Matt Coker: Young people deserve a seat at the table with important issues on the line

To The Daily Sun,

I want to thank Lisa Smart for her recent letter highlighting my moderate positions, community involvement and voter recommendation from Citizens for Belknap. Smart wrote a letter misrepresenting my views a bit but still skirts around making clear any of her own positions. I’m not surprised, her campaign has been full of division, and she seems to be playing it safe hoping to get elected based on the R next to her name.

I on the other hand don’t mind the hard work and difficult conversations that come with being transparent with the people I hope to represent. Putting yourself out there on the most contentious issues facing our community so that the voters can get a sense of your thinking and where you are on the issues is crucial.

We are facing monumental problems ranging from energy prices and the ability of young people to afford a place to live to people losing faith in the very foundations of our democracy. As a young person, I believe my generation should get a seat at the table while we work through these difficult issues. I’m lucky as a young person to have the ability to serve, and feel it’s my duty to step up and do so. I will never be a rubber stamp for any political party or agenda. I am more than willing to break from party politics to find solutions that work for the people of New Hampshire. That is why I’m asking for your vote on Nov. 8 for Meredith state representative.

Please visit my website to see where I stand, www.mattformeredith.com or for more detailed positions check out https://www.citizenscount.org/candidate/matthew-coker. I look forward to meeting all the voters at the candidate forum at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, at the Meredith Community Center to keep the conversations going.

Matt Coker

Meredith