EDITORIAL

Feelin` the Bern?

Posted 9/15/16

The opening of the William Shields Post poll in Conimicut Tuesday could have been an omen for the primary election that was to play out later in the day. The smell of natural gas was first detected by a poll worker and, after being confirmed by a voter

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EDITORIAL

Feelin` the Bern?

Posted

The opening of the William Shields Post poll in Conimicut Tuesday could have been an omen for the primary election that was to play out later in the day.

The smell of natural gas was first detected by a poll worker and, after being confirmed by a voter and the officer on the scene, the fire department was called. Fire department meters didn’t register a problem, but to be certain National Grid was called and the building evacuated. Poll workers and voters lingered outside the building. Doors were opened. Fresh air wafted through the building, and in less than an hour the polling place reopened.

Tuesday’s primary also broke with convention. For starters, there were more local contests than customary with, as was the case in Ward 7, as many as four candidates vying for the Democratic nomination. There were contests in Wards 1 and 2 as well as House Districts 21 and 22 and Senate District 30. Citywide, six candidates vied to be the four listed for School Committee on the November ballot. Warwick hasn’t seen such an active primary season in years, if ever. Why? What’s the sudden interest in public service?

Are we seeing a mood of disenchantment as being reflected across the country? Many would say that’s the case, and there’s evidence that the wave that gave Bernie Sanders a win in Rhode Island – although the party leadership was firmly lined up behind Hillary Clinton – carried over to local elections. The Progressive Democrats showed they had staying power locally as Jeanine Calkin, a co-founder of the Sanders campaign in Rhode Island, beat incumbent William Walaska in Senate District 30. Jeremy Rix in Ward 2 also wore the Progressive label and came up the winner in that three-way contest.

Did Warwick feel the “Bern?”

There was some of the Bern, and that’s a way of reading Walaska’s loss and that of incumbent Rep. Eileen Naughton. The party’s leadership supported both. In the case of Naughton, this was more than passive support. The House leadership pushed Naughton and she campaigned hard for re-election.

Her opponent, Camille Vella-Wilkinson, mobilized an army, gaining support from the unions and from fellow council members. Staying true to her conviction of term limits, Vella-Wilkinson chose not to run for re-election to Ward 3 and challenged Naughton, who has been in office for more than two decades.

The anti-party establishment message surely resonated, and that may carry into the General Election. Will incumbents, whether Democrats or Republicans, survive challenges? Will independents, of which there are many more than customary on the ballot, make inroads?

Those are questions the voters will answer on Nov. 8.

Yet, from what has played out in this primary, it is evident there’s no substitute for hard work, meeting the voters face to face and delivering a message. We saw that in every race. Whether they are in the winners’ column or not, there are new people on the scene with fresh ideas and energy. The process has brought many positives and ample fodder for the pundits to tell us what it means. We’ll be hearing a lot.

As for our take?

We’ll go back to where we started this opinion piece and use the analogy: this primary election has opened some doors and introduced the community to new players. This primary has been like no other we’ve seen.

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