Rich Cantwell, of Friends of Freeport, on WDVR!

Hello, Freeport,

This is just a short little post (I've been encouraged to do short ones!) to bring my readers up to date on a particularly awesome group that's getting a lot of well-deserved recognition.  Friends of Freeport formed up after Superstorm Sandy rolled through.  They have been going around every weekend and ripping out peoples' houses, or fixing them up, or whatever they can do to help rebuild after the storm.  This is, of course, months after the storm rolled through - indicative of just how little help our area has gotten.

Rich Cantwell is one of the ringleaders of this here posse, and he was interviewed by another Freeport fellow, on WDVR.  WDVR is located in Delaware, actually, and we have some audio recordings thanks to Barry Goodman.  (Here's hoping the link works!)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151419202383611


The conversation is pretty serious and intense.  They touch on topics like how the Friends have to manage grant money (Rich in particular), and how they decide who gets repaired when, and how that can build up a lot of stress.  So, good on them!

I've linked you to the video, and I've linked you to the Facebook page.  I encourage you to find out about them, and see what you can do to help!

TWF 202: Mayor Elections Over! UHR Victory!

Greetings Freeport,

I'm in little shape to write at the moment, as I've had quite a long, long day.  And yesterday.  So, here's my best, "post-then-pass-out" shot:

A semi-live tally was provided by the Unity/Home-Rule Party, indicating the results of the election.  The banner in question has shifted to "Freeport is Free!," implying a victory!  They've provided a finalized tally which reads as follows:

Freeport Mayor
Andrew Hardwick:  3882 Votes
Robert Kennedy:  4397 Votes (Winner)

Freeport Trustee (Top-Two)
James Caracciolo:  3,579
Annette Dennis:  3,601
Ronald Ellerbe:  4,469 (Winner)
Carmen Pinyero:  4,526 (Winner)

Freeport Judge
Roy Cacciatore:  4,151 (Winner)
Stephen Drummond:  3,931


Results Matter

Assuming these numbers are unchallenged (they seem fairly decisive in that Mr.  Kennedy has a 500-vote margin according to them), and are legitimate, well, Freeport has chosen.  All listed winners are from the Unity/Home-Rule Party.  It's late.  I'm sleepy.  I could sit back and assess the strengths and weaknesses of each campaign and what led it to where it is, today, but I'm sleepy.

I know I'm not your first source of news on this (I'm reacting to news, myself!), but I figured I should put forth the numbers I've seen and make sure they check out.  If they do?  Well, I want to congratulate the winners, and I want to thank those who lost for their efforts.  Being part of this process is hard - and most of all, I want to thank you, the voter.  I will admit, if you add the mayoral votes together you get 8,279.  That's a pretty huge turnout for Freeport; in a town of 45,000 people, well, we had nearly 20% of the community vote!  That's better than in most recent elections, but it's still pretty low if you ask me, and it's one of the things that our next mayor will have to work on in the next four years - bringing power to this process known as "Democracy," lest it be stripped away from us.

Oh.  And I'll come up with some other inanely-rambled "things Mayor (Whoever but probably Kennedy) must do in the next four years" to fill up an article soon.

Farewell, Freeport, and goodnight!