energy in problem-solving, her creativity in using legislative power, and her deep knowledge of the unique issues we face in our community. She delivers on legislation that makes for good headlines and legislation that is part of incremental progress. She secured $6 million for affordable housing in Dwight. She safeguarded our at-risk neighbors by preserving housing on the Boulevard for the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. She delivered over $1 million for improvements to Edgewood Park, including $243,000 for that new lighting. She stopped the privatization of the Connecticut Mental Health Center, which protected both access to care and union jobs. These kinds of tangible results exemplify who Pat is a state representative. She is deeply engaged with the specifics, the nitty gritty details that help make a real, meaningful impact, and deeply aware of how to build coalitions and momentum toward progress. She has our trust precisely because of that record, and our confidence that when she says she will focus on affordability, food insecurity, and addressing the impacts of climate change, she means it. We believe deeply that the best way to fight back against Trumpism is by proactively building something better for our neighbors and our children. Doing so requires elected officials who have a clear, personal knowledge of and stake in our community and who have the energy and passion to tackle the challenges we face. In the 92nd district, that candidate is Pat Dillon. That’s why we’re excited to vote for Pat on August 11. We hope you’ll join us. Thea Buxbaum, a longtime New Haven resident, is a trusted voice in community advocacy. As the founder of ArtWalk, the Westville Village Renaissance Alliance, ArtEcon Initiative, and ArLoW—ArtLoftsWest, New Haven’s only mixeduse, mixedincome affordable artist housing community—she blends lived experience with sharp insight into the issues shaping Westville and the wider city. Inspired by her husband, sculptor Gar Waterman, and her son, Geffen, she brings a deep commitment to civic and arts engagement, environmental restoration, and to strengthening neighborhood life through creative collaboration. Nick Fabiani is a husband, dad, and creative director who lives in Westville. His move to the neighborhood in 2022 was something of a homecoming—his own family has settled within a mile of the houses where three of his grandparents were born. His background in design and advocacy shapes his belief in the power of place and the importance of community building. Nick currently leads creative for a national health foundation, but he much prefers spending his time volunteering; gardening with his four-year old, Nell; taking photographs; and talking about transit. The post Opinion: Why We’re Voting For Pat Dillon appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less