Northeast News
July 6, 2016

To the Editor:

Thank you for including in your recent issue the thorough and informative rundown of the candidates for Senate District 11 and Missouri House District 19 for the August 2nd Missouri primary.

After having attended the candidate forum at Scuola Vita Nuova, two candidates stuck out as clearly the best people for each respective job.

Jessica Podhola delivered an impressive and strong presence, and is clearly a force to be reckoned with. After speaking with her personally, it is clear that she intends to be very available to her constituents, and seems to be a woman of her word. She has lived and experienced the things that many of us live and experience every day. There is no privilege present in her presentation. She is AUTHENTIC, she is one of US, and that is what we need in Jefferson City. In addition, she definitely lives in the district, which is more than we can say for some who simply use a qualifying address. I cannot even vote for Ms. Podhola, as I am not in her district (although I do live in Northeast). I am just so impressed with her that I feel the need to voice it publicly, to give her campaign the attention it deserves in order to avoid falling back into the “same old, same old.” We need a breath of fresh air in the State Senate, and she can provide it.

The other clear winner in the forum was Manny Abarca IV. He is well-spoken, confident, knowledgeable, and wise beyond his years – even willing to give his personal cell phone number to answer questions! Also attractive about Mr. Abarca is that he did refrain from personal jabs against his opponent during the forum.

Thank you, Northeast News, for making the effort to educate voters in our area. The Northeast has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years, and we need representatives such as Ms. Podhola and Mr. Abarca to continue that momentum.

Jessie Mathews Johnson