I’d like to express my gratitude to all the Brunswick voters in District 100 for rehiring me as your state representative for the next two years. When the new Legislature is sworn in next month, I will do all I can to be worthy of that confidence.

Our community stands at both an environmental and an affordability crossroads.

We still have the fallout from the AFFF spill on Brunswick Landing to address, including restoring Brunswick’s voice within the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, ensuring that we do not have an additional spill, and making sure residents with wells and shellfish harvesters have access to the resources they need to protect themselves and their livelihoods.

We also have a property tax system in this state that no longer works for working class families or older Mainers on fixed incomes. And the coming revaluation — required not just by law but seemingly by the Maine Constitution itself — will only make things worse.

Many people have expressed to me their anxiety about the national election results. But I know at least as many people who were already nervous about what their future would look like long before a single vote was cast.

Just within the past month, an older constituent reached out to me because she was effectively evicted after the latest spike in her rent finally priced her out of her apartment. And yet she somehow didn’t qualify for Maine’s new rent-relief program. Now she’s had to move out of town.

When you hear stories like this, you begin to see one of the many factors that contribute to such a frustrated electorate. It doesn’t fit neatly into a poll question on the economy, but people are smart enough to suspect that somewhere along the way, their leaders normalized human suffering.

There’s nowhere to channel anger like that once it becomes systemic, and bad actors are right there, ready to take advantage and appeal to our worst instincts.

That gambit worked in state after state on Election Day, but Brunswick voters told a different story. Instead, you expressed a far more hopeful vision that we must take an active role in lifting each other up, promoting basic fairness and leading with compassion.

Even as I collaborate with people of all parties on dozens of issues, I will promote and defend that vision in every aspect of my work. It’s a vision that isn’t going away and one that I hope will return to the core of the American conscience by 2026.

Just looking at the Brunswick results, I know there were both Harris and Trump supporters who voted for me. To those who crossed the aisle, thank you. It means a lot to me that we can respect each other, keep an open dialogue and take common ground where we can find it. As someone known to have a problem with authority, I like the idea that together we could defy the narrative of almost-tribal conflict that’s so widespread throughout America.

Politics is different at the local level, because we all live in the same place and see each other constantly. So, it’s in that spirit that I want to say something cheesy that I totally believe: In Brunswick, we’re not donkeys or elephants — we’re dragons.

And I’ll be here to help every one of us advocate for ourselves within state government, navigate different offices, answer questions, solve problems and get legislation over the finish line. You can reach me at dan.ankeles@legislature.maine.gov or 756-3793. It remains the honor of my life to serve you in the Legislature.

Rep. Dan Ankeles, D-Brunswick, has just been elected to his second term representing House District 100, a central part of Brunswick. He serves on both the Transportation Committee and the Appropriations Committee.