(District 84 is within Meriden--see map) |
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Candidate statement:
My name is Matthew Went. I am twenty-five years old and currently work as a wilderness educator. I lead outdoor trips for teenagers to help teach and facilitate building of leadership skills as well as teach back-country living skills and foster appreciation for the environment. I get a rare opportunity to bring impressionable young adults into the wilderness, and not only teach them how to kayak or hike or canoe, but also build a foundation that is outside of everyday social life, a moral foundation for being a better person. The changes that I see year after year in kids is astounding. They may go back to life as usual after a trip, but there is a lasting impression that stays with them for their whole lives.
I myself studied for five months in South America under the National Outdoor Leadership School. NOLS is an influential school in learning and teaching fundamental leadership skills in harsh environments. They run trips for teenagers, as well as work with NASA teams, military units, and adventurers like me. For five months I learned how to lead and how to teach in Patagonia, Chile. We traveled through places as amazing as glacial fields and mountaintops, to paddling sea-kayaks with dolphins and penguins. What that experience taught me is something removed from a normal perspective. I was able to see and live with people at a stripped-down, basic level. I learned fundamental things about how people work, and how to work with people. With positive, constructive leadership skills coupled with teamwork and full group buy-in, any task can be accomplished. Whether that task is how to climb a glacier and make camp before dark, or hash out the details on a new budget, the right tools and the right people can get the job done.
That is why I am running for State Representative: I feel I am a person who has the right tools and drive to get positive, productive projects completed. I have no obligations to any person or organization other than the people I am to represent. I will look out for and listen to the people of the district, because that is the inherent nature of the job of State Representative. I feel I am the best choice for State Representative because of my unwillingness to be satisfied with a poor performance. I think that reform and a critical eye needs to be shown towards the current way our government gets things done. There needs to be a reform of the environmental policies as well as education and infrastructure of this state.
I believe that a better Connecticut comes through statewide cooperation and people taking care of people. The farmers are looked after, but so are the business people and students and elderly. This kind of Connecticut is not a utopia but a real achievable goal with the right mentality. There needs to be less privatization and more open public services and land and we need to look seriously at the way our current state economy works. Focus should not be on business alone, but on real people and real livelihoods. We can start by building a fair, positive budget and make everyone accountable for their choices. I want to actually change things for the better and not just change them to make change.
The person I am in everyday life is the person that will be elected. I do not put on a different mask to run for office and will not compromise on my beliefs and moral standards. I think if people like me, then they like the real me and can feel safe and assured when voting for me.
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Approved by Matt Went |
2024 Candidates
Matt Went for State Representative, 84th District 2014
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