In one short day, Manchester Democrats will meet to choose a new chairman for our City Committee. I am writing this post to ask all registered Democrats to support my effort to bring positive change to our committee with your vote on March 15.
The election will be held at the Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College, starting promptly at 6 p.m. The IOP is the small brick building right off Rockland Avenue, just east of the main campus. Parking is limited, so arrive a little early if you can.
I’m running for chairman of the Manchester Democratic Party because we need to open it up for more participation. With more people involved, not only during elections but year-round, we can strengthen the party within the city.
I have a proven track record of building up community organizations by getting people motivated and involved. I’m president of the local chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish fraternal organization. We do year-round charitable work. We volunteer at New Horizons, do park cleanups, and provide Christmas gifts to underprivileged children, among many other things. The people who organize the city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade are among our members. Since becoming president of the organization, we have expanded our mission in the community, increased the number of active officers, and our membership is increasing once again.
As chairman of the Manchester Heritage Commission for four years, I helped re-energize it and helped it realize its full statutory mandate and potential. It is now a full throated watchdog for historic preservation throughout the city.
I want to bring this same effort to instill new energy and vitality to our committee. I believe there is room in our committee for EVERY Democrat to play an active and important role. We will bring more people into the fold and make the committee more welcoming to newly motivated democrats who want to get involved. We will extend a welcoming hand to our new voting citizens in the immigrant community. We will make sure that Manchester Democrats are a positive influence in the community year round, and not those people who only call at election time. And perhaps most importantly, We WILL FULLY SUPPORT DOWN BALLOT CANDIDATES with a “bottoms up” strategy.
I ask for your vote so I can work hard to put a unified City Democratic Party on the field this election season. I look forward to seeing you on Thursday. Bring a friend!
MORE ABOUT ME:
I grew up in Manchester and raised two children who went to public school here like I did. Now I have grandchildren who attend the city schools, so I care a lot about the city.
I’ve been involved in politics here since 1972, when as a young boy I canvassed for the George McGovern campaign. I’ve been a regular volunteer since then, and got actively involved with the City Committee when I ran for Charter Commission in 2000. I’ve served as a ward officer, and as City Committee Secretary for many years. I was elected to the Legislature for two terms, and have also served as a Selectman in Ward 8.
I’ve been married for 13 years, and I work as a project manager for New Hampshire Steel Fabricators. We employ 43 union ironworkers from Local 7 in the Boston construction market, a large number of them from New Hampshire. I strongly support the labor movement.
On Wednesday nights, Bob Backus and I host the Progress Report, a live, one-hour show on cable TV channel 23. We interview Democratic candidates and progressives. We promote the positive aspects of our great city, and celebrate the people, institutions and ideas that make it great day in and day out.
I have tried to be a positive influence in Manchester my whole life, and I hope you give me the opportunity to do the same with our City Committee.
Beg to differ? Agree to disagree? Running against Mike Farley and want equal time? Send your submissions to The Soapbox at robidouxnews@gmail.com
