Minor's acceptance speech

Here's the speech that city Councilor Craig Minor delivered to the Democratic Town Committee Monday night after receiving its endorsement for another council run:

I am honored to accept your nomination for a third term on the Bristol City Council in the Third District. I appreciate your support, and I promise to serve the best interest of the people of Bristol and to promote the values of the Democratic Party during this election, and in the years that follow.

Two years ago you nominated me to a second term on the City Council. You trusted me to work for more open government, so I fought to make City land records available to everyone via the Internet, and called for term limits on appointed boards and commissions, and have been working to bring live broadcast of City Council, Board of Finance, and Planning Commission and Zoning Commission meetings into Bristol homes.

You trusted me to recognize opportunities and move quickly to take advantage of them, as I did when I called for the creation of the Riverside Avenue Public Improvements Program, and when Councilwoman Ellen Zoppo, Councilman Kevin McCauley and I tried to persuade the City Council to buy an apartment building on Federal Hill and prevent it from falling into the hands of absentee landlords.

You trusted me to celebrate what's good in Bristol but to also look beyond that and make things better, as I did when I proposed the Main Street streetscape project, and through my work to establish the Federal Hill local Historic District, and my work on the Tourism, Entertainment, Arts and Museums committee.

Two years ago you trusted me to acknowledge that Bristol does have problems and to look for solutions, so I called for the creation of the new absentee landlord registry law, and a police sub-station on Federal Hill, and a task force to address the traffic problems on Route 6, and the Bristol Multicultural Connection.

You trusted me to protect the weak from the strong and the innocent from the privileged. That's why I took an unpopular position and voted against closing a town road for the convenience of ESPN which would have devastated several small local businesses, and why I have proposed a program to help homeowners with flood damage caused by real estate development upstream.

But most of all, you trusted me to fight for change even when I knew that the enemies of change would fight back, as I learned when I called for greater diversity on the appointed land use boards, and for a revitalized Main Street, and against rewarding the opponents of downtown redevelopment by giving them taxpayer dollars.

The Republicans say that we Democrats are more concerned with protecting our positions than doing what's right for Bristol.

Well, my position is that government should strive to raise the quality of life for all citizens. My position is that government should provide help to those who are in need, and opportunities to those who can make use of them. My position is that government should stand between the people of Bristol and the absentee landlords, the short-sighted developers, the nay-sayers and the small-minded, and to make Bristol a place that we can all be proud to call home. What's their position?

Thank you for your endorsement. With your support, the Democrats will achieve victory in November and put this town back on track to become the best that it can be. Thank you.

*******
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com