It's an election year, and although November might seem far away, there are already plenty of opportunities for folks who want to get to know the candidates and get involved in the process.

If you live in the northeast part of Portsmouth, our state representative, Jay Edwards, is having a fundraiser this evening from 6-8pm at the Stone Bridge Restaurant, 1848 Main Road in Tiverton. Jay is running for reelection this year, and I think he's done a good job representing Island Park, so I hope you'll join me in supporting him. You can find him on Facebook here.

If you live in the rest of Portsmouth (and someone remind me again why our town was carved up into four state rep districts?) you might want to pop down to Newport this evening where the Democratic committee is hosting a "get to know the candidates" forum at 7pm at the Elks Lodge on Bellevue and Pelham. You'll get to hear from Lt. Gov Roberts, Sec. of State Mollis, and candidates Tom Sgouros (treasurer) and David Cicilline (US Rep). Hat tip to Newport Now for the info.

The RI Attorney General race is also an interesting field this year, and there will be a debate among the candidates tomorrow evening at Roger Williams University, from 7-9pm in the RWU Law School Appellate Courtroom (Rm. 283). I'm particularly interested in the AG race because they not only do the stuff you're probably familiar with, but they also provide consumer protection oversight, and, in particular, have a voice in the Public Utilities Commission. I'm still ticked at the PUC for their attempt to end-run the legislature's intent on Net Metering, and I'd very much like someone in the AG's office who's going to make sure they remember that they're supposed to be looking out for the public.