To the editor:

How could I possibly win an election as a write-in? Fair question; here’s the short answer. Because I believe the residents of Barrington and Warren know that I have been on their side during my years at the statehouse, and that I will continue to work tirelessly for them, their community and our state.    

We all want change that makes our lives better, our families safer, our futures brighter. We want change not just for the sake of change but to move us forward — to grow our economy, improve our schools, keep our environment safe.

Some may see long service as a bad thing, but I disagree. 

Accomplishments on behalf of our citizens take lots of work and time and compromise. The associations I have made during my time in the House of Representatives, the knowledge I have gained during my years in the legislature have allowed me to work effectively for Barrington and Warren and all of Rhode Island.  

I’ve seen many new representatives propose a variety of bills before the legislature, spanning the political spectrum of ideas, not all (or many) of them representing the values of the majority of Rhode Islanders.  Through the years, I’ve talked with thousands of Rhode Islanders. Living in this district nearly my whole life, I’ve come to know many people in Warren and Barrington. What they want, what we all want is not radical or revolutionary. We want good jobs, good schools, safe communities, good prices for food, drugs, health care. We want lower taxes and more efficient government.

As a long-time business owner/operator in the district, I have been and continue to be vitally concerned about economic growth in our state, which is why I have long championed and supported efforts to level the playing field, through tax reform, for Rhode Island businesses competing with those in nearby states. And while those efforts have a goal of helping businesses grow in or locate in Rhode Island, the biggest beneficiaries of that kind of change are all Rhode Island citizens looking for good or better jobs, for a better standard of living.

I’ve tried, during my years in the House of Representatives, to help achieve those goals. It’s why I have supported and worked to craft, as a member of the House Committee on Finance, budgets that are fair and realistic and that really address pocketbook issues. It is why I helped to create and voted to approved our state’s most recent budget, which provides a tax exemption on retirement income for Social Security retirees, provides for equitable aid to education, sets a tuition freeze at our state’s colleges and university and that reduces the minimum corporation tax to help businesses invest in themselves and grow and hire more Rhode Islanders.

Why have I decided to run again — as a write-in? Because I have experienced great satisfaction in public service; in speaking openly and honestly at the statehouse on behalf of the many people in Barrington and Warren that I have met over the years and respect as good, decent, hard-working citizens. 

As it is every two years, it’s now up to you to judge and pick. Whatever you choose, I hope you will know that I have always tried to do what is right for my communities and our state and I will continue to do that as a Representative or private citizen. If you believe I can and will do that, I ask you to fill in the oval  and, in the blank spot next to it write in, for Representative District 67, Jan Malik.

Thank you. And please don’t forget to vote.

Jan Malik

Warren