To the Editor:
As an unaffiliated voter, I take a lot of time to research each candidate I vote for. Although time consuming, this research fine-tunes my critical thinking so I come out with a solid decision. I do not take any cues from our national political parties.
I have spent countless hours researching the two candidates for election to one of Lyme seats on the Region 18 Board of Education. The hands-down winner is Mary Powell St. Louis.
Mary is able to hold sincere views on complex issues. Her views are nuanced and well thought out, and the result of many years of executive, medical, family, and Lyme community experiences. I am so grateful that she has committed 8 years to the Board of Education so far. Our Board of Education volunteers devote countless hours to guide our students, faculty, parents, staff, and community. They need to think through difficult topics such as spending priorities, student needs, and strategic planning. She has the unbounding energy and enthusiasm to serve at least 4 more.
When she’s not on our local ballot, she serves as one of our Deputy Registrar of Voters. She volunteers as a Master Gardener to beautify our town, as the treasurer for our Boy Scout Troop 26, and she checks in with her neighbors, offering a hand wherever she is needed. She has raised three well-adjusted nearly-grown boys, knowing all three levels of our school district (elementary, middle, and high school) from the inside out.
She holds down a full-time executive job, is a Medical Doctor, holds an MBA, and a Masters in Public Health. She sits in on town commission meetings regularly. She has known what happens in this town for decades. She knows the personalities and the politics. She is invaluable as our representative on the Board of Education.
The previous time the Town of Lyme voted for Mary was 2019 when she ran for her second term on the Board of Education. If you think about what our lives were like in 2019, compare them to 2023, you have to give Mary so much credit for staying the course at all times, for being that steady hand, and continuing to serve our children so well through thick and thin.
Mary for BOE Region 18 Lyme!
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Farrell,
Lyme, CT.
Thank you, Elizabeth, for highlighting Mary’s incredible educational and professional accomplishments. I think Mary, in her natural humbleness, has refrained from stating her achievements and titles during the campaign. I had the pleasure of working with Mary in Troop 26 BSA and she was a powerhouse volunteer as assistant scoutmaster. Her seemingly endless energy was only shadowed by her many talents that added to the excitement, productivity, and goal-oriented programming for the youth of Lyme and Old Lyme. She camped and backpacked in all climes and places and was an advocate for a high adventure trip to Swamp Base, a physically rigorous and incredible educational experience in the Atchafalaya Swamp. I hope that my friends in Lyme will see that Mary is the clear choice for Board of Education.
This is an excellent write up for an outstanding candidate for BOE!
A beautiful and well researched letter, Liz. Thank you.
Dot Mosser