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Year in Review: It's not an understatement to say 2025 was a LOT.
The onslaught of harm from the Trump administration to our communities has been staggering to defend against and protect from—and it continues. It has exhausted your public servants (your state, local, and federal policymakers) and the families who are just trying to survive.
I am especially appalled by the recent anti-Semitic vandalism of the sacred menorah at Congregation B’nai Israel in Bridgeport. This attack on our Jewish community adds to the escalating threats that made 2025 so unsafe for so many simply trying to exist. I decry this violence in our own community and all attempts to intimidate and incite fear, as well as the deliberate targeting of our Jewish friends and neighbors. We must stand together in solidarity with Rabbi Evan Schultz and Congregation B’nai Israel, protect one another, and speak out against this tide of violence. Rising anti-Semitism in our schools and communities will only cease with an outpouring of upstanders — not passive bystanders.
In the company of upstanders, we found new determination across generations and in unexpected places to envision a better-functioning democracy; an economy that works for all; and a future with affordable healthcare for everyone, safety for all children in and out of school, and protections from illegal kidnappings and violations of due process. We envision a state where, at a minimum, we feed all students while they are at school; provide quality universal childcare for all children regardless of zip code; guarantee paid family leave and paid sick days for all workers; offer debt-free higher education or vocational and trades training; ensure safe staffing in long-term care homes; house those experiencing homelessness so there are no more deaths from exposure on our streets; expand affordable housing; and provide access to behavioral and mental healthcare with true parity in coverage. We envision historic, record-breaking participation in elections; enough social workers, nurses, teachers, and mental health providers to support all who need care; and an affordable, renewable-energy–fueled life for every household in Connecticut and beyond.
We can’t control the whole planet — or even our country — but we can protect our corner of it: our people and our public good here in Connecticut.
When your neighbors were threatened, so many of you joined me in the streets and at rallies at the Capitol to protest and defend one another. When executive orders, bans, and the deliberate dismantling of federal funding for essential services — like SNAP benefits —were enacted to appease billionaires, you advocated. You called on Congress, state lawmakers, the Attorney General, and coalition partners to do something. And together, we did.
We co-created emergency funding to backfill catastrophic cuts. We sued the Trump administration. We strengthened protections around courthouses and schools. We saved rural hospitals from closing, kept nurses from leaving, helped backfill expiring tax credit subsidies for more than 100,000 families to keep their healthcare coverage, and erased medical debt for more than 100,000 people. You gave us courage, and I believe that, as a state, we are collaborating with others in a coalition of courage to co-create an even better future than we once imagined.
That’s the energy and vibe I’m bringing into 2026: to co-create and envision a fierce community of courage that powers policymaking for all of us—and makes us say out loud to friends and family, “I’m soooo glad I live in Connecticut, especially now!” I truly am grateful that you do, too — now more than ever.
Here’s to 2026!
Happy New Year, and please keep in touch. (And let’s make more art!)
This Sunday, Jan. 4 from noon to 1 p.m., I’ll be kicking off Constituent Coffee at Greiser’s, 299 Center Road, Easton. Come by and tell me what’s on your mind! I’ll have markers and paper for some community doodling, if that helps spark the creative mojo.
Let’s start the New Year with good, creative communication and vision.
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