PUTNEY-I write in support of Molly Gray, candidate for lieutenant governor. I’d like briefly to focus upon two qualities that I have seen in her: competence and compassion.
I came to know Molly when I was a director of fair and impartial policing for the Vermont State Police and she was stewarding the Vermont Afghan Alliance. She had gotten in touch with the agency with the intent of presenting to the Alliance’s people a workshop concerning interactions with law enforcement.
I quickly learned that as Molly both organized and ran the Alliance, she helped a large number of new immigrants who had been involved with the U.S. government during the war against the Taliban — people who had consequently come to America to build new lives.
As one can imagine, numerous and complicated bureaucratic moves are involved in such a resettlement, including both complicated legal interactions with immigration authorities and the procuring of support services for people for whom English is not a primary language.
At the very least, Molly’s position required a knowledge of resources and an ability to present them to and procure them for a number of apprehensive people who were in the midst of becoming American citizens. This committed work required enormous and effective competence — an important attribute for a lieutenant governor.
Stemming from this competence is demonstrable compassion. The Afghan refugees to whom Molly had dedicated her extraordinary energy were frightened and confused. It is always difficult to emigrate — one is throwing one’s life into utter chaos.
In the midst of helping people to negotiate the legal processes involved in such a huge move, Molly’s actions were fundamentally rooted in both concern and affection. She felt strongly for the Afghan refugees, and she let this compassion guide her work.
Compassion is another characteristic needed in the top levels of government. It has been in sadly short supply of late nationwide, and its loss is keenly felt. The election of Molly Gray will go a long way toward correcting this sad state of affairs.
I encourage Vermont voters to make a solid choice for lieutenant governor by selecting a person rooted both in competence and compassion. I ask people to vote for Molly Gray.
Etan Nasreddin-Longo
Putney
This letter to the editor was submitted to The Commons.
This piece, published in print in the Voices section or as a column in the news sections, represents the opinion of the writer. In the newspaper and on this website, we strive to ensure that opinions are based on fair expression of established fact. In the spirit of transparency and accountability, The Commons is reviewing and developing more precise policies about editing of opinions and our role and our responsibility and standards in fact-checking our own work and the contributions to the newspaper. In the meantime, we heartily encourage civil and productive responses at voices@commonsnews.org.