Submitting the papers, and a brief break....
I spent a good part of Thursday and Friday delivering nomination papers to town halls all over Rhode Island.I was stunned by the beauty of our state, as I drove the back roads from Burrillville to Woonsocket to Lincoln and Cumberland, from East Providence to Barrington, Warren and Bristol, from Pawtucket and Central Falls to North Providence, Smithfield and North Smithfield.
I felt it was important to see every part of this district, to get a genuine feel for the geography.
(I must admit that I used Fedex to get the signatures to Little Compton, Tiverton and Newport. I didn't submit to Jamestown, Portsmouth and Middletown because we didn't spend enough time in those areas. We'll see you soon, I hope.)
Rhode Island is one of the wonders of America. Rural here, urban there, beachfront over there. At any given moment you'll pass a farm or a mansion, an apartment block or a mill town.
I was also struck by the odd contrasts. Downtown Woonsocket is both beautiful, and empty. We still have mills beside the rivers, yet we depend on fossil fuels for all our energy needs. In the Bristol town hall, a sign says, "Don't drink the tap water, we have bottled water."
We collected aproximately 700 signatures toward the 500 needed for validation. Special thanks go to Cindy Racinski, who helped to organize and collect.
It has been an honor to collect signatures. Really. I've been able to give people the opportunity to participate in the democratic process. It's certainly been a challenge, especially getting out to one more shopping center even when I've been exhausted, and had three presentations in a day.
Saturday and Sunday we'll be formulating our Phase Three strategy and taking a break.
We will find out on Monday or Tuesday whether we've got a Phase Three... Stay tuned.
posted by Mark Binder @ 5:03 PM
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