When Gary Lawton sought to run on the Republican ticket for a City Council seat, the GOP turned him down cold. He garnered little support in the nominating convention and left the session disappointed and at least a little angry.
"It just seems like politicians will never change here," Lawton said on his way out the door.
Now he's decided to give voters the option to bypass both parties on November 3.
Lawton began collecting signatures Sundayto press an independent mayoral bid. He apparently needs 115 registered voters, of any party, to sign his forms by 4 p.m. on Wednesday. He's aiming for more, of course, in case some signatures are thrown out.
"Insteadof sticking my toe in the water, I'm taking the plunge," Lawton said.
He said that the Democrats, who have controlled City Hall for a generation, have posted a record that is "not bad," but they've simply been in charge too long.
"We need something new," he said. "Sometimes change is a good thing."
Lawton, a 46-year-old welder, called himself "plain and simple and blue collar" but ready to lead the community in a new direction, to lend a hand to residents who are suffering through hard times and to remove politics from the decision-making.
If Lawton can collect the required signatures, he'll take on first-term incumbent Art Ward, a Democrat, and newcomer John Gill, a Republican. It doesn't appear that either Ward or Gill face a primary.
Lawton is a Bristol Central High School graduate who has lived in Bristol since middle school. He attended college on a wrestling scholarship, but had to give it up after two years when he hurt his knee.
He said he joined the Air Force after leaving college, but the knee completely blew during his military stint, leaving him unable to serve.
He and his wife, Brenda, have five children.
Lawton said anyone interested in helping his campaign can reach him at (860) 819-7851 or by email at hoss0463@yahoo.com.
I'll have more on this later.
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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
23 comments:
Wow a 29 year old preppie wannabee and a blue collar newbie. Artie can win sleepwalking!
Didn't finish college.
Didn't finish the Air Force.
What has he finished?
Art never went to college and highs school was a stuggle for him - so your point 8:48am?
Gary Lawton stood up in an RTC meeting months ago and offended every woman in the room, and pretty much every guy with a mother, wife, or daughter as well. He mentioned that living in a house with 5 women was a big motivator for him to run because it would get him out of the house, and that we don't need more women in politics - he listens to enough of them all day long.
Who knows when he'll get his petition signed? He works Third Shift and couldn't even make it to most Town Committee meetings to give a campaign update. And when he did give them they pretty much consisted of "Well, I'm keeping a low-profile, but I talked to a guy at the gas station who was really pissed off about Route 72."
Bravo to the Third District for showing him the door and finding two well qualified candidates to run.
His e-mail is incorrect.
Art sleepwalk? More like Bar hopping.
Mr. Lawton isn'the only republican that is chauvinistic and a misogynist.
The others are just a little more deft in their words and behaviour.
But he apprently is a plain speaker.
The Bristol Republicans should be offended by the fact that they are a bunch of worthless rejects, not some silly (albeit stupid) joke.
His email address is fixed.
His email address:
hoss463@yahoo.com is incorrect!
This is the one he used to send me an email:
hoss0463@yahoo.com
I hope it's right in the story now.
Of course it was a joke. Racist jokes are jokes too, and they reveal a lot about the person who tell them. My compliments to the Republican town committee for telling Mr. Lawton that his services are not desired.
Kick butt and run forest
While not one to get into all the back biting let me set a few things straight.
First my comments at the meeting that night were not meant to be chauvinistic at all. I was raised by both garndmothers and my mother and have nothing but great respect for any woman who can stand up and take care of themselves, their family and work. It was meant to be a light hearted joke, so get over it already as far as the 5 woman in my family. I am proud to be called their father, anyone who has raised teenage daughters knows it is not an easy thing to do, they are your little girls until the teenage years hit then you are their enemy until they hit about 20-22 years old then they become your little girls agian so the whole comment was to poke a little fun at myself I love my family just the way they are and would have not missed that part of life for anything.
missing town committee meetings your right i missed a few but i still have to pay my bills and i dont have the luxury of having a first shift job or the financial means to stay home and maybe not work if that is the case, we all have to do what we have to do to make a living in a perfect world i would work firts shift so my 13 yo does not have to be upset that i am not home with her at night or if something happens at home i am there not 45 minutes away making a living so sorry i can't live in your perfect world as to when i can work and when i can't. Keeping a low profile you are right i was and there is a reason but then that brinigs up a whole we did not say yes you did thing and i am not gonna lower myself to that level. If anyone wants to know i have no problem sitting down and telling them in person not through this media, and whats wrong in talkinig to the people of bristol just off the cuff oh thats right you are so much more sophisticated and knowledgeable that you know exactly what they are thinking and know so you do not need to talk to them, and the did not dhow me the door the offered me the city treasurer post before offering it to the current person.
Second did notfinish college hurt my knee but the college pretty much said we pay for you to wrestle, well i could not have afforded college without the scholarship given so i had to leave not by choice but financially i could not do it. The Air Force oh thats right i forgot you see in to the future so you should have told me i was going to blow my knee out and that way i could have avoided the situation and stayed in , what were you thinking in keepiing that info to your self all those years ago thanks so much.
Finally i am 46 not a preppie and whats wrong with being blue collar and workiing and getting dirty for a living are you so much above that, do you feel the need to look down on those who work and sweat and get dirty for a living than i kind of feel sorry for you because you are missing out on some really great people to meet.
Fact is i admit i am a newbie and maybe i dont have the fancy education some do or maybe not all the experience others do but some times some plain simple thinking and acting are needed instead agree or not I dont care i am doing what i feel is right oh and by the way i am more than half way through my petitions bring signed i guess i did find some time to get them done. Have nice day and you just go to show that politics in bristol dont change when you can belittle someones life because you dont or wont take the time to understand them, i sugeest you go out and walk and meet people here in bristol they really rae some great people and are a blast to sit with and talk, i should know i have done it for 2 days and look forward to the next 2. have a nice day
Mr. Lawton - I wish you luck, but let me warn you all the Ward cronies will be busting on you for your grammer and such. Ward is far from educated and perfect, so he should not be the firt to cast a stone.
1:09, I don't believe that Mr. Ward or his cronies will be the "firt" to cast stones. It seems that the republicans have already begun the throwing, and obviously Mr. Lawton is not their only target.
1:09 - if the lack of education is determined by spelling, I can assure you that you could really serve as a prime example, maybe even one of the "firth."
3:36pm so get off your high horse, mr perfect?
mr. lawton, you seem like a nice guy. please, you don't owe anonymous commenters on this blog any explanation. so don't offer one in this venue. its just not good for your image. you need to keep a lid on it for now. you should call steve and do an interview with him, or issue a well thought out press release. the people who post on this site are mostly a bunch of jerks whose minds are already made up about you and the other candidates. most of the prospective voters in bristol don't even know what goes on here. focus on your door to doors, do some press releases and think about having a focused message.
that being said, 8:48's comments smell just like art ward.
"8:48's comments smell just like art ward."
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I highly doubt it. Mr. Ward is probably sitting back having a good chuckle while the R's stumble around blindly. No need to add any fuel to this fire, it's 3 alarm already!
BTW, Maybe you should consider seeing an ENT doc for that problem with your sense of smell?
IF you think Ward doesn't blog - think again. Man he has you people fooled.
Ward has people fooled about a lot of things.
Too bad the republican party hasn't called him on them.
1:15 PM, I'm sure Ward (along with the entire city council, past mayors, mayoral wanabees, and all the R's) blog, but there's no need for anyone to bash the R's. We just have to leave 'em alone long enough and they hang themselves.
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