Portstmouth Town Council candidate Len Katzman has a zinger of a letter to the editor up on Portsmouth Patch where he takes the Portsmouth Concerned Citizens (PCC) to task for their highly selective use of decontextualized "information."

If you're headed out to the Council meeting tonight, where the School Committee will be asking to use their fund balance in a desperate effort to preserve programs for this year, you might want to read Katzman's letter as a warm-up. Because I can virtually guarantee that the PCC is going to get up and tell the Council such action would be illegal.

After they spent what had to be at least a thousand dollars (and a bag of rocks) convincing Portsmouth residents not to vote for the referendum because those funds existed.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 12, the Portsmouth Town Council will make appointments to the Charter Review Committee, which will consider modifications to the Town Charter. If you are one of the folks who put your name in (thank you!) you'll want to be at Town Hall. As they discuss nominations for boards, Councilors will often ask if the applicant is in the room. Not saying that it will make or break anyone's chances, but it doesn't hurt to be there. Because we know that all the Portsmouth Concerned Citizen (PCC) applicants will be on hand.

And Wednesday night, candidates for the Town Council and School Committee will be answering questions and talking with voters at a "Meet the candidate" event in the Middle School library, beginning at 6:30pm. The event is sponsored by the PCC, and they will be asking the first round of questions, so I would really appreciate having some friendly faces in the room. There will hopefully be the opportunity for citizens to ask questions, so you might want to think about what you'd ask the candidates.

Full disclosure: Yes, I put my name in for the Charter Review Committee, and yes, I am a candidate for School Committee.

Portsmouth School Committee candidates from David Wolfenden Productions on Vimeo.

The video from the Portsmouth School Committee forum held by the Newport Daily News on Thursday night was posted to Vimeo this afternoon, followed by the Town Council candidates.

Portsmouth Town Council candidates from David Wolfenden Productions on Vimeo.

Editorial note: I've embedded these videos directly from Vimeo where they are hosted; they are not marked with any restrictions against embedding (indeed, you can go to the video URL and download it.) You can also view these videos on the Newport Daily News video page, where they are also embedded from Vimeo.

Full disclosure: Obviously, I'm in the School Committee video, and I hope you'll watch it, particularly to hear how all the candidates answer the question about Tuesday's referendum which begins at about the 12-minute mark. I was very glad to make it to the forum; I've had a bad respiratory infection, and I spent Wednesday getting a chest X-ray and blood work which determined it was "probably" not pneumonia, but I've been pretty much out of action all week. Sorry to have missed all the fun at Homecoming today.

Newport Daily News editorial board grills candidates.

Tomorrow night, Thursday, Sept. 30, Portsmouth candidates for the Town Council and School Committee will meet the Newport Daily News editorial board, in a forum broadcast live on Cox Channel 18. The Town Council will be be on at 7pm, with the School Committee to follow at 8:45.

The event is part of the continuing series of Daily News interviews with local folks running for office, and will be rebroadcast on Channel 18 several times before the election. The full schedule, including times for the interviews with the Senate candidates and all State Rep. races, is available on the Daily News web site.

Full disclosure: Yes, I'll be on the panel at 8:45 with fellow Democrats Dave Croston, Andrew Kelly, and Marge Levesque. Want to live-tweet about it? I'd suggest we follow and use the hashtag #ndnforum

Resources:
Newport Daily News Election 2010 page
See candidate profiles on the Portsmouth Democratic Town Committee site
Visit the John McDaid for School Committee site

New China!

It's been one of those weeks where things are so busy at work that you're running just to stay in place, so finally catching my breath here, on Friday night, I'll try to back-announce some high spots.

First, for those of us who have longed for a good Chinese restaurant (especially in the north end of Portsmouth, who've had to make the jaunt to Tiverton or Fall River) the opening of New China on Tuesday at the Irving gas station and food plaza was cause for celebration.

On the way home from distributing budget referendum fliers at the Middle School open house* (remember to vote October 5!), I stopped by, and the food is great. I had hot and sour soup, an egg roll, and sesame noodles. The egg roll was competent and unexceptional, and the soup above average, sporting a nice tang and large chunks of tofu. But the sesame noodles were absolutely amazing. The sesame paste was eye-wateringly delicious, a perfect combination of creamy mouthfeel and blistering heat. The diametric opposite of the sad "pasta and peanut butter" you get from some local eateries, and quite literally, the best implementation I've had north of New York City. Now if I could just get them to put some of that on wontons... anyone else remember the wontons with hot sesame from Tak Pao City? Mmmmm. I can't wait to go back to try an entree.

And Tuesday was election day. I have to congratulate all the winners of the Democratic primaries, especially Mayor David Cicilline, who I think will be a wonderful representative for our district, and I hope you'll join me in supporting him in November.

Tuesday was a school holiday, but I had to work in New York City, so instead of standing outside a polling place with a "SEGAL" sign, I was in meetings, and took Jack along. We had enough time at the end of the day for a couple hours of blitzing-style tourist-fu, and we were able to hit the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. Pix up on Flickr.

So while I "missed" the election — I voted by emergency ballot — I felt very good about how things went in Rhode Island. Thanks to the magic of Twitter, Facebook, Portsmouth Patch and GoLocalProv, I got the results in real time on my iPhone as the polls closed, somewhere around Bridgeport. I have to agree with much of what Matt Jerzyk says in this week's "Hot and Not" over at GoLocalProv. Four out of the five races I cared about broke the way I hoped (Angel Taveras, Teresa Tanzi, Richard Morrison, and Sam Zurier) and even David Segal showed unexpected strength in Portsmouth (and pulled nearly 30% in precinct 2704 at Common Fence Point. (See full precinct-level results at the Board of Elections.)

Last, but absolutely not least, I would like to suggest to all my readers that you strongly consider applying to be on the Portsmouth Charter Review Committee. Really, it's important.

As you know, the Portsmouth Concerned Citizens (PCC) went to the Town Council with a package of charter changes, including eliminating partisan elections and providing for recall of elected officials. This is basically a batch of revisions that would make elections less transparent and give the PCC a bigger club to wield against democratically elected officials.

The Council, wisely I think, opted instead to convene a committee to review the Town Charter and make recommendations, and they have asked for citizen volunteers to serve. All it takes is some common sense and free time, and I'd very much urge everyone to at least put in your names. The Council may well pick their own favorites (especially the four-person majority who have opted not to stand for re-election) but at least we should make them look at as many applications as we can.

You can go to Town Hall, or, download the forms here (Word or PDF format) and they need to be returned to Town Hall by 4:30 pm on Monday, September 20. Yes, that's this Monday, so please, take a few minutes this weekend and fill one out.

*Full disclosure: David Croston and the Save Our Schools folks were out fliering on the referendum at every middle school orientation this week, and you can expect to see 'em again at the the remaining sessions. You can read the flier on the SOS web site. Thanks to Croston, Marge Levesque, Andrew Kelly, and Terri Cortvriend. With the school committee's decision not to pursue a Caruolo action, passing the referendum has become even more critical.

John McDaid (D), candidate for Portsmouth school committee with former Hathaway principal Dr. Christina Martin. Photo by Andrew Katzman.

Dr. Christina Martin, recently retired principal of Hathaway Elementary school, announced her support for John McDaid in the Portsmouth School Committee race. The ten-year veteran of Portsmouth's schools issued the following statement:

"John McDaid is a perfect candidate for the Portsmouth School Committee. He is truly schooled in the strengths and challenges of the school department, the sort of in-service training that all school committee members need to make informed decisions."

"During the last four years I have seen John's commitment to the education of his son, Jack, a student at Hathaway, and to all Portsmouth students."

"He is a proven communicator who has covered Portsmouth on his local news blog, where I've often read his coverage of school committee and town council meetings."

"John is a knowledgeable and committed participant in the process of leading our schools into the future. He was a participant in the Future Search workshop -- held at Hathaway -- which developed a strategic vision for the schools. As an appointed member of the facilities committee, he came to Hathaway with the engineers and we toured every corner of the building as they were developing their recommendations."

"His service on the district technology committee shows his dedication to the improvement of our schools. He worked with many teachers -- not just at Hathaway -- to assist in implementing the district's new web site. And I worked with him directly on the search team for our technology integration specialist and found him to be a thoughtful and engaged participant."

"Elected officials are charged with making decisions that impact the lives of all of us, so they need to really know the nuts and bolts of the organizational life intimately. John brings a deep understanding of the challenges and an admired dedication to the schools — he will make a great school committee member."

"I am honored to receive this significant endorsement," McDaid said. "Dr. Martin has been a leader in Portsmouth education for a decade, and as principal of Hathway, her tireless efforts on behalf of our children have earned her the respect of students, parents, and the community."

John McDaid is running as an endorsed Democratic candidate, on a slate with David Croston, Andrew Kelly, and Marge Levesque.

Related links
John McDaid campaign Web site: http://johnmcdaid.com
See the announcement on Portsmouth Patch

Full disclosure: It's pretty clear that I'm in candidate mode from here to November. And yes, this one is from a press release.

David Segal and Gary Gump at the Portsmouth Wind Turbine.

State Rep. David Segal, candidate for the first congressional district, visited the Portsmouth wind turbine today to talk about his "Green New Deal," one of the planks of his 7-point-plan for jobs and economic recovery.

He was introduced by Portsmouth EDC Sustainable Energy subcommittee chair Gary Gump, part of the team that led the turbine effort, who thanked him for his work in the legislature on NetMetering, and urged him to "continue that support at the state level, or in Washington."

"The Portsmouth wind turbine is an example of what we should be doing more of," said Segal. He said that if elected, one of his first acts would be to propose a "Green New Deal," that would make more projects like the turbine possible, and would create jobs by investing in renewable energy.

"Investing $100 billion in the greening of the economy over the next two years would create an estimated 2 million jobs nationwide," said Segal. Such an investment, he proposed, could be financed by a tax on high-dollar-value (those over $100K) credit default swaps and other speculative transactions. Such a tax could raise $150B a year, Segal said, and the return from the millions of new jobs created would offset increased spending.

"If we're investing in the right projects, we don't have to worry about the deficit," said Segal.

If you want to learn more, you can meet Segal tonight in Portsmouth at Custom House Coffee on West Main Road at 7pm. (And we'll also be collecting signatures for the referendum — so why not stop by?)

Full disclosure: I am a supporter of David Segal.

David Segal talks with supporters at the opening of his Providence field office.

David Segal, Democratic candidate for Congress, will be coming to Portsmouth on Wednesday, August 4 for a meet-the-candidate event at 7pm in Custom House Coffee on West Main Road. Segal, who is running for the seat being vacated by Patrick Kennedy, will be here to meet and talk with voters from Portsmouth.

Segal is currently a state representative, where is a leader of the progressive caucus. He has been involved with legislation on renewable energy and green jobs, foreclosures and predatory lending, civil liberties, and criminal justice reform. This week, he won the endorsement of the RI Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals for his "strong voice for education and working families." Segal has also been endorsed by True Majority, Democracy for America, and the RI Progressive Democrats.

As you can probably tell, I'm a supporter (and have been ever since he played a key role in the Net Metering legislation that helps Portsmouth make more money from our wind turbine generator). Hope you'll come over to Custom House coffee next Wednesday and get to know him.

Resources:
David Segal for Congress web site
Watch the recent debate on WPRI

Click image to visit

Just launched a new web site for my campaign for Portsmouth School Committee, and I hope you'll stop on by to check it out, sign up for e-mail updates, and, hopefully, make a secure donation.

All the e-mail data is managed by my site, not a third-party, so there will be no spam. I'm using PayPal for donations, so you can use any major credit card (or your PayPal account) and none of the credit card info is stored on the site.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me — my campaign e-mail address is jmcdaid@johnmcdaid.com.

Want to meet the just-announced Democratic candidates for Portsmouth's Town Council, School Committee, and General Assembly? Next Thursday, July 8 at the Green Valley Country Club on Union Street (map), from 5-7pm, the Democratic Town Committee is sponsoring a get-together with hotdogs and hamburgers on the veranda. Stop on by and get to know the folks who are running.

For Town Council: Mike Buddemeyer, Dennis Canario, Terri Cortvriend, Al Honnen, Len Katzman, Jeffrey Lewis, and Jim Seveney.

For School Committee: Dave Croston, Andrew Kelly, Marge Levesque, and John McDaid.

For Representative in General Assembly: Ray Gallison (District 69), Jay Edwards (70), George Alzaibak (71) and Amy Rice (72).

And for Senator in General Assembly, Chuck Levesque (Dist. 11).

Hope to see you there. And have a happy and safe Fourth of July weekend, everybody!

Update: Confirmed that candidates for RI legislature were invited.