Tonight’s the night to get to know State Representative 61st District candidates Elaine O'Brien (D) and Tami Zawistowski (R).
Both will take part in a Chamber of Commerce sponsored debate at 7 p.m. at the Suffield Senior Center.
“I really welcome the opportunity to get questions directly from the people in the district,” said Zawistowski yesterday. “We send out mailers to people with information we want them to know. This gives people an opportunity to find out what they want to know.”
O’Brien, currently serving her first term as state rep in Hartford, said the debate can show constituents who she is and what she stands for.
“At a debate, the differences between candidates can be obvious because we will have to elaborate on positions rather than just (highlight) bullet points on mailers,” she said.
The first segment of the debate will feature questions from the Moderator, Suffield Academy Headmaster Charles Cahn III. Questions submitted by the audience will follow.
All questions will be reviewed to assure a broad range of topics, according to the chamber.
The 61st District includes Suffield, East Granby, and northwestern Windsor.
Zawistowski serves as vice chair of the East Granby Board of Finance. She was born in Stafford and attended the University of Connecticut. She has been an East Granby resident for 10 years, owning and operating Resource Books, LLC, an online enterprise that buys and sells used and rare books.
O'Brien is a 20-year Suffield resident and currently works as Town Clerk as well as state representative. She is a mother of three grown boys and has a long history of community involvement including PTO, Board of Education, and Rotary International.
“I hope that constituents will realize how much I have learned and how valuable my experience locally has helped me at the capital these past two years as well as what I hope to accomplish in the future,” she said.
More information about both candidates can be found at their websites: http://www.housedems.ct.gov/OBrienE/, http://www.elaineobrien2012.com and www.tamizforthe61st.com
