Why is this Bristol Council race more important than ever?

Locally, is this 2020 election uniquely significant or distinctive in any way? And if so, how should Bristol voters decide who gets their vote?

All eight candidates for Bristol Town Council faced these questions during phone interviews this week, and all had slightly different responses. Some see a battle of political philosophies — i.e. longtime Bristolians like Mike Byrnes, Mary Parella and Tony Teixeira vs. the “new” progressives of the Democratic Party.

Others see great significance in this era — as the leaders of 2020 and 2021 will have to steer this community through an unprecedented pandemic and economic fallout.

Some believe this is a battle for the very soul of Bristol, and others believe public discourse around this election has reached a new low never before seen.

Meet the candidates for Bristol Town Council and see why they feel this election is different than any other.

Bethany Sousa Foster (D): ‘Democrats help people’

Bethany Sousa Foster said the political climate is nasty right now. Some of it comes from the national level down to Bristol, but some of it is distinctly local.

“What really surprised me about this year is the level of discourse,” she said. “I want to talk about the things I believe in, and my vision for Bristol … and what I’m finding is, that’s not the level of conversation, anywhere.”

She referenced a letter in the Bristol Phoenix last week, written by Peter Hewett, which criticized the “progressive socialists” running for council. “I know he’s referring to me, and none of it is true,” she said. “Attack me on what I believe, but don’t just call me names.”

She said discourse on Facebook has been nasty as well — to the point that she’s taking some of the threats she’s received very seriously and installing cameras on her home.

As for who people should vote for, Ms. Foster said, “They should look for someone who values the same things that they do. If you’re looking at me, those issues are fully funding the schools, helping people who need help, creating a really vibrant downtown community … I believe we need to take care of people, because that is what Democrats do.”

She continued, “There are some candidates who are focused on what is going to help people, and there are some candidates where that really is not a priority.”

“I want to make sure that the government of Bristol works for everybody. So I look at the areas where people are being pinched. Seniors — we have really low tax exemptions for seniors. The school budget — I believe very strongly in public education and funding public education … We should not be pinching the school system, so that people have to go to private schools. Those are all Democratic issues.”

Tony Teixeira (I): ‘We need to stay local’

Antonio “Tony” Teixeira has been around the block a few times. He’s been a teacher, coach, high school administrator, town administrator and town councilor in Bristol.

He, too, believes this election is unique.

“I do find this election to be somewhat different,” he said. “I’ve gotten that feeling from speaking to many people.”

He feels the current council has occasionally gotten sidetracked on the wrong issues, and he worries that some of his opponents would continue that trend.

“Unfortunately, we’re getting rolled in to issues that belong at the state and national level, not at our local level,” he said. “Lately it seems that people want to bring any issue down to the local level, but the way I see it, we need to focus more on the local issues. People want to know when their road is going to be paved, they want to know about the size of trash barrels, they want to know what we’re doing for the small businesses in town. We need to stay local.”

As an example, he talked about the long meetings and discussions over hanging flags on town flagpoles. “I do support Black Lives Matter,” he said, but he does not feel the town council should have gotten fully distracted over the Black Lives Matter flag. “I was an immigrant, and I went through a lot when I came here to this country, but am I going to focus on that? I’m not,” he said.

He suggested voters do their homework and read about each candidate — from their websites and flyers — to figure out what they stand for.

“From some of the small amount of information I’ve gathered, the direction of this town could change,” Mr. Teixeira said. “When there is a willingness to open up the checkbook and write a check no matter the impact, that’s a concern to me.”

Tim Sweeney (D): ‘People are engaged’

Though one of those so-called “new progressives,” Timothy Sweeney is a council veteran who’s won several elections, often as a high vote-getter.

“The engagement level in this election is way up,” Mr. Sweeney said. “The number of voters who came out to vote in the primary was record-breaking. The number of people voting by mail ballot is very unique … More people are engaged. More people are understanding that this is an historic election.”

He suggests voters do their homework.

“Watch the forums. Watch our newspaper with balanced articles. Go online and read. Make sure candidates are transparent and easy to get to. Find out, what’s their vision for the town? Where do they want the town to go?”

Mr. Sweeney said he’s been getting a lot of phone calls from Bristol residents recently, with people asking questions about what’s happening with road construction, with Tanyard Brook, and with other issues. “Get to know these candidates,” Mr. Sweeney said. “They are making decisions on your behalf, and I think you need to know as much as possible about where they stand.”

Mary Parella (R): ‘Don’t tax people out of town’

Mary Parella is a veteran of the Rhode Island Senate and veteran of the Bristol Town Council, and she worries a lot about the future of this community. She, too, believes this will be a pivotal election.

“I think the very future of our community is on the line,” she said. “Will all people be able to live in Bristol? Will we be able to maintain the socioeconomic mix that we’ve always had?

It’s getting harder and harder for the middle class, for working teachers and police officers, to live here. We’re becoming an expensive suburb, and we have to be careful about that.

“We have to have a budget that works for everybody. We have to be very careful about not taxing people out of this community … That’s something I do worry about all the time.”

Ms. Parella recognizes that “diversity” is a popular topic of conversation and reform right now, but she sees diversity a little differently than most.

“I believe in having a community that is truly a community, that is open to everyone, yes ethnically, but also socioeconomically. Let’s be honest, Bristol has always been socioeconomically diverse. We’ve always had immigrants … That socioeconomic diversity is what we’re losing.

“People don’t believe it, but jobs in education, jobs in social services … they’re not high-paying jobs. Those people aren’t making a lot of money. You want to make sure that people can go into social work, counseling, teaching, and still afford to live in this community, if they so desire. We have to weigh all those things when we make decisions on policies and budget.”

Like others, she sees the caustic political climate of the day.

“I think voters need to look at individuals who have proven leadership, who have a record of honestly and integrity, and who are not afraid to speak out. I’m not afraid to speak out. We need people who will do what’s best for the community, and not follow an agenda … And we also need people who will listen to the constituents and hear all sides. There’s an effort to shut down debate, shut down voices in letters, in the paper, on Facebook …

In all of this, we need people who have the best interests of the public in the forefront.”

Adam Ramos (D): ‘See around the corner’

As a sitting member of the Bristol Warren Regional School Committee, Adam Ramos has a unique perspective on this election. He has spent time literally measuring classrooms to see how many students can safely re-enter school buildings, while juggling the competing interests and emotions of thousands of teachers, parents and students.

“This race is unique because of the time that we’re in. The problems that we’re faced with are unprecedented and call for a serious approach to figuring out creative ways to come out on the other side of this not only strong, but perhaps if we can, stronger than we ever were before,” Mr. Ramos said.

“Nobody’s gone through what we’re going through before … It takes creativity and courage to think about how the world is going to be different on the other side of this, rather than simply putting things back together the way they were before.”

Mr. Ramos believes the task of rebuilding this community, as well as the local economy, will ultimately fall to this next town council and town leaders.

“We’re standing on the edge of an unknown,” Mr. Ramos said. “A significant level of attention is being paid, at a level above us, to try and make sure that things move forward, but eventually it’s going to be left to the town to decide how we’re going to move forward.”

Mr. Ramos turns to a phrase used frequently in his law practice: “We need to begin trying to see around the corners.”

“We know that people have struggled with affordable housing in Bristol for a really long time, and Covid-19 has made that even more stark … We can plan now for how to alleviate that issue going forward.

“We can change our tax structure, so we’re not just putting Band-Aids in place, but we’re putting a system in place that recognizes the impact of a fixed income on our senior population … We can change the way we think about property tax, so we’re not imparting unfair burdens on people.

“We have to look ahead and say, ‘how do we fix the underlying issues’?”

Mike Byrnes (I): ‘Protect immigrant values’

Mike Byrnes grew up in Bristol, and though he lived elsewhere for 40 years while rising to command positions in the U.S. Army, he’s never truly left this town. His affinity for Bristol and its immigrant roots run deep.

“Bristol traditionally has been an immigrant community. For 100 years, it was primarily the Italians and the Portuguese,” Mr. Byrnes said.

“And they came here because there was work, there were jobs. And they worked hard, they made sure their kids were educated, they went to church. Those were traditional immigrant values. “Often they lived in the same house, with multi-generational households. Their values were informed by Christianity in many ways … They value family values above all else.”

Speaking about some of his opponents in the council race, he said, “The other side comes at it from a different perspective. They don’t have that immigrant attachment, and they see things a little differently.

“The immigrant prefers government stay out of the way. They value government, but they prefer a smaller government. They appreciate the United States of America. They bought into the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution …

“I think Bristol people value law and order, while many on the other side are in favor of defunding the police, although they’re careful not to say it here in Bristol, where there really aren’t any problems.”

Mr. Byrnes believes there will be financial implications to the outcome of this council race.

“The old folks were penny-pinchers,” he said. “They turned lights off when they left the room.” He believes voters should look for candidates who reflect those same attitudes.

“They should be looking for someone who’s gong to shepherd the taxpayers’ money responsibility and not talk about fully funding or not fully funding something without looking in detail at what that is … They should be looking at someone who would serve and protect traditional Bristol values.”

Aaron Ley (D): ‘We’re moving forward’

Though a newcomer to the Bristol Town Council, Aaron Ley believes he’s been part of something special for the past two years, with a council and town administration that have been moving in the right direction.

“I think people should look at some of the accomplishments we’ve had, and some of the possibilities we have moving forward, and realize there are candidates who maybe want to see some of that stuff rolled back.

“We fully funded the schools. I feel like we have a really high standard of living in this town,” Mr. Ley said. He also talked about an overhaul of the trash and recycling program as a positive step forward for Bristol.

“Those are the types of things, hard-found accomplishments, that can very easily be overturned, if we elect people who have the types of philosophies that would overturn some of that stuff …

We’re trending in the right direction here. We’ve had some very significant challenges, and despite those challenges, we’re moving forward, and we haven’t gotten caught up in divisiveness.”

He believes electing town leaders who are willing to work together will be important to Bristol’s future.

“The world is moving very fast right now, and we need to be very nimble here at the local level,” Mr. Ley said.

“If there’s a time when local government has become critically important, it’s today. We see a lot of friction at the national level, but that’s why we’re so important at the local level. We’re the ones who can actually agree on something, work together and get things done.

“All voters should do their research. All voters should read the websites, read the literature … and really think long and hard about which candidates are singlemindedly focused on improving their quality of life. I think that’s the most important thing voters should do.”

Nathan Calouro (D): ‘Reasonable and pragmatic’

Nathan Calouro knows some of his philosophy is boring. But he believes boring works really well in local government.

“I think the priority here needs to be that the council is focused on local issues. Because if we’re not, no one is. I think sometimes it’s forgotten, by all, that that’s our responsibility. Yes, it’s boring, but it’s so important.”

He equates local government to the human body. The lungs and heart and brain — “when it all works … it’s pretty boring. But when they’re not working, or they’re not working together, my goodness.”

Mr. Calouro believes voters should definitely look at what candidates have done in the past. “I’m not running against anybody. I’m running for a seat that belongs to the people of Bristol,” he said.

“I think you need to look at history, at experience. It’s not the only thing you look at, but it’s certainly a very important part … This council has seen lot of large challenges, including the one we’re in the middle of right now … Our response has been, in my opinion, outstanding. Listen, there is always room for improvement, but this council has always listened to the people of Bristol, and to the businesses of Bristol.”

He urges voters to look for candidates who embody two traits: being reasonable and being pragmatic. “They sound boring too, but I believe they are immensely important,” Mr. Calouro said.

“Reasonable is working not only with your colleagues on the council, but with state representatives, with the town administrator, to help him be successful … None of these things happens with one vote on the council. It takes at least three votes, and it often takes compromise.”

He continued, “We’re not there for us, we’re there to represent the people. And we have to make decisions that are in the best interests, not only for people today, but for people 20 and 40 years from now … We need to be spending what we need to spend, but no more than that.”