Anne Hughes

The passing of Rev. Jesse Jackson led me to a trip down memory lane. Advocacy has always been a part of my adult life, as these clips from my college newspaper show. The issues -- peace, ending hunger, economic and racial justice, for example — seem to have gotten more acute lately. But my passion for the work has only aged by deepening the quest for systemic, structural policy solutions. We fight on, together, for a world we co-envision, where everyone is fed, living in safe homes, with access to healthcare, community, art and music!!!

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, one of the most prominent civil rights leaders to emerge after Martin Luther King Jr., died Tuesday after a lifetime fighting for racial justice, voting rights, and the poor.

This week, Comptroller Sean Scanlon released the 2026 Healthcare Cabinet Report at the State Capitol — a comprehensive, 42-page roadmap outlining 27 policy recommendations to strengthen and protect Connecticut’s healthcare system.

The session started yesterday, with Gov. Ned Lamont addressing the House and Senate about meeting this moment in history, citing Thomas Paine's seminal work, "Common Sense".

On the eve of the session, I want to share with you my legislative priorities, which are the following:

I am outraged by the continued abuses carried out by ICE and enabled by the federal government — abuses that not only tear families apart, trample basic human rights, and sow fear in our communities, but also have turned deadly.

A major snowstorm is predicted this weekend. With climate change a reality, these weather events are expected to happen with greater frequency and intensity.

I attended several pop-up “Ice Out for Good” rallies in Bethel and Ridgefield over the weekend, along with many of you, in response to the extrajudicial killings by ICE of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Keith Porter Jr. of L.A., and the escalation of kidnappings and terror by this regime’s paramilitary force paid for with our tax dollars taken from our ACA health care tax credits.