Legislating requires hard work, bipartisanship, and that hardest trait of all: compromise. Our incumbent State Senator, Christine Cohen, embodies all three and has put these skills to work for the 12th District and for the State of Connecticut.

As a member of the Guilford Safe Streets Task Force, I have focused on her contributions to transportation access and pedestrian/cyclist safety, just one dimension of her stellar work on our behalf.

Shore Line East riders have seen significant service cuts since before COVID, until last summer. Adding more money and service to this vital transit service was not in the governor’s budget for this year. Fortunately, we have a state senator who can get her calls to the governor returned. At the same time, she worked both sides of the aisle, especially with a predominantly Republican delegation, to bring them on board to support increased funding for Shore Line East. It worked. There is more work to be done, but the increased number of daily trains is bearing fruit. Ridership is increasing with the added service.

Residents of Sunrise and Route 1 to the Madison line will see increased pedestrian and bicycle mobility with the completion of a sidewalk to the Madison line. Cooperation between Sen. Cohen and Town of Guilford officials led to this significant award of 100% funding from the State.

There are many more examples of projects like this across the 12th District.

Understanding the tangibles and intangibles that make our communities work is an important part of a Legislator’s job. Sending a veteran Sen. Cohen back for another term is what we need.

I encourage all voters to cast their ballot for State Senator Cohen, whether voting early starting Monday, Oct. 21, or on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Tim Sperry

Guilford