As a resident of Warwick, I am not in the 1st Franklin District, but my roots are deeply embedded there. The latter decades of my professional career included seven years as state representative Steve Kulik’s district director, followed by 20 years at Greenfield Community College. These two roles helped me develop a deep bench of professional and personal relationships, a comprehensive understanding of the member towns and the issues they have faced, and a strong working knowledge of the state Legislature and state agencies that govern and lead our commonwealth.
It has been my privilege to serve on the campaign committee for Corinne Coryat for state representative. Corinne is running for the same seat held by Steve Kulik from 1993-2019, which ensures it is and always will be meaningful to me, and also that I can provide a broad historic perspective on the district and how issues “back in the day” tie to the current conversations being held in town offices and kitchen tables across the 1st Franklin District today.
Corinne has impressed me with her own deep bench of knowledge that she has acquired during her five years as an aide and then chief of staff for State Rep. Natalie Blais. Her facility in convening stakeholder groups to work out a compromise acceptable to the parties (such as the much-touted FARM Bill of the last legislative session), and her candid and comprehensive answers during public forums, during which she draws on her wealth of knowledge of education, infrastructure and transportation, public health and climate and energy, are clear demonstrations her competence for the job.
Her education reinforces that preparation. With an undergraduate degree in political science from Clark University, and a law degree from Western New England College with a concentration in public interest law, Corinne has clearly been academically preparing for public service from the beginning.
But her job history and educational training don’t provide the whole picture for why she is right for this job that relies on unity to ensure forward movement. The following words from the original press announcement of her candidacy speak to how she prioritizes the critical collaboration among legislators, agencies and communities needed to amplify the voices of rural communities as they call for regional equity.
“When we are able to organize together, to prioritize issues together, we can really make change, and I certainly want to center that in my work,” Coryat said.
That is the kind of leadership rural communities need: legislators, agencies, and communities working together to amplify our voices and advance regional equity. Corinne is that leader. I urge you to vote on Sept. 1 for Corinne Coryat for state representative of the 1st Franklin District.
Regina Curtis lives in Warwick.