As a retired educator and school administrator, I was thrilled to meet Laura Fortman at a recent meet-and-greet at a friend’s home in Round Pond. I was immediately impressed by her background in helping people through leading a sexual assault crisis center, as executive director of Maine Women’s Lobby for 10 years, and as deputy administrator of the Wage and Hour Division in the U.S. Department of Labor. Laura has worked her way up to these jobs, having earned just minimum wage during her early years. She knows what it means to be a working parent and juggling work, parenting and college classes.

Laura has lived in Nobleboro for over 30 years. She grew up in a working-class family, was a working mom herself, and knows the importance of common-sense solutions to economic problems. She seeks to improve Maine’s future by creating jobs, developing the skills of working people with education and training, matching people to jobs to encourage retention and pride in what we do, and having working families succeed through access to health care and other benefits.

Laura Fortman is the right candidate for me. Please vote for Laura, as she stands for all of us who know what it is to put in a hard day’s work. She will make an effective and caring senator for those who live in Senate District 13.

Donna Strawser

Bremen