East Bay residents share a meal and concerns with Senator Whitehouse
Source: Bristol Phoenix
May 19, 2008
EAST BAY - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse broke bread with locals Sunday night at the Bristol VFW Post 237 and fielded questions from the floor in a packed house of nearly 100 people. This was the sixth community dinner the Senator has held in R.I. since his election.
When asked why he holds the events, Sen. Whitehouse said that there are two reasons: "I want to say thank you for the support and to reach out and let the people know I haven't 'gone Washington on them.' And, I want to hear what concerns Rhode Islanders have in their communities."
After a dinner of macaroni and meatballs, the Senator replied to some of those concerns, ranging from the war in Iraq ("We're going to keep banging on this in Washington to get our troops home, because it's the right thing to do."), the cost of oil ("Right now, the White House is a subsidiary of Exxon-Mobil.") and global warming ("We need to invest in alternative energy.").
"He's done a wonderful thing by coming to the community and answering the questions with sincerity. He has hope. I'm grateful," said Sandy Chabot, a Bristol resident.
"He's getting across to a lot of people," added Jesuina Conroy, of Tiverton.
Wayne Long, of Riverside, said, "I'd like to see him take leadership in the immigration issue. We need a resolution to this problem."
After answering questions for an hour, the meeting ended, after which the Senator met and spoke with people individually.
Town officials from area communities and state representatives and senators were among those in attendance. A surprise guest, U.S. Senator Jack Reed, was given the floor soon after Sen. Whitehouse's introduction by Town Council Chairman Kenneth Marshall, where he lauded the Senator's efforts on health care and spoke of the challenges of domestic and foreign policies in Washington.