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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E920-E921]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO JOHN MITCHELL
______
HON. JOHN B. LARSON
of connecticut
in the house of representatives
Monday, July 15, 2019
Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record the
following Op-Ed in tribute to the late John Mitchell of South Windsor,
Connecticut.
[From the Hartford Courant]
Want To Make a Difference? Run for Office. Yes, You.
(By Kevin Rennie)
Local political parties will nominate their slates of
candidates for November's municipal elections this month. In
a few communities, there will be ferocious contests for some
positions. Democratic races for mayor in some of the state's
largest cities, Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven, look
competitive as the September primaries grow nearer.
Those are the exceptions.
In most towns, politics is mercifully a civic good more
than it is a secular religion. Some communities continue to
enjoy our New England tradition of electing members
[[Page E921]]
to a wide range of local boards and commissions. That
requires a lot of candidates. Another tradition, minority
representation, guarantees no political party gets to elect
every member of a town council, board of selectmen or board
of education. Our law seeks to encourage a variety of voices
in local government.
Political parties in many towns struggle to find enough
candidates to fill their slates. The hyperpartisanship that
mars our national politics recedes in many communities
seeking citizen volunteers to manage local affairs. Plenty of
parties will welcome unaffiliated voters onto their tickets
for municipal elections.
If you get your news from cable television, you may
properly think that much of contemporary politics is an
endless series of screaming matches. Town politics does not
often descend into the bear pit. Go to a meeting of your
local planning and zoning commission and you will not be able
to tell the Democrats from the Republicans. It's a collection
of citizens trying to manage or attract development to their
community. If you can spot the nuances of a traffic study or
possess some ideas on how a town can manage a decline in the
number of school-age children it will educate in the next
decade, welcome.
As a candidate for local office, you'll be more a part of a
team than a member of a fire-breathing partisan tribe. The
desire to serve will be your platform. In most instances, a
campaign for a town office comes with few complications.
Almost everyone wins. In some towns with a nine-member board
of education, for example, there are only ten candidates.
Minority representation rules have been adopted to give no
party more than five members. Only one of the ten candidates,
assuming a full slate by each party and no third party
candidates, will lose. And there are plenty of other places
for that person to serve in community government.
I've saved the best reason for last. You will meet
wonderful people whose friendship will endure after your
service concludes. I was reminded of this gift on Monday when
John Mitchell, South Windsor's beloved former mayor, died.
Mitchell, 84, may have been our community's longest performer
of good deeds.
Born in Manchester, he lived and worked in South Windsor
for most of his adult life. He started a fuel oil business as
a young man, and it thrived through the unfailing melding of
enterprise, knowledge and a buoyant personality. He served on
the town council for more than a decade and enjoyed two terms
as mayor in the 1980s, a time of historic growth in town.
Mitchell's service to others was not limited to elective
office. He remained active in the local chamber of commerce
and was a stalwart in the Rotary Club for decades. He loved
community events. Almost 40 years ago, he thought that since
so many strawberries grew on the shrinking numbers of South
Windsor farms, there ought to be a June festival, and local
Republicans ought to create it. I can attest to the amount of
work a strawberry festival requires. Mitchell's enthusiasm
made it impossible to do anything but enjoy the challenge.
The strawberry festival has long been what he envisioned: an
annual June Saturday that thousands have enjoyed.
Mitchell was active in providing college scholarships to
local students as recently as last month. We'll never know
the vast number of people he lifted and encouraged with his
private generosity. We helped with a few local campaigns in
the past decade, and I was reminded of his joy in the battle.
His sense of humor grew sharper, and he displayed a rare
wonderment at growing older.
So think about running for something. You will help your
town. If you are very lucky, you will get to know someone
like John Mitchell.
____________________
