The Republicans made a pretty good show out of their end-of-the-parade moment.
They decorated a little Mum-filled float that included a big stuffed elephant toy mounted on top that Mike Saman said he managed to find on eBay.
The GOP had big signs, lots of young people holding signs and providing a burst of energy, enthusiastic candidates who weren't hesitating to gladhand from one end of the parade route to the other.
I saw Ken Cockayne, a 2nd District hopeful, shaking hands and introducing himself to as many people as he could.
Ken Johnson had a car and a mob of young people wearing his white and orange shirts. What was missing when I saw them was Ken Johnson himself.
Then I caught sight of him, trailing far behind. He came jogging along the side of Memorial Boulevard, yelling, "HHHHEEEELLLLLLLLLOOOOOOO! I'm Ken Johnson and I'm running for mayor!" He slapped hands as he raced along.
You have to give him high marks for trying.
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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
26 comments:
Glad to see that the the orange guys are getting noticed. Thanks for clearing up Ken's attendance - from where I was on the route, I think I missed him. I will say that nearly everyone in my immediate vacinity was impressed by the Bristol First theme.
It's great to see that the GOP is bringing fresh faces into the mix, including so many young people. Hopefully their involvement in municipal politics will not end on election day. To Ms. Janelle's point last week, we need more of the under 50 crowd on our city's boards and commissions.
I hope everyone else noticed the excitment, passion, and dedication this group brought to the show. This is exactly what our city needs.
I absolutely agree with the first post here. I voted for Ellen in the primary for that exact reason even though I disagreeed with her on on a couple of issues. The point was, she has kids like me and had taken a position on the issues. I only saw "good old boy" network with the Ward campaign. Ken Johnson seems energetic and I liked his mailer. I just think he should act a little more serious - it is the mayor's chair after all.
It is geat to see all of the new faces in the GOP. Hopefully with time many others will come to see it is a great party to belong to!
It was nice too see how energetic the GOP was. Perhaps it's time for us all to give them a serious look instead of the same old group of politician! I'd like to know how Ken Johnson and Ken Cockayne where feeling at the end of the parade. When I saw them they where going back and forth introducing themselfs to the parade watchers! I'm sure they slept very good last night!
Still going with Ward. Johnson has not proved anything to me except taking the $10,000 from the city and bailing out. To green for this position. Maybe in a few years, but not now.
Good for Ken and the Bristol First team... it's great to see that they made such a positive impression.
I was happy to see Bob Merrick and some of his team there as well.
I'm also thrilled to see some new GOP bloggers on here - I think the fresh blood will be great!
10:31 Blogger, Please do not comdemn Ken Johnson in regards to the Municipal Energy situation. You really have only heard one side of all of this. I am someone that knows facts and no one has been abandoned here at all. Mr Krone, the pres of Muni Energy is very capable and dont forget it was Stortz that made a big deal in regards to the conflict of interest! Mr johnson was handling his responsibilities to Bristol just fine till that point. So I guess unless you know all of the facts, we should not judge, we have only heard Stortz, not credible!
I saw Tom Riganni has his sign saying Democrat. Is he the 3erd endorsed candidate for district 2? Or who is out, Kevin or Bruce? Good to see the Dem's have the party in line!!!
Too Green for this position????
What are the qualifications?
Too Green! That's interesting. That's what this city needs. Someone not part of the same crew that has run this city to the ground! Also, don't forget Ward was Deputy Mayor when we bought the mall.
New and Green is exactly what our city needs! Clean house in Nov. and start fresh. New people, new ideas! People who will work for us, the taxpayer. Instead of working for the next election.
To the poster at 10:31 AM. I have to debate you on your premise that Ken Johnson is "too green." Without question he is a newcomer to Bristol politics but as to running a city with a $160+ million budget he is no greener than Art. As I have stated before I have great respect for Art because of his service to this country and to the City of Bristol. That said, 14 years on the council does not automatically qualify him to sit in the city's chief executive's chair. In fact, I would argue that based on Art's record we know just how unqualified he is for the position. Supporting the purchase of the Mall was just a bad decision. A chief executive has to have vision and has to ask questions. We know now (understanding that hindsight is 20/20) there was no plan, no contingency for unplanned fallout such as the OSJL fight and no locked in hard support from the state. Like it or not Art was a part of what is now costing you and me money every day. To further emphasize the point I hold Art to a higher level of accountability as he was "Deputy Mayor" at the time. Regardless of whether that title was ceremonial or not I would have expected Art to ask more questions and demand more answers. Art also supported and approved the "Special Assistant to the Mayor" position for then Rep. Diamantis. Not only was this position an unnecessary expense to the taxpayers but it placed an unelected (arguably illegal) and illegitimate political influence inside of the Mayor's office. Art's tacit approval of such a position points to a predisposition towards "cronyism." A style of politics that this city can no longer afford. The list can go on and on. As to Ken Johnson, well as a Democrat looking for a choice I see some real potential. A good business sense, lots of energy, a desire to end the dysfunction and stagnation within city hall and an understanding that the taxpayer's wallet is not an endless source of funds. As a voter I need to see more but I am impressed thus far. Our problems in this city are here and now. We don't have the luxury to wait. Now is the time for change
If Ragaini has a sign out saying Democrat, I think he is breaking the law because he is running as an Independent.
With a little less then six weeks to go to election ,prediction Lydem gets in everybody else up for grabs.
Sorry, I'll take experienced leadership over new ideas any time.
I agree with the 2:56 post, and with tory, gop gal and a few of the other anonymous members. We need some new faces and fresh leadership.
There's no job discription on file for the mayor... no where does our charter indicate that service on council is a prerequisite for taking the mayor's chair. Also I don't think Ken needs to be too serious - we're not dealing with nuclear launch codes or international treaties here! Give me a good person, with integrity, who knows the value of a dollar and is unattached to the mall fiasco, and I'll give them my vote.
"Sorry, I'll take experienced leadership over new ideas any time."
Those were the famous last words of the manufacturers of the buggy whip, the oil lamp and the water-wheel. Here's a real world political example for you. The "experienced" political leaders of the city of Cincinnati, Ohio had the opportunity in the early part of the 20th century to secure sufficient land to build an airport for the growing passenger and air freight industry. They decided to not purchase the land as a waste of time and money since "commercial air passage and freight would never amount to anything." Their experience told them that the "train is here to stay." Because this "experienced leadership" lacked any vision for the future, Cincinnati almost disintegrated as a key merchant city. Only many years later when people with new ideas and a vision for the future were elected did this city once known as the Athens of the Midwest regain economic vitality. Today, the Cincinnati International Airport (25 miles away, across the border in Covington, Kentucky) is one of the country's largest, one of Delta's key hubs and is a significant center for international trade. Amtrak on the other hand stops once a day. So much for experienced leadership. It's not the time in that counts. It's the vision, passion and a belief that things must change. That's real leadership. The rest is all politics.
I don't know Ken Johnson, but I hear he is a very nice guy. Realistically, no one realy has too tough of an act to follow as far as the leadership in the Mayor's chair the last two years. Bill was a "default" candidate and I think that is what we received as a citizen and taxpayer. Two years of total inactiveness. Hardly anything got accomplished and our city did not move forward in too many ways. What I am confussed about is why doesn't Bill embrace his own GOP candidate? Why did he throw him under the bus during an election over the CL&P thing? I don't get it. Seems like there is friction there somewhere.
Johnson can't even make his committee meetings he was appointed too. But that aside, I was certainly upset and dismayed at his response to the current war in Iraq. He stated we should leave that to the men in Washington to worry about! Hello Ken, the young men and women in uniform are ALL of our concern and should NOT be left the the suits in Washington, who they themselves rarely served. Let the generals and sgts. on the line tell you the real story and what should be done.
Johnson should have run for city council for a few years then Mayor if he wished. But sorry Ward is going to win. Who came up with the idea of orange? All I think of when I see those signs is that its time for a pumpkin!!
Ward will get things done - leadership is his strong point.
anon 6:28 it is because Bill does not know how to play nice. It is well known that if you disagree with him you are on his list!
I would like to hear from the poster at 8:23pm five solid examples of Art Ward showing leadership in the last 10 years. Speaking out at Council meetings, taking on a department heads, fixing a policy problem. Bring it on. Let's define leadership by action, not empty words.
400pm poster. Dont be so sure of Lydem getting in. This year we have lots of choices, and a couple will give Lydem a run for his money. You sound just like Ellen did when she said the primany was the real mayor election! Now she's sitting from the side watching!
Mr. Ward just demonstrated his strong leadership. He got the citizens of Bristol to vote for him. He's going to be a great mayor.
Disgusted Democrat: I agree with you, but let's take your story about Cincinnati and substitute "land for an airport" with "land for downtown redevelopment". Art Ward, Ellen Zoppo, and Craig Minor had the vision to buy the mall two years ago (Frank voted against it). The Republicans have been second-guessing that decision a lot. But not so much nowadays, since these same Democrats also rejected the Republican Mayor's half-million dollar Ocean State buy-out and were vindicated big time by the Supreme Court.
Anon @ 9:58 AM today - I'm glad you agree but let's set the record straight and also refine the point a bit further. First, the only people that could have voted for the purchase of the Mall were Ward, Zoppo and Minor. Nicastro while he may have opposed the purchase had no vote in the matter as he was not on the council at the time. On the refinement point, vision without a plan or an end goal is a failure of leadership. The Supreme Court's decision was more a case of dumb luck than vindication. I highly doubt that any one of those 3 council members investigated the potential for the law suit. That was a crucial part of their job to "expect the unexpected." They did not, and so we incurred additional expense for litigation and eviction of OSJL. Maybe it's too high a standard, but I think we should expect that of our candidates. Especially the ones that want to sit in the Mayor's chair.
The people of Bristol did not pick Art. About 2500 Democrats picked Art.
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