by Jill Friedman
On March 9th, 2025, I went to an Avon Town Meeting for Connecticut’s 5th district, which featured Rep. Jahana Hayes. It was the perfect opportunity to ask her to consider co-sponsoring H. Res. 77. I had been involved with Back from the Brink and was passionate about this issue. We had meetings with her staff, but had spent almost a year and a half waiting for a face-to-face meeting with her.
I had written a short but powerful and impassioned speech about how immigration rights, tariffs, and other issues wouldn’t have any meaning if there was a nuclear war. I did my homework and mentioned the countries that have the capacity to strike at any moment, and with insane people running the country, it made us citizens even more vulnerable. And then the big question for Rep. Hayes: Would you be willing to be a co-sponsor for this bill along with CT Rep. John Larson?
I had given a copy of my speech to one of Rep. Hayes’ aides so she could ponder it afterwards, and I got into the line-up to speak. After a few minutes, I was tapped on the shoulder by one of her aides, and was told (not asked) to sit down because my speech had nothing to do with the budget. No one else spoke specifically about the budget, but after questioning it with the aide, I reluctantly sat down, doing a slow burn, while trying to figure out how I was singled out. I thought about John Lewis and the idea of making “good trouble” and getting back up crossed my mind several times. I was agitated, but I decided that there must be another, even better plan for me on this day.
As the last person was going back to their seat and Rep. Hayes was thanking everyone for coming and making promises of what she was going to do, I rose up out of my seat and waved to her to show that I wanted to talk to her. Then I walked right up to her.
I was very straight forward as I explained that I was asked not to speak by her staff and that I didn’t feel it was fair not to be heard. She listened with intensity. She apologized for her staff member and said she would address it. She asked me questions. She promised to call Rep. McGovern of MA, who was the bill’s main sponsor the next day, and that she would reach out to me after that. She also admitted that her staff hadn’t informed her about our request for a meeting, and that she hadn’t heard of Back From The Brink. I took her at her word.
If things had gone another way and I had gotten to speak during the meeting, it would have been an opportunity to tell all 600-700 attendees about Back from the Brink. However, I was still thrilled because this was the face-to-face meeting we had wanted all along—it had just happened on its own timeline.
The next morning, my phone rang. “Is Jill Friedman there? This is Jahana Hayes.” I was elated. She had spoken with Rep. McGovern’s top senior rep and was getting ready to read the bill and was very positive about what she had heard. She thanked me for stepping up and once again apologized for her “staff’s lack of judgement” for asking me to sit down. Her words, not mine! When I hung up the phone, I was really proud of going out of my comfort zone and for following my heart and my instincts.
