Broadband is a top issue for the campaign of Brian Wrightson because he has climbed the towers, driven the back roads, and seen firsthand how a lack of connectivity cuts rural communities off from the modern economy. This is not an abstract policy to him.
When Wrightson built his first communications tower in 1996, reliable internet access was still mainly dial-up and daily life did not depend on it. Today, it is no longer a luxury; it is baseline infrastructure, the same as roads and electricity. Without it, residents cannot fully participate in the modern economy or be successful in school.
- A dairy farmer in Cherry Ridge who cannot get reliable broadband cannot access markets, manage precision agriculture tools, or compete with operations that can.
- A student in a rural part of Monroe County without adequate home internet is forced to do homework in a parking lot.
- A small business owner in Wayne County who cannot get reliable connectivity cannot compete, hire, or grow, and too often misses critical sales deadlines.
- A senior who could access telehealth from home is instead forced to drive 45 minutes to a specialist because the connection isn’t there.
Rural broadband has been chronically underfunded and deprioritized. In the Senate, Wrightson will fight to make sure state resources reach the communities that need them most, not just the ones that are the easiest to serve.
