Martha B. Straus

I offer my enthusiastic support for Elizabeth McLoughlin's bid for re-election to the Brattleboro Selectboard.

I've lived and worked in the Brattleboro area for my entire adult life and I love our community. As a clinical psychologist, I am particularly concerned about the degree of trauma and emotional vulnerability underpinning most - if not all - of the social problems we face, including homelessness, substance abuse, domestic and community violence, climate change, and crime.

These are all complex issues without simple fixes. My dear friend Liz McLoughlin has the smarts, experience, big-picture understanding, and tenacity to grapple with multifaceted solutions.

For example, she supports having a fully staffed police force along with increased mental health and substance abuse treatment funding to take on crime response, prevention, and restorative justice. She has some interesting and innovative ideas to address our housing shortage, with a focus on improving both the quantity and quality of affordable places to live. She's committed to plans that are environmentally sustainable and just. Her campaign slogan is correct: she is Pragmatic, Optimistic, and Wise (POW)!...