Letter: 68th District is and should remain a Bristol seat

Posted 1/30/19

Since the redistricting year 2002, Bristol has had three senators, all three of which have ably served their districts (putting political philosophy aside), however none of them live in …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Letter: 68th District is and should remain a Bristol seat

Posted

Since the redistricting year 2002, Bristol has had three senators, all three of which have ably served their districts (putting political philosophy aside), however none of them live in Bristol.

When push comes to shove and the interests of Bristol are pitted against Portsmouth, Barrington or Warren, those senators will side and vote with their own hometown, as would be expected. That is where the majority of the district’s votes come from and whom they owe their first loyalty and allegiance.   

That leaves only two General Assembly Districts that have a majority of voters from Bristol, Rep. Districts 68 and 69. District 68 Democrat and Independent voters are facing a Democrat Primary Election on Feb. 5 and General Election on March 5.

District 68 is a majority Bristol seat with close to 70 percent of the electorate residing in Bristol and a little over 30 percent from Warren. The person who is elected to the District 68 seat should be a Bristol resident, otherwise that person will be the fourth out of five General Assembly members not residing in Bristol.

Which begs the question, why hasn’t the Bristol Democratic Town Committee publicly supported or endorsed the Democratic candidate from Bristol? Isn’t their primary responsibility to the Town of Bristol?

Bristol voters should think long and hard about not electing a Bristol resident to represent District 68. When push comes to shove, if a Warren resident wins this election, their primary loyalty will be to Warren, which has only 30 percent of the vote. Is that what Bristol residents really want?

It is also important to note that the progressives within the Bristol Democratic Town Committee are highly organized. Undoubtedly, the progressives will successfully get out their votes for the Warren candidate. A Warren resident could not win without their support here in Bristol, based on the number of voters in each town, particularly in a February primary, where the need for only a few hundred votes will win in the primary.

Unaffiliated independent voters will decide if a Bristol resident is elected … or not. Based on the expectation that very few voters will turn out, Quinta Gamelin Community Center on Asylum Road will be the only voting poll open in Bristol. The expected low turnout will result in a candidate needing only a few hundred votes to win this election.

Whether Bristol retains this seat is in the hands of the unaffiliated independent voters, and every vote will count in this winter election. Independent voters, this election is in your hands. It is time for you to flex your political muscle, rather than be a pawn of the Progressive Bristol Democrat Machine, and you can only impact that by voting in this primary election. Please think about it.

Douglas Gablinske

Bristol

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
MIKE REGO

Mike Rego has worked at East Bay Newspapers since 2001, helping the company launch The Westport Shorelines. He soon after became a Sports Editor, spending the next 10-plus years in that role before taking over as editor of The East Providence Post in February of 2012. To contact Mike about The Post or to submit information, suggest story ideas or photo opportunities, etc. in East Providence, email mrego@eastbaymediagroup.com.