Senator Haskell, Representative Hughes Join the Future Leaders of Weston’s Ms President

State Senator Will Haskell and State Representative Anne Hughes join the young women of Weston’s Ms. President.

HARTFORD, CT – Today, State Senator Will Haskell (D-Weston) and State Representative Anne Hughes (D-Weston) joined the future leaders of Weston’s Ms. President during their day-long tour of the State Capitol. Sen. Haskell and Rep. Hughes joined the young women to discuss important bills and encourage them to pursue public service.

With the women of Weston Ms. President sitting in legislators’ chairs, Sen. Haskell and Rep. Hughes sat opposite them as if testifying at a public hearing while the girls discussed legislation they find important. Several girls emphasized their interest in proposed legislation that would reduce the pollution of plastic bags, as they are concerned about protecting the environment. They also discussed a bill to ban single-use plastic straws in an effort to reduce waste in the Long Island Sound.

“These girls have done such an incredible job at advocating for the issues important to them. They truly are the future leaders of Connecticut,” said Gayle Weinstein, the former first selectman of Weston and co-facilitator of Weston Ms. President with Elise Major.

“I ran because I believe every generation deserves a seat at the table and representative democracy should be representative,” said Sen. Haskell. “I mean it when I say I will join these girls door-knocking and I hope all of them decide to run for office. I read once that a woman has to be asked eight times to run for office, while a man only has to be asked once. When I meet politically active, smart women like these students, I make it my mission to be one of those eight. I want to be a voice of encouragement from an early age and let them know it’s possible to be involved at a young age. In fact, it’s not only possible, it’s desperately needed. When we start electing younger people and a more diverse caucus, we’ll focus on inequality in pay, student loan debt and passing paid family leave.”

“The young women from Weston’s Ms. President US are bold vocal advocates,” said Rep. Hughes. “They urged our commitment to protecting the environment and I am proud to support legislation that addresses the crisis of plastic pollution especially in our oceans. These are the leaders of today and they are the key stakeholders in an inhabitable planet. Our job is to make those changes now, in our consumption behavior and how we amplify these young voices of urgency.”

Ms. President is a nonprofit, community-based initiative focused on civic engagement and leadership for girls in the fourth through eighth grades, all in an effort to inspire them to becoming active in politics and spark interest in the opportunity and value political service represents.