I had the pleasure not long ago of driving Cheryl Golek door to door as she campaigned to become our new representative for Maine District 99 (Harpswell and the Cook’s Corner area of Brunswick). She’ll be replacing Harpswell’s very popular Jay McCreight, who has termed out.

I was really impressed with Cheryl and wanted to share my enthusiasm for her candidacy with friends and neighbors here in the pages of the Anchor.

I watched for hours as Cheryl walked up to door after door and rang the doorbell with an open mind and open heart, had spontaneous conversations of all lengths and styles on “both sides of the aisle,” and came back to the car to make quiet, sincere notes on what she’d learned. Her remarks to me about the people she’d met were entirely constructive, interested and kind.

I could tell that Cheryl is hardworking, fact-based and positive. As you might know, she grew up in Cook’s Corner in poverty — yet went on to co-found and run Harpswell’s successful Vicarage by the Sea for dementia care. In my opinion, she knows and understands our needs and cares about all of us — and will work hard for us in Augusta.

Cheryl supports our fishing heritage, education for our kids’ future, stronger health care, affordable housing, real solutions for poverty, fair taxation, reproductive and disability rights, racial and Indigenous rights, and more. She’s really something! I’ll be voting for Cheryl in November — and I hope you will, too.

George Simonson, Harpswell Neck