Women in America have fewer constitutional rights today than they had just a decade ago.
Read that sentence again.
For the first time in generations, our daughters are growing up with fewer rights than their mothers had. That should concern every American, regardless of political party.
At the same time, extremists continue attacking reproductive freedom, LGBTQ Americans, voting rights, Black history and excellence, immigrants, public education, and the fundamental promise that everyone deserves equal protection under the law.
The stakes could not be higher.
Yet our response cannot simply be to keep doing what we’ve always done.
I never imagined I would run for public office.
Like many people, I believed that if I voted, stayed informed, and raised my family with the right values, I was doing my part. But after Donald Trump was elected in 2016, I realized that wasn’t enough.
As I became more engaged locally, I looked at my own town government and saw something that troubled me. Longmeadow’s Select Board had gone more than a decade without a single woman serving on it. In a community filled with talented, accomplished women, our highest elected board simply didn’t reflect the people it represented.
I decided to do something about it.
I didn’t run because I wanted a political career. I ran because I believed representation matters, because different voices make better decisions, and because every generation has a responsibility to step forward when the moment demands it.
That same belief is why I am supporting Congressman Seth Moulton for the United States Senate.
This election is about more than choosing between two Democrats. It is about deciding what kind of Democratic Party we want to be at one of the most consequential moments in our nation’s history.
Senator Ed Markey has served in Congress since 1976. He deserves credit for his decades of public service and for evolving on important issues. But there were also moments when he held different positions on issues like integration of schools, abortion rights, the Crime Bill and the Iraq War.
Those positions are history. The larger question is not.
Should one person occupy the same seat in Washington for half a century while the world changes around us?
Experience has value, but longevity alone is not leadership. Public office was never intended to become a lifetime appointment. Every generation has a responsibility to prepare the next one to lead.
Today’s challenges demand leaders who are willing to meet this moment with urgency, courage, and conviction.
That’s why I support Seth Moulton.
During a private conversation with Seth, I became emotional talking about the reality that women in this country have fewer rights today than they once did. It wasn’t politics. It was deeply personal.
I saw in him something that gave me hope: not calculation, but conviction.
We cannot wait while rights disappear.
We cannot wait while extremism grows stronger.
And we cannot wait another generation to pass the torch.
That is why I proudly stand with Seth Moulton.
Shelly Maynard-DeWolf serves on the Longmeadow Select Board. This letter reflects her personal views.
Shelly Maynard-DeWolf
Longmeadow
