"She is irreplaceable and I am eternally grateful for her presence in my life" -Leslie C

Vanessa and I met when our daughters entered second grade in 1998, and the rest is history. We became fast friends. Shortly thereafter, Vanessa recruited me and Jason to lead the community’s effort to defeat the expansion of the Andrus home, engaged committee members in that effort, and in 2001 encouraged me to join the Hastings Democratic Committee, at that time serving the 18th ED. She trained me in petition gathering and many other aspects of serving our party. Throughout the years, although our views sometimes differed, we worked together on local campaigns, and behind the scenes on committee projects and public outreach. (The details are something of a blur, given that our committee work often overlapped with family activities.) It has been my great honor and pleasure to have spent so much of my adult life in Hastings with Vanessa. I could have had no finer tutelage or better friend. Vanessa is a true force of nature, a giant. Her far superior intellect is matched by her compassion -- and her action. She is irreplaceable and I am eternally grateful for her presence in my life.

With love and deep respect,
Leslie C