ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS
Recently I announced my intent to run for Bristol City Councilman in the 2nd District. As a self-employed downtown Bristol businessman for the past 17 years and a 4th generation life long resident of Bristol, having graduated from Bristol Central High School in 1986, the time for me has come to give back. Kenny Jr. is my 7 year old son and it is with his future and the future of Bristol kids his age in mind that I have decided that the time for me to make a difference for our community is now.
Having watched from the outside over the years as our city has changed, there have been some very disturbing issues observed. Taxes have gone up and families have moved out. The same core group of politicians has led our government for roughly the past 20 years. Each year, especially the last years, politicians worked to position themselves for the next election, instead of taking care of our city, a city today that has a much different look from the city I remember growing up in. While I am proud of Bristol, I feel the time has come to move Bristol forward to insure the pride of the next generation in this town.
As many of us often do, I voiced my concerns and displeasure from the outside. I complained about the inaction of our politicians and thought, “It’s time for a change!” Not yet ready to completely leave my seat on the sidelines, over the last few years I slowly became more active in Bristol politics.
I began attending town council meetings on a regular basis, I became active with the Bristol Republican Town Committee and I served on the Robert’s Property Board. After getting acquainted with the Bristol political scene, I decided I was no longer content to voice concern from the outside.
My decision to run for City Council has not been a quick one. After many months of deliberation with close friends and family, I feel it is time for me to be a person of action and make a difference in Bristol. I do not consider myself to be a politician, rather, I am a concerned tax paying citizen in Bristol that is tired of politics as usual. We have recycled leaders from previous regimes, and it’s not working. The rhetoric is still the same and their inability to move Bristol’s Downtown project is symptomatic of the problem. Actions speak louder than words!
Bristol is facing many critical issues in the near future. Although, they may be painted as new, they have been critical issues for years. Addressing educational needs, improving infrastructure, creating a business friendly environment, public safety, and pumping economic life into our downtown are current issues every year.
This election, unfortunately the issues are the same except that we have now added the expense of two new schools to consider. These issues did not sneak up on Bristol. They have been present for years and were not addressed accordingly by the current administration and those before it. Many of the same ideas have been tossed about year after year, but very few have been acted on. Maybe it is time for term limits and referendums to guard against career politicians and spend happy administrations.
Your support and your vote for me as Councilman in the 2nd District is what I will work hard for over the course of this campaign and beyond if elected. Look at our city today and imagine it in another 20 years. Will we be considering the same ideas then? Will we be increasing taxes annually without seeing improvements in our city? Will career politicians still be making decisions for all of us without our input? It has become the norm and it is not acceptable.
I often hear people say Bristol needs a change. I’m offering you a change, someone who is not willing to accept things the way they are, someone who has voiced an opinion from outside before, but is now willing to take action. I am not okay with the direction this city is heading in, are you?It is time to move forward with new people and fresh ideas to bring a vision of Bristol that our children will be proud to carry on. Let’s take action and make a change that will make Bristol an attractive place to move into and not out of.
Thank you,
Kenneth Cockayne
2nd District Bristol GOP
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