LESTER LLOYD (Moderator): Hello everyone with us with us here and on Zoom. Uh welcome to the Duxbury Free Libraries Candidate Forum. I am Lester Lloyd, chair of the library trustees. I'm assisting Martha Dennis, our vice chair who organized this event. With us also is Oliver Tras uh from the local scene. The local scene will have this forum available for your viewing just as it will be available on the Ducksbury Free Library website.

I am tonight pleased to welcome Jessica Bradley Rushing, our new candidate for state representative, and Ken Swezy, our incumbent candidate for state representative.

The uh candidates will introduce themselves in their first question. Um, we are also thrilled to have a panel of Duxbury High School students asking today's tonight's questions uh of our candidates. As our school system students and as residents, they have a strong interest in the issues and outcome of this election. Our panelists are Gerard Vasquez Bayz. They're at the very end of the table from from my viewpoint. Lily Chin, uh, Finnen Sergeant, and Rachel She will briefly introduce themselves when they begin their questions.

The 12 questions our panelists will be asking tonight also draw on Duxbury community input. Here's how the forum will work. Generally, uh, the candidates will answer each question, uh, alternating who begins. Generally they have two minutes each for each question. I will act as a timekeeper for our candidates. We will not have rebuttals as this is a forum rather than a debate. Also, we will not take live questions from the audience since we already have a packed list of questions. We expect the forum to run about one and a half hours to 7:45.

Afterwards, uh, we plan to have 15 minutes for an informal meet and greet with the candidates. We will conclude by 8:00 p.m. and we're all going to leave uh because the library closes at 8.

Early voting for our candidates starts on Saturday, October 17 at Town Hall, and in-person voting on election day will be Tuesday, November 3rd at the Steel Athletic Center. Now, I am turning this event over to our special panel. Uh, Gerard Vasquez Bayz will ask our first question.

Question 1: Introductions

GERARD VASQUEZ BAYZ (Panelist): Good evening, everyone. Can you hear me? Well, awesome. So, my name is Gerard Vasquez Bayz. I am a senior at Duxbury High School. Um, I'm currently serving in my final year as a student representative for our town school committee, having served um, three years. Um, I have a long list of extracurriculars I help run or partake in, but I rather not bore you all. Um, uh, the majority of the town probably knows me through either the school socials or having seen me throw a pizza at bench warmers.

Um the first question for our candidates will be um sorry uh we've got a dozen questions for you this evening touching on various topics of importance to Dexbury voters. But before we get into specific issues, can you take two minutes to tell us about yourself and about your life and job experience to date? Why do you want to be our state rep? And perhaps more importantly, why should you why should people vote for you? And we'll go ahead and start with um Representative Swezy.

REP. KEN SWEZY: Great. Thank you. So, thank you to the library first of all, all of you for showing up. This is super important. Uh the trustees, our four very esteemed panelists. One of my favorite parts of the job is seeing uh the impressive young people that we have in our district. So, I know I'm not long for this role because one of them surely will have me uh in the future. So, thank you. And thank you to my opponent, Jess. Uh having choices on the ballot is so important. Most districts don't have that in Massachusetts. So, I appreciate getting the opportunity to talk about the issues tonight.

So, um, about me, I'm your first term state rep, Ken Sweezy. Very honored to be here. My background a little bit, I did grow up in the district and my folks still live over in Hansen. Uh, my family owns a small business over in Whitman that I grew up working at. We install fence. So, got the opportunity to learn the value of a day's work and a dollar very young uh through high school and college. That's how I spent my summers. got my degree at Loyola University Chicago in forensic science where I then went and uh served in a civilian role for a major metro police department as a fingerprint expert uh for many years and through COVID.

So few of the things that inspired me to start getting involved at more of a system level if you will is is really seeing crime and how it can influence communities and of course how the CO shutdowns affected small business and overregulation affects small business. I came back to the district uh was living in Hansen at the time again volunteered and was appointed to roles in economic development and capital improvement. Really got a good view into municipal government, how that operates and really how intertwined it is with the negative policy happening at the state level.

Decided to run in uh 22, came up a little bit short against our former rep uh Josh Cutler. Came back in 24, took the seat as and it's been a really good productive few years. I think we're talking about committees a little bit later as well, but I serve on public safety, economic development, environment and natural resources, and labor and workforce. Uh, all all really influential committees that I'm proud to serve on. And we've done a lot of good work in the last couple years, and I'm really looking forward to talking a little bit more about that over the next hour and a half.

JESSICA BRADLEY RUSHING: Thank you. Thank you again for being here, everybody. Thank you to the trustees for hosting this and to our panelists as well. As a mom of high school and college age students, I love to see um the youth participation in this sort of an event. My name is Jessica Bradley Rushing. I am running to be the next state representative for the sixth district here. And I am a resident of the district in Pemroke where I grew up. We moved back in 2018 with my husband and our four kids because I wanted my kids to grow up in the place that I call home.

Since I've come back, I've been involved in politics at the local level. I was elected to the select board and I served one term on the select board in Pemroke and I also worked for our federal delegation um in the office of Congressman Bill Keading for a couple years uh both in his Plymouth and his New Bedford offices primarily working on veteran services and immigration services. Um I am an Army veteran and as I said a mom of four um and believe that public service is a real calling um and it is something that has called me um throughout my career of more than 25 years.

After leaving Congressman Keading's office, I went to work at the US Department of State where I served as the deputy director for communications in the office for Afghan relocation efforts. I have been heavily involved in Afghan relocation efforts for the last five years in the congressman's office, then at the Department of State, and then with an organization called Afghan EVback, which is the civil society arm of the relocation efforts.

I am really excited to be running for this seat because this is this is the place I call home. I love this district. We moved back here in 2018. we could have gone anywhere in the world and we chose to come back here because I wanted my kids to grow up here. Um, I think that, you know, setting the example for my kids is is one of the reasons why I was most driven to run for this office. Um, and I look forward to um both sort of seeing their seeing this through their eyes. Um, the reason why I I run is because I want them to have the ability to build a future here in this district the way that I have.

Question 2: Coastal Resiliency

LILY CHIN (Panelist): Um, hi, sorry. I'm Lily Chin. I'm a senior at Dexter High School. I've been involved with clubs like a world of difference and DAC and I'm very involved in the swim community, um, working at Percy Walker pool and the yach club pool. Um, for our second question, um, living in a coastal community, many Dubberry residents are concerned about the effects of rising water levels on our town. What's your position on how the state should coordinate efforts to manage coastal resiliency and offset the various impacts of the climate crisis on our town? I'll invite this question.

JESSICA BRADLEY RUSHING: Thank you so much. So, climate change is an existential issue of our time and it's something that we have to address now because the longer we wait, the more the problems compound. The places that are going to feel climate change the most and get hit the hardest are our coastal communities. And because storms and climate change don't care about town mines, this is not an issue that individual towns can manage on their own.

Last year, the state released a resilient coasts plan. It's a 50-year plan looking forward for how to manage the impacts of climate change on our coastal communities. This plan was created in collaboration with local officials and residents, with scientists, and with regional partners. And it's this kind of proactive effort that is critical to address what we all know is happening because we can see it in our own backyards.

There's also a pending environmental bond bill that includes significant funding for coastal communities and for climate resilience, including a resilience revolving fund, which would provide towns with lowinterest loans for climate resilience and infrastructure projects. We need someone in the state house who can work well with the executive branch and the governor's office to ensure that the towns in this district get their share of funds like that.

But it is not enough just to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. We have to do more to address the root problems causing it. That includes cutting emissions. It includes modernizing our transportation systems and transitioning to green energy. I am proud to have the endorsement of the Environmental League of Massachusetts and I will work to achieve these goals as your state representative so that my kids, your kids, and our grandkids will have a safe and healthy future here in our coastal towns.

REP. KEN SWEZY: Thank you for the question. Uh obviously resiliency is of crucial importance to Ducks, Marshfield, and the rest of the coastline. I think conservation, environmentalism, the resiliency is probably uh a top issue along with housing affordability that is going to be the great questions of our time and of the future for young people.

As far as resiliency goes, we need to understand the science. Our coastline, the coastline's always changing. Our barrier beach is very sensitive. Obviously, DBR does a great job nourishing, raising money in order to take care of that beach. Uh, as far as the science goes, I'm a big proponent of the Atlantic Resiliency Innovation Institute, which is a private school and science center in Marshfield, actually right across the street from the district line. Uh, very happy to support that. It's it's bringing economic development, jobs, schooling into the district. No more is all that going to be concentrated in far away academic institutions in the city, but it's going to be here boots on the ground. We see every storm. They're down in Green Harbor with the news cameras. It's about time that the science gets done there, too. So, I'm very happy to support that.

And I'm glad um that Jess brought up the environmental bond bill as well. That's very important as far as moving forward. What's really great about that is I'm one of only six out of 200 legislators that is on that conference committee negotiating that final number. I was the only house member that advocated for the higher Senate number for both the resiliency piece, the seaw wall piece, and the clean drinking water pieces. So I am already in that room, one of just six people having that conversation.

The environmental bond bill is absolutely crucial and unfortunately it still even at those funding levels doesn't go far enough. We see some of the projects I mean we saw the funding that it requires for uh seaw wall cost and the millions of dollars for beach nourishment. These dollars are very important but those are bonding authorizations. So, it's important to understand even if you know I'm successful in getting this higher number and I'm hopeful that we will be uh we we still got a long way to go to make sure that our our plan for resiliency into the future is taken care of. So, there's a long road ahead but it's something that is absolutely top of mind and absolutely critical. But being in that room is so important.

Question 3: Trades Workforce Pipeline

FINNEN SERGEANT (Panelist): Hi, my name is Finnon Sergeant. I'm a junior at DHS and I'm our student outreach coordinator for the school. I'm also the captain of our math and robotics teams. And my first question is was submitted by the local Chamber of Commerce members and has implications for Ducks High School students. Dubbury residents rely high heavily on local contractors and trades people. Yet many trades businesses struggle to find reliable local apprentices and crew members. How will you work with Ducksberry High Schools, Dubberry Schools, state vocational programs, and community colleges to help build a strong local talent pipeline for essential trade and home service industries on the Southshore? And we'll start with uh Representative Squeezy.

REP. KEN SWEZY: Great. Thank you so much. And again, a very very critical question. We do have plenty of small businesses in town that that rely on this labor and there really is a shortage of it. I'm a huge proponent of Southshore Votech uh High School. Of course, Ducks is not a member, but I I was right out in front. I encouraged people on the other side of the district to vote yes for the new school building. That was fortunately successful. I signed on to an op-ed in the Patriot Ledger on that and endorsed it with every single both R and D rep in Plymouth County that send students there. I was also in favor of Pemroke joining uh and unfortunately that came up a little bit short because they just couldn't make the math work.

But really what the problem is is that it's being funded at the wrong level, requiring these huge buyins and huge operational budgets that at time are competing with our public schools when really they should be working together on this. Every student in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts should have the opportunity to get vocational training. It's an absolute mandatory requirement for the future. It has to happen. The state needs to allow the ability for students to go. And right now, DESIE actually has regulations that is preventing people from going to schools that are out of these regional votech districts. So, that's a big problem. I've been against uh that requirement uh as well as being against the lottery uh which is is subject to vote, which makes it so that students that actually want to go into the trades and want to be at VOTE schools can go rather than a randomized lottery.

As far as Dubberry not being in one, again, I think we need to whether it's through traditional chapter 70 or an external fund, which would be more likely is I'm sure we'll talk more about that later. It um we need the state to be able to provide the funds to get that. They provide funds for CTE programs, which are are technical educational programs that are after school hours and usually taken by uh you know, adults uh post post-secary ed. But we need opportunities because it is the most critical. I saw on the ground, like I said, growing up, although it wasn't as technical, you know, and my calluses have long gone away since my my time digging holes, it's it's absolutely critical, and that's something that AI can't take away, that the white collar economy and biotech that's in Boston can't take away. These are jobs that need to be done by people, and they should be able to afford to live in the area that they're working as well.

JESSICA BRADLEY RUSHING: Thank you. So, vocational educational opportunities are becoming harder and harder to access in this area. We simply don't have enough slots for the number of kids who want to pursue these career paths. I strongly support expanding vocational programming in all of our schools. When I went to Silver Lake, Silverlake still has a vocational educational system. Um, and it was something that a lot of students participated in and it's something that I think we need to expand broadly.

Um, I also think we need to look at regional programs like Community Works, which is based out of Western Mass, and that offers a free threemonth apprent pre-apprenticeship program um to introduce people to the building trade. So programs like that need to be looked at more closely to expand across the state. Community colleges in the state also offer technical and trade related training programs, but I don't think that these programs get enough attention or are introduced early or often enough to high school students. Both my nephew and my youngest son who are a senior and a junior at Pemroke High School are looking at these possibilities for their future career paths.

Um, and I also support building and strengthening the partnerships with organizations like the Massachusetts AFL CIO, who I'm so proud to have the endorsement of. Um, their workforce development and their pre-apprenticeship programs offer high school students and graduates options for long-term reliable union jobs. I am the daughter of two union members. My mom was in the Mass Teachers and Mass Nurses Association. My dad was in the letter carriers association. And I know that union jobs are the pathway for for families to build strong futures, have fair working conditions, and and really a chance to get ahead.

Um, I'm proud to have the endorsement of so many local unions, including the carpenters, the iron workers, the sprinkler fitters, the electric workers, and former Secretary of State Marty Walsh. Um, and across the board, I'd like to see expanded opportunities and programming for kids in this region to pursue careers in the trades because, as we all know, we will always need electricians. We will always need plumbers and we need more opportunities for kids to get into those career paths.

Question 4: Powder Point Bridge

RACHEL SHEIS (Panelist): Hi, good evening. My name is Rachel Sheis. Um I'm a currently a senior at Dexbury High School. I'm one of the captains for the girls hockey team and I work at um the Windsor House. And my our fourth question for you is the town is facing the need to repair repair or replace our beloved Powderpoint Bridge. The state department of transportation has stepped in to help, but has placed significant constraints on what that assistance looks like, including a design that may look very different from the iconic wooden bridge that Ducksbury loves. As state representative, what can you do to help us navigate the state and federal bureaucracies to achieve an acceptable solution that meets the needs of our town?

JESSICA BRADLEY RUSHING: Thank you for that question. So, as someone who grew up going to Dubray Beach and who brought my kids to Dubray Beach for their entire lives, um, and who still considers it one of my favorite places on earth, summer or winter, Parter Point Bridge is near and dear to my heart. And I think this is an issue we really need to be thoughtful about. Um, over the years there have been a lot of attempts to try and figure out how best to make either the repairs or the replacement of that bridge work.

Um, in fact, when I was working in Congressman Keading's office, this is something that we tried to do at the federal level way back in it was either 21 or 22 when I was on his staff. We actually applied for federal funds to try and help offset some of the costs associated with the bridge. Um, I know that last week the Federal Highway Administration notified the town that unfortunately the existing bridge is not eligible to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, which is an option that I know a lot of people were hoping were was going to work out. But the truth is, if there were a simple solution, we would have found it already.

I think that this is a decision that absolutely must be made at the local level and then supported at the state and federal levels. Whether that whether this the decision that the town makes is is to exist to replace the existing wooden bridge to repair the existing wooden bridge or to replace it with another design. Whatever is the best path forward as your state rep, I would work with our federal partners, both in Congressman Keading's office, where I already have strong relationships, Senator Marky and Warren's offices, and with any relevant agency or organization at the state level to get funding and ensure that we do what's best for the bridge, for the beach, for the town, and for the surrounding communities.

REP. KEN SWEZY: Yeah, great. Thank you. Uh, I heard the chuckle from everybody. I don't know if everyone on Zoom heard it, but a little chuckle in the room on that question. And I know it's on the top of everybody's mind right now in town. And you know, since since I moved to Ducksberry a year and a half ago, it's it's some somewhere that I spend a lot of time. Uh it's a sensitive topic for a reason because it's iconic. It's in movies. It's on our town seal. It's it's every it's everything uh to the to the people in this town.

I've worked really closely with Mass DOT throughout this process to make sure that it's as transparent as possible. I do think all things considered, Mass DOT has done a really good job listening to the considerations uh that that people feel uh they they want it to still be iconic. Now, with that being said, the federal highway actually hasn't come with an official um decision yet. They asked for some more information and the outside group, the third party group founded by residents uh still has through uh November 6th to get additional information. So the final decision on on whether it can be placed in a historic register actually hasn't been made yet. Uh which is really critical because we're kind of in a holding pattern.

So repair replace and I've gotten reach out from everybody. People that you know understandably after the last few years of overrides are are very hesitant about the prospect of having to pay for a bridge that's uh historically accurate. and and of course people who are very closely attached to that image and that sound of driving over the bridge in the summertime to get to the beach. So I understand that and we will uh make sure that that we go through all the processes that we need.

My biggest concern is honestly the shutdown time. I think that's something that's you know hasn't really been discussed at the top. People understandably so are worried about designs and and cost which I think are definitely two of the three most issues. But my biggest concern right now honestly is that mass DOT is projecting about a 6 to 8 year shutdown potentially. And I just don't see that's to me that's incomprehensible. You're talking about a generation the people that do this forum and moderate this forum eight years from now will have lived in a ducks where they never drove across the beach when they first got their license. That you know after school I've seen kids put their backpacks down and run across it and and the shutdown is really what's important for me.

Question 5: Chapter 70 and Circuit Breaker Funding

PANELIST: So thank you both. Um, your fifth question is submitted by our school superintendent, Dr. Danielle Klingaman. With the Chapter 70 Foundation Budget Review Commission's updates rolled out through the Student Opportunity Act, districts are still facing severe fiscal cliffs due to unprecedented inflation, spiking special education out of district tuition costs, and the unpre and the sunsetting of federal relief funds. How do you plan to advocate for adjustments to the chapter 70 inflation cap and circuit breaker reimbursement timelines to ensure school districts like duct aren't forced to make compounding staff and program programming cuts and we will start with representative sweet

REP. KEN SWEZY: thank you for the question absolutely critical municipal finance for anyone who's involved knows that it's an absolute disaster right now all five of the towns in the district had some type of override last year and only about half of them passed and we saw Ducks who passed most recently had one the year before that did not. Chapter 70 is completely broken. Completely broken. The Student Opportunity Act was a failure because it did not help communities like ours in any way. We are a minimum aid district. We are getting incredibly small incremental changes.

I filed a bill and testified to uh make sure that we studied how best to change the inflation cap. The in the inflation adjustment for Chapter 70 is capped at 4.5%. Anybody remember what inflation was like the last five, six years? quite a bit above 4% and that means that the state won't contribute after that. That means the town has to eat that. How is that fair with all the competing interest? It doesn't make any sense at all.

The fact that the uh initial contribution for a community is about 54 $55,000 for special education whether it's in or out of district placement. Already that's high. And then after that, the state's only reimbursing between 75 and 90% of the funds after some placements can go upwards of four, five, $600,000 in severe cases in severe placements. That is not a case where the towns can afford to eat that cost. It just doesn't make sense when they're only going up by so much.

Duy's chapter 7 contribution was just over 6 million. Pembrokes was over 16 million. were towns of comparable sizes, but because there's wealth factors in the chapter 70, and some of this is very technical and why I say the formula is broken. The wealth factors that are taken into account completely put Dubberry in a bad position because inflation is still hitting us. Fixed costs like administration, utilities, fuel, all of that is hitting us just as hard as it is. But when the student opportunity act decided to take take gateway cities and although they need help as well, why they were put above communities like ours was not right and not fair. So the student opportunity act has now reached its conclusion and we need to make sure that we make a formula going forward that's equitable for us as well.

PANELIST: Thank you Miss Bradley Rushing.

JESSICA BRADLEY RUSHING: Thank you so much. So public education is one of our most important assets and in Massachusetts we're lucky to have the best schools in the country but we certainly have room for improvement. I graduated from a public school in this district. I graduated from Silver Lake way way back in 1997 and I got a great education. Um you know I think education funding and support will be one of my top priorities as a state rep and I think it's important for people to understand some of the some of the wonkier details of these of these issues.

So the chapter 7 formula inflation rate is capped at 4 and a.5% annually. But when the inflation rises by more than that, we know that schools are left with drastic shortfalls. With the circuit breaker, there's a lag in the way that the schools are reimbursed. So funds that are expended in this fiscal year are not reimbursed till the following fiscal year.

As your state rep, I would work to resolve the inflation glitch first by co-sponsoring legislation like H678, which proposed lifting the inflation cap, and then advocating for the circuit breaker funding to be phased into a same-year reimbursement model. And I would also push to increase the percentage of the reimbursement rates, but these are short and medium-term fixes.

We need a long-term fix, and that includes completely revamping the formula funding for our for our education funding. Um, over and over we've seen band-aids and those are not a solution. Whether they're one-time tax credits, whether it's operational overrides, whether we're looking at, you know, continual patches on a broken system, the education funding system needs to be revamped. It is long past time for Beacon Hill to take meaningful action on this. And as your state rep, this would be an area of focus for my office.

Question 6: Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

PANELIST: Um, our sixth question, what actions will you pursue to protect our environment regarding the ongoing decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station? Specifically, what steps will you take to address the long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel on site, the potential discharge of radioactive waste water into our bay, or the slow evaporation into our air? Also, please share your stance on proposals to explore ne next generation energy technologies like small module reactors at the pilgrim site and to repeal chapter 503, a law passed in 1982 that allows state residents a say in the building of any new nuclear plants. Miss Rushing to

JESSICA BRADLEY RUSHING: Thank you so much. So, as most of you know, the the decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station has been a year'slong issue. Um, it was shut down in 2019. It was sold to Holtech in the summer of that same year. Um and what I think first and foremost we have to do is hold accountable. Uh they've already proven themselves not to be a trustworthy actor. Um so oversight is really really critical.

Their plan to release over a million gallons of waste water into Cape God Bay became public in December of 2021. Um at that time I was working in Congressman Keading's office and we were heavily involved in this issue at the time. Um, our team opposed the discharge, insisted on alternative disposal methods and community engagement over the course of the next several years. So, this is something that I've worked on and I'm familiar with already.

Fortunately, last month, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection dismissed Holtech's appeal to discharge the wastewater into Cape Cod Bay. And as of right now, that denial still remains in place. Um, as your state rep, I would work closely with my former colleagues in Congressman Keading's office on this issue to ensure that the towns in this district are kept apprised of any changes that might come up and have the ability to weigh in on any future decisions that are made.

Um, as for sort of the continued exploration of things like small modular reactors, um, and nuclear power as an energy source, I think we absolutely do need to look at options for transitioning away from fossil fuels, but I think we be need to be really really careful about what those options are. Um, I'm open to learning more about those the possibilities of that technology, but I do think we should make decisions about adding nuclear I don't think that we should make decisions about adding nuclear power to our energy grid without the input of communities, not just in this district, but across the entire Commonwealth.

REP. KEN SWEZY: Great. Thank you. Um, yeah, so the D made a great decision as far as the dumping of that tridium infused water, which is basically radioactive hydrogen that was involved in the cooling process down there. So that was a great win and and I've long been a supporter of of Save the Bay um MA and and a lot of other organizations that are doing a lot of the hard work down there advocating which is great.

So I absolutely believe that they should do what they're supposed to be doing down at Holtech which is spending the money to take care of this uh waste essentially like they're supposed to like other groups do. There are uh reactors and organizations all across New England and the rest of the country that spend the money. They ship it typically by rail car to Ohio, Idaho. There are other places where you can dispose of this water. And the way that it usually works is whole gets a payment essentially to decommission the plant. So anything that's left over they get to keep. That's what's in it for them. They're not doing this out of the goodness of their heart, right? It's a business model that they try to dispose of the waste the cheapest possible and they get what's left over. And that's not right. They need to do the job the way that they promised they would.

Now there is a civilian panel as well called the nuclear decommissioning citizens advisory panel. I go to their meetings to make sure at any time possible that whole tech which is required to go is being as transparent as possible. They have appealed that D decision uh multiple times. They've tried to get around other regulations and I I'm glad that there are civilians uh holding them accountable and that's what we're going to continue to do. Under no circumstances uh should hold be allowed to dump into the bay.

And the evaporation problem is still not resolved. It's a huge problem because what they're doing is they're putting heaters in the water trying to get get around it. But the the what's unique about the tridium is it's not like a sediment that's in the water that will remain if you evaporate off the water because it's actually hydrogen. sticks to water and can go into the air and you can still breathe that in or get into water sources. Huge problem

to go quickly since I know Lester just said I have not a lot of time. Uh I absolutely do not support getting rid of chapter 503. It was passed by the voters at the ballot. They made their voice heard. If people decide that nuclear is in the future for Massachusetts, that's great. But it should be by the will of the voters. My biggest thing is local control is paramount as we look at our energy future.

Question 7: Health Care Costs

PANELIST: Our next question is, "The town's health care costs increased 15% last year and Ducks is better positioned than many employers. What ideas do you have for the legislature to reduce health care costs in Massachusetts, both for working folks and for municipal government healthcare plans?" And we'll start with Representative Swezy.

REP. KEN SWEZY: Yeah, thank you for the question. Uh, again, like I said, municipal finance is a bear right now. It's not just the funding formulas, it's everything. And when that local aid is capped and these fixed costs like health care go up, it's a huge problem. You just threw out some numbers that are increasingly problematic. Uh we did try to tackle some of these things in the legislature.

There's a few different things that I was very proud to support. Uh you know, we have a big problem with turnover with nurses in hospitals across the Commonwealth. One component of that is pay, of course, as uh they're looking for a contract at at in the hospitals up in the city right now. Another piece is workplace violence. Nurses are facing some of the most violent patients that we've ever seen. More incidents of abuse and assault than ever before. We need to make sure we protect our nur nurses and our health care professionals. I was glad to support that. You keep the turnover down. There's less travel nurses. Travel nurses can make two, three plus times the the pay that a regular uh uh nurse would that's stationed at that hospital. That's going to bring some cost down.

Another thing we did was invest heavily in primary care. We are so short on primary I mean how many people of you here listening or in the room have tried to book an appointment and it's you know weeks, months, whatever out and primary care is the problem. They're often the lowest paid physicians and that's a huge problem. So the state is investing in that now as far as uh and that brings everybody's care down and and that's going to help with the GIC which not all towns are a part of. Ducks is not. But anything we can do to support that is is really really crucial and I was happy to be supportive of both of those pieces of legislation.

JESSICA BRADLEY RUSHING: So healthcare affordability is actually one of the main drivers causing the budget gaps in our towns. And as someone who sat on the select board, I saw this firsthand in each year of the budget cycle when I was on the select board in Penroke because municipal healthcare costs are rising at a much higher rate than what our tax levy can cover. And we see towns facing increases of five, 15, I'm I'm sorry, of 10, 15, and even 40% in the most extreme cases. Um, and then they're forced to cut municipal services because the budgets simply can't be balanced and stay within the bounds of Prop 2 and a half when the fixed costs are rising that quickly.

um the state's group insurance commission which it provides healthc care coverage to almost a half million um half million public employees and retirees. They had to come to the state legislature and request emergency supplemental funding from the legislature just to keep from running out of money. And because the legislature has continually chosen to patch a broken system instead of reforming it, that system still has structural deficiencies that are just going to come up again and again until we fix the underlying issues.

Municipal health care costs though are not the only ones soaring. According to Southshore News, when factoring in out-ofpocket costs, the average family's health care burden surpasses $32,000 annually in Massachusetts. And healthcare costs are continuing to climb. That is unsustainable. It is unsustainable.

At the state level, we need to work first and foremost to curb administrative waste in the healthcare industry. Some estimates say that could save the state as much as $2 billion per year. The state should also push to cap out of network costs and prescription drug prices so that people are not forced to choose between paying for groceries and filling their prescriptions. This is part of the affordability crisis that we are all seeing all around us and this would be one of the top priorities for me as a state rep.

Question 8: Housing Costs

PANELIST: Okay, so our next question is, "Reports show that high housing costs are one of the main factors driving younger workers out of state. At this point, it's unlikely that my classmates and I will be able to afford to live and raise families on the Southshore. But with already tight labor markets, Massachusetts can't afford to lose us. What can you do as a state legislator to ease the housing cost crunch and make life more affordable on the Southshore?" And I'm starting this one, right? Okay.

JESSICA BRADLEY RUSHING: Thank you so much. Um, so this question is almost the exact reason why I got into this race in the first place. Um, as I said earlier, I moved back to Pemroke with my husband and our four kids in 2018 because I wanted my kids to grow up here. We bought our house in 2018, but if we had moved back to the district just a couple of years later, we would have been priced out of the market in our neighborhood. And now my kids who are 22, 20, 18, and 16 are looking ahead and they don't think they can ever afford to live here. My daughter has said that to me. Um, she just graduated from undergrad in May and she chose to move to Chicago because the cost of living there was much more reasonable. And as a mom, it crushes me to think that my kids might not be able to choose to build their lives here if this is where they want to be.

Um, the shest solution to the housing crisis in Massachusetts is first and foremost to build more housing. But we also need to build more housing of more diverse types. Not everybody wants a three or fourbedroom colonial with over an acre of land. That is a lot of maintenance. I can say firsthand. Um whether they're a young person just starting out or whether you are a retiree who does not want to have that kind of space and maintenance to still worry about. Um having housing options that fit many different types of lifestyles in our communities actually makes it easier for young people to live here and for seniors to be able to stay in the communities where they've lived for decades.

Um, in addition to making it easier to build more housing, the state also needs to prioritize programs that provide support for first-time home buyers to enable young people to actually break into the housing market. Um, often that's sort of the barrier, right? It's that first time that you're able to buy a property and then you're able to build some wealth using that property to be able to move up. Um, so not just for my kids, but for everybody's kids and for our grandkids, we need to do more to address this housing crisis.

REP. KEN SWEZY: Thank you again for the question and and like I said at the very beginning, this is probably a top two issue, this affordability in general. And when I bought my home in Dubai about a year and a half, two years ago, I can tell you it was not the most fun that I've ever had. That is that is for certain.

It's this issue of affordability though is very holistic. Uh so I I would reject the the sense that the only thing we can do is just build build to get the price down because there's a lot going on. There's some stuff that is outside the state's control right now. tariffs are are killing uh building materials and and that's something that I absolutely do not support. Uh but the problem is is that the state is very ownorous not just in its local bylaw regulation but in some of the state level stuff like the stretch codes. So when you're required whether it's a renovation or a new build and they have to be up uh to certain energy efficiency codes, it makes building anything new or or large scale repairs in Massachusetts inexplicably expensive relative to our peer states. That's something that absolutely has to go away. It's also tied to some of the climate mandates that we have around net zero for 2030, 40, and 2050. If we want this state to be net zero, which we are nowhere near on trend to be able to accomplish, uh they're they're forcing that in and you're basically paying that bill when you're buying or selling a home, that's a huge problem.

I've been very supportive of the ADU by right regulation. I think that's a huge opportunity because that's something that although it overrides in a sense local control, what it doesn't do is do that to the betterment of developers because ADUs are something that's small, more uh affordable to be able to build whether you're renovating a garage or or a small thing for for a new family, for your kids, for your uh elderly parents looking to downsize. So, that's a huge opportunity as well.

And and as far as mixed use, I think that the the communities need to have a seat at the table. What's not the solution is the state coming up with dictates that they think is right for Boston, Springfield, Brooklyn, and Dubberry because those are all different communities. So, the communities need partnership. It's not all one sizefits-all, and we need stuff that fits with the character and actually solves the problems on the ground in our towns.

Question 9: Immigration and the Protect Act

PANELIST: Thank you both. Um, the next question is in regard to ICE. Although it's generally a federal issue, immigration policy and the logistics of supporting new arrivals have become central issues facing the legislature. Two years ago, the influx of migrant families to Massachusetts put a strain on our emergency family shelter system and our state budget. The recent expiration of temporary protected status for groups of long-term residents has created a workforce disruption, especially for healthcare providers. This year, the legislature enacted the Protect Act to limit local law enforcement participation in civil immigration enforcement and restrict ICE activity in locations like schools and courouses. What are your thoughts on the Protect Act and what additional policies would you pursue to support immigrants, residents, businesses, and municipalities in the Commonwealth? And that's for Representative Swissy.

REP. KEN SWEZY: Thank you. Uh, this is a really important question and although yes, there's a lot of stuff that is federal related to the immigration issue, there's a lot of stuff that is being caused, the issues that we see on TV are are because of state policy. I voted against the Protect Act and and I'm not shy about it because it's bad policy is what it is.

When we don't partner with federal agencies, whether you agree with them or not is irrelevant. The federal government has made it clear they are going to enforce federal immigration laws. And when we don't comply, that means that they are going to go and run through your neighborhoods and snatch people from their cars where when there's individuals that may have or may be accused of committing a crime. I even filed a bill to make sure that our sheriff's department and and houses of corrections can hold individuals so that ICE can go and collect them at a place of correction. When you don't do that and the feds decide that they are going to arrest these individuals, they have to go to cities like New Bedford and Worcester and Springfield. And that's when you see the the the horrible images that we see on TV. If there was safe procedures that you can transfer custody within a house of correction, everything that you have seen in Massachusetts on the news about that would be moot.

Now, as far as the dollar figures, the the migrant housing crisis was a huge problem, a massive problem. Billions of dollars were spent on this housing crisis, which they did about the most expensive thing. No big contracts on food, transportation. They put them in hotels in both Rockland and in Kingston and and it was not good policy. We talked about municipal finance for about the last 45 minutes. Imagine if we had another few billion dollars to spend on our communities. That would be huge.

The immigration problem in Massachusetts is part of a math problem. It's a math problem that we've spent so much money and we continue to do so. Although the hotels are not open, we have another program called Homebase that we're still paying premium rents for and giving out vouchers who are non-residents. We want to talk about housing availab availability. The quickest way to have increased housing units in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts would be to retract housing vouchers from the homebased program.

PANELIST: Miss Bradley Rashing.

JESSICA BRADLEY RUSHING: Thank you. So, I know that many people think of immigration as a federal issue, but for years I've said that it's actually felt most at the local level. And I know this because I've seen it firsthand. As I said at the opening of this evening, um I've worked on Afghan relocation efforts for the last five years directly with individuals who were immigrating here to the United States because they had worked alongside the US mission during the course of our longest war in Afghanistan.

In that work, I was lucky enough to get connected with individuals right here in Dubberry who are doing the work at the local level um communities and people uh communities and individuals who are helping immigrants get resettled when they land here in the US get on their feet and build new lives. So, the Duxbury Afghan Resettlement Initiative, DARI, um which some of you may know here in town, um has worked um to help support an Afghan family who arrived here after the fall of Kabell and the evacuation um of that city. And it is the individuals in this town here who went above and beyond to help make sure that that family got resettled, who are on the front lines of our immigration issues. That is where we feel immigration. It is at the local level.

I could not disagree more with the idea that what ICE is doing in our communities is okay in any way, shape, or form. I have worked directly with individuals who came here legally, who were here on legal status, who were attending appointments that they made to have their fingerprints taken for their green cards, who were attending court appointments that were mandated court appointments because they were following the law, who were snatched up by ICE and detained. one detained right here in Plymouth County for three months on our taxpayer dollar despite the fact that he worked alongside the US military and supported our troops.

Now, when the immigration crisis here in Massachusetts kicked off, I was working with Congressman Keading and we were seeing planefuls of immigrants arriving here from Republican governors, sending them from Florida and Texas, landing in Martha's Vineyard in the middle of the night, absolutely no idea where they were, where they were going, what to do, and absolutely no coordination with local or state officials. This is not the kind of thing that we need to be spending our taxpayer money on, whether that is at the state level or the federal level.

I support the Protect Act. I do not support the legislation that Representative Suezy filed to allow our local law enforcement to work with ICE and I will always always stand with our immigrant community.

Question 10: Local Control of Zoning

PANELIST: Um, our next question um was recommended by the chair of the zoning board. Recent surveys of our community express an interest in more diverse housing as residents age and their housing needs change. At the same time, there's been considerable community concern over large-scale development development projects that benefit from or only made possible by more permissive state mandate statemandated permitting standards. The legislature has taken actions to accelerate housing development, including chapter 40B, the MBTA Communities Act, and amendments to the zoning act, each of which have limited the scope of local control over housing development in our town. Is local control of zoning important or do we need a statewide plan to encourage more housing? What would you do at the state house to restore local control while supporting the real housing needs of our town? Um, Miss Rushing to you.

JESSICA BRADLEY RUSHING: Thank you. So, as I've said, I absolutely support the building of more housing of more diverse types, as do the people who responded to the survey here in town. Um, I think it's a key tool to bring down costs and strengthen our communities. And while I support statewide plans to address the housing shortage in a more holistic way, I also know from my time on the Penrook Select Board how important local control is to ensure that towns have a say in what housing goes where. Um, I think the goal is always to strike a balance between the state support and standards and the local control.

One way to ensure that towns have more control over development is to meet the state thresholds for things like affordable housing. So in Massachusetts, and I'm going to get a little bit into the details here, the towns are required to m at le maintain at least 10% of their housing stock as deeded affordable units. And when a town meets that threshold, it can deny a 40B proposal that doesn't meet local zoning requirements. So, I see that as an option for each town. When you build affordable units at your own discretion, you have more local control about additional development. I think we also need to take steps to um to streamline the permitting processes, which can be incredibly timeconuming um and adjust 40B so that towns get more credit for things like mixed income and senior housing.

REP. KEN SWEZY: Yeah. So, as far as housing of all types, absolutely. There's some points that Miss Rushing bring up that's good as far as the permitting processes for certain things. But again, I think the most important part of being a state rep is actually representing your towns in Boston and not bringing Boston's ideas back to your towns. That's our job.

And when you have things like the MBTA Communities Act that is still fresh on everybody's mind, we had those horrible town meetings of which I attend every one. It is one-sizefits-all. Again, there was 177 communities that were mandated to have by right massive numbers of units in towns over, you know, a dozen acres or so. Remember who wanted a large apartment building at Bonis? Not very many people wanted that. And that's why the town ended up doing a nearly just paper compliant, meaning that they created zones where things will likely never be built. So, we're not actually solving the housing issue when we're trying to skirt the rules.

At one point, I had the most number of communities in the entire of any state rep in the state in that area had four non-compliant communities. And what did the state do? They sued our towns with our own tax dollars, which then our towns had to defend ourselves with your tax dollars. They also came in and removed grants you weren't eligible for. Halifax still is not eligible for grants, which are crucial to state success when we have these municipal budget issues. The state loves using the stick instead of the carrot, and that's not right. The state should be a partner again to understand that all of our towns are different.

Now, Ducks is only about at 6.5% of their 10% for the 40B requirement. Everybody, of course, is on the social media pages looking at the Myiramar situation, and that only happens when you have state dictates. So we support things that actually help people and individuals not large developers like the ADU by right which is a great great thing but we make sure that we are not just building for the sake of it we actually see what the towns need and infrastructure is a huge problem that I won't even have time to dive into but we don't have town sewer town water uh and things like that that are absolutely crucial for smart growth that can actually help your communities and bring in more revenue.

Question 11: Small Business and Commercial Districts

PANELIST: All right, our next question comes from the Changer Chamber of Commerce member. Ducksberry's small business community relies heavily on year-round residential support to stay vibrant, but as town's population ages, our business business community sees quieter winter months. Convenient parking, safe pedestrian access, and reliable local infrastructure are vital for our retail shops, service pro providers, and local customers. What state funding programs will you prioritize to assist towns like Dubai in upgrading local commercial districts without shifting the burden onto municipal taxpayers? What grants or tax incentives will you champion to help our business community lower their operational costs to serve local customers year round? And Representative Sweezer,

REP. KEN SWEZY: great. Thank you. So, this is absolutely crucial. We have incredible small businesses. I mean, in in this district, we have over 90% is residential. We really don't have these large businesses to take in a big share of of the revenue for our communities, but we have some great chambers. The Ducks Chamber of Commerce does a great job. You know, I just attended a meeting of theirs that partnered with the the Halls Corner uh redevelopment organization, which Lester and his group has done a great job on as well because businesses should always be at the table because they really are the lifeblood of our communities. And it's not just for tourism in the summer months.

So, to your point, there's a lot of good things that the state can do to partner with us. And in Ducks, we're very lucky now that we are compliant with with 3A, uh, the MBTA Communities Act. We get a lot of grant money. I mean, look, everyone, like everybody else, I love to walk, run, bike down Washington Street and around the Halls Corner area. How much safer does everybody feel now that we have those sidewalks there? It's a great improvement, and I'm looking forward uh to really connecting everything. But $167,000 for for dredging, $500,000 for the sidewalks, $90,000 for the master plan at Hall's Corner, 196 for Snug Harbor, 3 million for part of the seaw wall renovation, and that's just part of what we've gotten in the last few years.

I'm constantly supporting our municipalities, letters of support, reaching out to to the executive agencies. We have so many other things. is the complete streets that helped with the sidewalks is is still something that we can look towards in the future and I look forward to helping with future applications as well. Uh another program called MDI capital improvements that really helps village centers so things like Hall's Corner that might be a village all of its own within town is really helpful. Mass works that does street and sewer improvements. Uh there's no shortage of opportunities.

You know, one good thing is that the secretary and the executive departments have these big funds from the state budget process that can uh can help our towns. And I'm glad to be a small part of that uh process when towns do apply because Ducks's been very successful in the past. And again, all of these things uh support our local chamber and our small businesses.

JESSICA BRADLEY RUSHING: So, thank you. As someone who's absolutely a year-round customer here at Small Businesses in Ducks, shopping local is something that really matters to me. and having access to those local businesses is critical, right? Um, you know, in Pemroke, we had some expansion of the sidewalks that really connected the Pemroke Town Center with a lot of the other neighborhoods and we see people out walking all the time and there's growth in Pemroke Center that is happening because we've made those connections.

Um, I certainly want to see the business communities thriving in all of the towns in this district. And I think the Massachusetts exe executive office of economic development has a lot of really interesting options and programs to provide grants and funding for upgrading and developing downtown areas and commercial districts across the state. As Representative Suezy said, we don't have massive commercial districts in most of these towns, which is why it's so important to invest in the ones that we do have.

Uh the community onetop for growth through the the Mass Executive Office of Economic Development. It it is a portal that's a streamline site that enables towns to apply for a variety of different programs including mass works grants which can be used for improvements to public infrastructure, pedestrian access, roadways, um parking and then the MDI capital which is used to develop and revitalize downtown areas. Each of these small towns has a very unique character in their downtowns. And I think that, you know, taking taking advantage of these grants that are available and really building up the small businesses in each of our communities is only going to strengthen all of our communities across the board.

Question 12: Impact on Beacon Hill and Committee Priorities

PANELIST: So, I have the last question. Um, there are 160 members of the House of Representatives and they all have their own priorities. Miss Rushing, how would you as a new member of the legislature make an impact on Beacon Hill? And Rep. Squeezy, how do you believe you've made an impact in your first term? And what you would do similarly or differently if you were given a second term? What are your legislative priorities? And if you're elected, what three communities will you request to sit on and why?

JESSICA BRADLEY RUSHING: So, as I have in every one of the roles in my 25 plus year career, I will hit the ground running when I am elected to the state legislature. I fully believe that being new in the legislature, but having wellestablished relationships with all of the the members in representing the surrounding districts as well as with our federal delegation will be an asset to the towns in the six Plymouth.

My priorities will be first and foremost to bring local aid back to the towns. For the last few years, Rep. Swezy has voted against the annual budget and has had earmarks stripped from the final budget that has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars for these towns in this district. I will vote for the budget and I will bring local aid back to the district.

I also want to address the affordability crisis as we've been talking about all night tonight, including on health care, energy costs, housing costs, education costs across the board. And then I want to ensure that working families and small businesses have the opportunity they need not just not just to survive but to thrive and not just today but for future generations as well.

As for committees, um I thought long and hard and I think if I were able to, you know, when I make a request, I would request um an assignment to the House Committee on Federal Funding, Policy, and Accountability as well as the Joint Committee on Public Service and the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs as veterans issues are near and dear to my heart.

REP. KEN SWEZY: Yeah, thank you for the question. Super important. I think coalition building is very important. You look at an issue like MBTA Communities Act, for example, I filed standalone bills as well as amendments to the budget uh to make sure that we could get some exemptions or or try to tie uh growth to infrastructure. I was very proud that during the budget, up until the last week of the session, I had the most Democrats vote for my amendments or bills on a measure than any other member of the legislature. Nobody else had more people cross the aisle on on that than I did.

I've spoken more than any other freshman as a member of the legislature. I've debated that House chamber is silent on voting days. It's incredibly sad to see how many people go up there to go along to get along. I will never do that.

And as far as legislative priorities and some of the things about bringing money back, I'm very proud to have worked very hard to get onto these conference committees and to negotiate these bills. I'm the only freshman member who's been on a budgetary conference committee. I am the only one that's not on ways and means that we could find back going 50 years that was trusted to be on a negotiating budget committee. I'm also the only freshman that has been on two conference committees for major financial legislation in their first session that we could find in 50 years. So I'm very proud to be a part of those conversations and I'm proud that as as I negotiated those I did bring earmarks back to the town of Dubberry for some of our most important projects. I've brought money back to repair the Powderpoint Bridge and I've brought money back as an earmark to make sure that we had money to either repair or use for the feasibility study of the Alden school when we were going through the override.

What I'm not going to do is just go up there and blindly say I'm going to vote for the budget if we want to talk about municipal aid. The municipal aid problems are in the budget. What I am voting against and what I'm doing is representing my communities. And I have no problem going up there and making sure that our communities have a voice at the table.

Closing Statements

LESTER LLOYD (Moderator): Thank you, Jessica and and Ken for uh for your uh spending your time with us. And uh thank you to our our panels. Um, uh, our panelists, Gerard Vasquez, Bayz, Lily Chen, Finnen, Sergeant, and Rachel She.

Uh, now, uh, closing statements for, uh, both of you. Uh uh Ken, would you give us our clothing closing statement and you have three minutes for your statement?

REP. KEN SWEZY: Great. Well, thank you again to to to Lester, Martha, the whole library board of trustees, the library, of course, our panelists again, all of you for coming out again. Very crucial election for the future of our town. So, I appreciate your engagement very much and to everyone on Zoom uh and my opponent again uh for being here today so that we can have this conversation.

Uh it's been the honor of a lifetime to represent uh both my hometown and my new home here in Dubberry. I I have loved the job. I I try this is my life. This is I I try to be everywhere, whether it's the chamber, Eagle Scouts, graduations, uh whatever it may be. It's truly a joy. I I joke that Saturdays are my busiest days. I six hours at seven different events across the district just this past Saturday. So, it it's been a joy to represent you all up on Beacon Hill. I hope that everybody knows whether we agree on every issue or any issue uh that I pride myself on believing that I'm representing the entirety of all five of our towns uh up on Beacon Hill.

But it's not just policy and it's not just being everywhere. It's it's philosophical in a sense as well because like I said, I believe that the ultimate role of your state representative is to bring your voice to Beacon Hill. And no matter what the issue has been, whether we agree on everything or not, that is what I've tried to do. When my town said no to MBTA communities, I went up there and fought for it. When Ducks and Pemroke said no to battery farms being in residents' backyards on West Street, I went and I've filed amendments and I've fought against, you know, un unruly environmental or renewable regulations up on Beacon Hill. I represent the voice of the towns because that's what I pride myself on. It's been the joy of a lifetime. I hope to continue doing so.

We've got a lot of good things to do as far as I know I skipped a little bit on on legislative priorities for the future. I've built a lot of great uh relationships as well at the Department of Marine Fisheries. Conversations that just haven't been had. Beach access, of course, is a huge problem, not only uh relative to the Powderpoint Bridge, but relative to ecological shutdowns and and shore birds and those sorts of regulations. I've filed bills to make sure that we can both protect birds and balance recreation as well. That's absolutely crucial here for our tradition in Dubberry. And I've had that. The commissioner of DMF has come down and sat in town hall and had conversations with the town because I insisted upon it. And and those are the sort of relationships that we need to keep building. It's not just legislation and what happens on the floor, but it's what you can do with the administration and the executive offices as well. Absolutely critical.

but representing your voice and bringing it to Beacon Hill, lifting it up and having a seat at the table and not bringing one-sizefits-all mandates from Boston down to you. And that's the same with utility costs and affordability, even if it's not just uh, you know, your property taxes tied to local aid. We have absolutely unbelievable fees tacked on, which are essentially taxes at nearly 20%. I mean, look at your gas bill, look at your electric bill. We need temporary or permanent stops on those fees to get through this winter because our our utility costs are absolutely going through the roof. Just another thing uh that the minority caucus is bringing to the floor to have conversations because we need adults in the room. So again, I thank everybody for tuning in. Uh this has been a great conversation. I look forward and don't forget to vote on it before November 3rd.

LESTER LLOYD (Moderator): Jessica, you have three minutes.

JESSICA BRADLEY RUSHING: Thank you. Thank you to the panelists for doing a phenomenal job. Thank you for the questions and for everyone who submitted the questions and thank you to everyone who set this night up and to representative for this good conversation.

I'm running for the seat because I love these communities. I love this area and I moved back here because I wanted to raise my kids here. I have dedicated my entire career to public service whether that was at the local, state, federal, or nonprofit level. And I will continue to dedicate myself to public service because that I believe that it is an important calling.

I look around and I see communities that I love and I want to make sure that they retain their character, retain all of the characteristics that make this such a special place to live, but that we do it in a way that enables our kids and our grandkids to enjoy the same benefits that we've always had.

As your state representative, I will use my experience and my skills that I have earned over a 25-year career to bring to bear for the people of this district. I will listen to your voices. I will raise your voices. I will be thoughtful. I will be communicative. And I will always have your best interests in mind.

Early voting opens on October 17th and runs to October 30th. Election day is November 3rd. Every single vote will matter and I am asking for yours. Thank you so much for being here tonight and thank you for participating in this very important exercise.

LESTER LLOYD (Moderator): I just want to say uh thank you again to everyone. This has been uh extraordinary. Really great to have you here. Um, please vote as both of our represent said and as both of our p uh folks have said either uh early at town hall starting on Saturday or on uh Tuesday, November 3rd at the Steel Athletic Center on the ballot. Kenneth will appear as Kenneth Peter Swezy and Jessica will appear as Jessica Marie Rushing. I really encourage you to vote.

So now we have 25 minutes to speak together with the candidates and I really encourage you to stay and talk with them and then we're all going to leave. So have a great evening. Thank you. Oh, thank you.

JESSICA BRADLEY RUSHING: Thank you so much. This is great.