I feel both sadness and anger. As a candidate for House District 15, I have been knocking on the doors in my district and listening to voter concerns. In the past two weeks, I have listened to parent after parent voice anger and fear with our current leadership. The governor and Anchorage mayor refuse to follow the science that will protect our children who are now back in classrooms.
I talked to a mother who just buried her father, who died from COVID, and who has two children recently exposed to the virus in their classrooms. I talked to a high school teacher who has 30 to 40 students in a room where social distancing is impossible. I talked to a nurse who was dressing for work. She shared how hard it is to watch people die in her care. She said that just the other day, she came home from work and collapsed in her teenager’s arms and cried.
People are angry. They want leadership that protects them. They want mandates and short-term shutdowns. These mitigating measures will short-circuit the virus much more quickly and efficiently than just letting it drag out, endlessly. The loud minority who want to “save Anchorage” are those who are destroying it.
People want responsible leadership. If elected, I promise to do my best to be that responsible leadership.
— Lyn Franks
Candidate, House District 15
Anchorage
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