As a seventh-generation Mainer, I feel fortunate to live in my home state, raising a family and enjoying the beauty and sense of place that our corner of Maine has to offer. I can’t imagine my life elsewhere.

But many of the kids I went to school with have left Maine, with no intention of returning – they feel they can secure better jobs, better infrastructure, and better schools in other states. For them, the Maine they grew up in just doesn’t add up.

Fortunately for families like mine, Erin Herbig understands this equation, and for the last eight years she’s represented voices like ours in Augusta. She understands that investments in our community, like workforce development and broadband infrastructure, can make the difference between staying or going, between finding a good job or heading south, between having hope or fearing the future.

It is our birthright as Mainers to work hard, and Erin, with endless energy and clear vision, represents the kind of hard-working, action-oriented, forward-looking leadership we need. As a voice of Maine’s young working generation, as a voice of one who stayed, I ask you to support Erin Herbig this November.

Jennifer Albee lives in Brooks