September 30, 2010—The Beacon

To the Editor:

The contrasting values of State Representative Jen Benson and her opponent give voters a real choice. Evidence clearly favors the election of Jen Benson on November 2.

Rep. Benson's decisions, tempered by years of service to her town, consistently support small business, job creation, and reducing health care costs. Her frequent meetings with boards of selectmen and other officials in Acton, Boxborough, and the other towns in her district show her deep understanding of local challenges and her desire to serve her constituents.

By contrast, public records show that her opponent, a long-time resident of Boxborough, has attended town meetings only since he began to run for U.S. Congress two years ago. And he has never served or helped any of Boxborough's voluntary committees dealing with taxes, budgets, unions, contracts, housing, water, conservation, or other matters he claims ready to tackle as our representative.

He claims his work for IBM qualifies him to represent us. Voters need to question the wisdom of his decision to work as our Representative, if elected, while continuing to work for IBM which might welcome his vote on issues favoring large corporations and not our towns.

Both candidates claim to want to help our state's small businesses, but only Jen Benson puts her words into action when it comes to campaign spending on signs, bumper stickers, and office supplies. Public records of campaign spending in 2010 show that Jen Benson purchased all of her signs, bumper stickers, and office supplies in Massachusetts, while Kurt Hayes purchased his signs and bumper stickers in South Carolina, and most of his office supplies in New Hampshire. This slight of our Massachusetts businesses should not go unnoticed.

Jen Benson supports efforts to improve schools, provide affordable health care, and help the Commonwealth to continue to move out of the recession caused by opposition to financial regulations, opposition to fair taxation of the very rich, and opposition to stopping corporations from sending our jobs overseas.

Jen Benson supports the leadership Massachusetts shows in its support of women's rights and the right of anyone to marry the person they love. Her opponent opposes a woman's right to choose, he opposes gay marriage, and he believes creationism should be taught in public schools.

Jen Benson is our well-informed, capable, tolerant, full-time Representative. We should re-elect her as if our lives depend upon it.

Francie Nolde
Boxborough