Cook stays focused on health care safety

TORRINGTON — Rep. Michelle Cook is winding up her sixth term in office in the 65th District, and plans to serve another term after Nov. 3.

She said her reason for running again is simple: She wants to help the people in her state, and particularly in Torrington. “Being in this position gives me the ability to help in a way others can’t, and I look forward to doing that,” she said. “I fight for the communities I serve, whether it’s the schools, the hospitals, the elderly, nursing homes. ... The list just goes on, especially during the pandemic. There’s so many people who need help.”

Cook is being challenged by Republican Chris Beyus, a Torrington resident.

This year, with legislative offices closed and more time to spend in Torrington, Cook stayed focused on her hometown. When Friendly Hands Food Bank signed up for Farms to Families, a produce distribution program for needy families, Cook was there, handing out boxes of fresh food every week.

Her biggest challenges for the future, she said, are about making fiscal decisions without hurting people who need help the most, finding ways to resolve the cost of the pandemic, and ensuring that nursing homes, the elderly and disabled are protected.

Nursing homes were hit hard by the pandemic, in Connecticut and other states. In April, Cook’s father-inlaw, William Cook, died from COVID-19 at Litchfield Woods. He was there for a short stay, she said, and was unprotected from the virus in many ways that could have been prevented.

“I wrote a letter to Gov. Lamont about doing a statewide investigation, to hold people accountable for COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes,” said Cook, who serves on the Public Health Committee. “It’s something I’ve been fighting for, to better care for patients (in nursing homes) and make sure there’s enough staff.”

The Connecticut Post in June reported that Gov. Lamont had ordered a review of nursing home responses to the coronavirus. In the months that followed, testing and screening increased, not only for residents, but for staff and visitors.

“I want to ensure our nursing homes and elderly are protected, so the tragedy we had in our own family doesn’t happen to others,” Cook said. “My father-in-law turned 90 in March, and he was OK. ... At Litchfield Woods, no staff had PPE (personal protective equipment), and there were people in and out of there all the time.”

Cook is also deputy speaker of the House, and is a member of the Education, Human Services and Legislative Management committees. Along with those responsibilities, she wants to help businesses recover. “We know businesses are struggling,” she said. “We have to find ways to listen, to learn how we can help them.

“In Connecticut, our technology (services are) lagging,” she said, echoing fellow state Rep. Maria Horn, D-Salisbury, who wants to provide better internet capabilities in the northwest corner. “That can help our businesses, and our schools. We should modernize all of our state systems, to make us more relevant.

“In our schools, it would make a huge difference,” she said. “We have great educators, but we need to make those technology investments in our schools. We have an educational achievement gap, because each of our communities is so different. It’s worth the investment.”

Torrington has added a referendum vote to the Nov. 3, ballot, asking residents to approve a $157 million school building project. The new school will house grades 7-12, with middle and high school students in separate wings, sharing some spaces. The project also includes relocating the administrative offices from Migeon Avenue to the new building. The old high school, built in the 1960s, needs too many repairs and renovations to secure enough state funding to pay for it. It would be torn down after the new school is built.

Cook supports the school building project. For her part, she wants to improve educational opportunities for students in every town and city. In recent years, the Torrington Public School District’s enrollment has dropped. The administration reported earlier this year that once a Torrington student completes eighth grade, they are taken out of the public schools and placed in a private one. That has to change, Cook said.

“We need to try and balance and equalize education opportunities for our kids,” she said. “Not everyone can afford to go to a private school, if they don’t like the public one, and they shouldn’t have to. There are ways for us to improve the education we’re giving our kids.”

Cook and her husband, Chris Cook, have four children: Ryan, who is on a work visa in London; Katlyn, a nurse, who got married in November 2019; Ashlynn, a grad school student at Mt. St. Mary University in Maryland; and William, a junior at Mt. St. Mary. “When I started my first term, the kids were in grade school,” she said. “This year, they were home from college, because of the pandemic.

“I’d say they’re what I’m most proud of,” Cook said. “I have four beautiful kids, and an incredible husband.

State Rep. Michelle Cook, D-Torrington, is running for her seventh term in office.

That’s what matters to me the most. Our road hasn’t been easy. There’s been a lot of loss.”

Cook believes the nation has to come together, as the pandemic continues to make life a challenge for everyone, she said.

“It’s really affected the whole world,” she said. “It’s time to step back and say, ‘This isn’t what we thought it would be’ and put things in perspective. ... I look at the pandemic as a tragic blessing. There are so many who have lost loved ones, but I’ve realized that our priorities as residents were forced to shift, and we had to think about each other. It’s about patience and kindness, and getting through this together.”