Vote for Kimberly Capenos

To the Editor:

Over the past few weeks there has been this candidate and that candidate who has either been featured in a local paper or has had letters to the editor written about them. One candidate stands out to me as being ignored and not receiving much if any news media attention and that would be Kimberly Capenos, who is running in the Democratic primary for the seat of Representative in the General Assembly.

So now I have to say, who is Kimberly Capenos? Kim is one of my closest friends. Kim and I first met when managed care came into Blair County this was around 2008. Kim is the mother of three special-needs girls.

I was not experienced in the school system and advocating for my own child at school. Kim quickly jumped in and helped. She taught me a lot in the last 12 years about advocating for special-needs students.

Kim currently is the chairperson for the IU8 task force, which meets monthly to help bring schools, providers and parent together to help our special needs students.

I have also gotten to see Kim as a single mother to three beautiful young ladies. Marabeth is her oldest child, and her somewhat dependent 27-year-old; 19-year-old Lavender Pearl and Kashmir Paige, who is 18.

Kim graduated from Freeport Senior High in 1984, a rural area north of Pittsburgh. She then went on to Pennsylvania State University where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in speech communications, with three minors, one each in business, history and women’s studies in 1990.

After college, she has advocated for those with special needs. She worked with the Department of Education as an independent consultant to make sure that school districts across the state are complying with special education laws.

She has been the chairperson for the Local Task Force of IU8 for 10 years. She has participated with Local Interagency Coordinating Council as co-chair for 15 years. She has been part of the Blair County Transition Council for agencies and parents of kids with special needs ages 14-26 years old.

Kim has been in more than 170 school districts across Pennsylvania and has seen how our schools are imploding and desperate for pay raises to keep qualified teachers. Kim is pro-union, pro-labor, pro-electric cars and transportation, pro-solar, windmills and hydro power. She believes that women should always have a choice over their own body. She believes we should tax the rich and tax the corporations.

In addition to all that, Kim wants to see the American farmer succeed and receive what they need to not only survive but flourish. She has supported Farm Aid since the 1990s.

Anna Gibboney

Williamsburg