Editor:

If ever there were a time and a reason to vote, this is it. The Midterm elections are set for Tuesday, Nov. 6.

United States demographics for 2018 count 49.51 percent male and 50.49 percent female persons in the USA. But, of those elected to Congressional positions, only 19.3 percent of the House of Representatives are women (84 out of 435 members), and 23 percent of the U.S. Senate are women (23 out of 100 members).

Why is that? Why is the majority of the population so under-represented in the Congress and the Senate?

This coming election, Nov. 6, there are 185 women of both political parties running nationally for seats in the House of Representatives. Yes, 185.

Now is the time and the opportunity for us to rectify the disproportionate representation, and to elect women to the open HR positions.

Here in the Virginia 5th District, we have a very bright and well qualified candidate for the House of Representatives – Leslie Cockburn (pronounced Coeburn). The VA 5th District encompasses 21 counties, including Prince Edward, Charlotte, Buckingham and Cumberland. Leslie Cockburn has been traversing the entire District since spring, asking questions and listening to people’s’ concerns.

She is well aware of pressing issues such as affordable health insurance, protecting the environment, restoring adequate funding to public schools, and she will fight hard to address them in the Congress.

Now is the time for all of us to vote in November to change the makeup of Congress, and to elect Leslie Cockburn to represent us in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Carol Fauci

Farmville