Letters for Peter Martin

Like a one-two punch, the Newport Daily News has two letters on successive days supporting Peter Martin. First, on Wednesday, was a letter from James Sullivan of Harrisville that was headlined "Martin's works to make his community a better place". Sullivan cites a letter from Ed Walsh that appeared in the NDN on July 25:

The letter speaks of Martin's honesty and integrity outside of the public arena.

Sullivan goes on to talk about Peter's ties to JFK's New Frontier era in the early '60s, and how Peter has kept that spirit alive over the course of his own life.

Next, on Thursday, was a letter from Edward P. Kane of Cranston, a retired JROTC instructor at Rogers High School. Kane talks about Peter's interest in issues like education, gambling, and the Pell Bridge E-Z Pass situation. He also mentions Peter's volunteer work with various organizations, and in particular his work as secretary of the Scholarship Committee of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and as the webmaster of the Hibernians' website.

How persuasive these letters we be with voters remains to be seen, but I think it's a good sign for Peter that these letters from supporters are showing up so close to election day, and one after another as well. If this is part of a coordinated effort on Peter's part, it shows him to be a savvy campaigner, and I like that in a candidate.

My Friend Hilary

Hilary Stookey, that is. She's a fervent Obama supporter who helped the campaign set up its Newport field office during the primary back in those long-gone days of February and March. Much to my surprise, while I was reading over the election blog FiveThirtyEight.com, what do I find? A piece featuring Hilary canvassing for Obama in North Carolina! (They spelled her name wrong, btw. It's Hilary with one "L". Such is fame.) It's kind of weird reading about a friend in a high-traffic blog like 538. Rest assured, I won't let her forget this in a hurry.

Daily News Editorial Board Meeting

If you're as gosh-darned excited about the presidential debates as I am (but, honestly, who could possibly be more excited about them than me?), then you'll find yourself wishing you could see a debate between our local candidates, especially between Peter Martin and Steve Coaty here in the Fightin' 75th.

Well, too bad. Ain't gonna happen.

The best we can manage is watching the editorial board of the Newport Daily News meeting with the candidates on Cox Channel 18. Yeah, it's just not the same. Not even close. Still, you go on the air with the candidate forum you have, not the candidate forum you wish you had. They'll be broadcasting their meetings with candidates for the RI House O' Representatives at 7:00 PM on the evening of Wednesday, October 22. There are four competitive local races, so if they go through them by the numbers, the candidates for the 75th ought to be coming on around 9:30 PM.

Judging by the number of yard signs for Peter I've seen around town lately, there is no doubt in my mind he would have kicked my ass on September 9. So, watching this thing on television is probably the closest I'll ever come to being grilled by Sheila Mullowney and company.

Life is just full of disappointments.