Vote for David McBride

To all.....I was delighted to read two endorsements in recent issues of the New London DAY for David McBride to become our new Mayor in the Town of Groton. These came from Donald Macrino and Laura Brown.

As most of us know, we vote for nine Council candidates to serve on the Groton Town Council, from a selection of three political parties this year. Once they are voted in and accepted, the new Council Members then vote among themselves to select who will be the Mayor. As citizens, we do not vote directly, but there are factors where we can "influence" the vote.

One factor is popularity....and while the highest vote-getter can sometimes get the nod, this is not always the case. For instance, if one political party has a majority of votes, they can take advantage and vote in a person who is not necessarily the person with the most public votes. And with three political parties plus one or two unaffiliated or write-in candidates this November 4th, it might take a while to arrive at a final decision.

This past year has been a difficult one for the Council. Without going into details, there were some major differences of opinions on various issues and also a disturbing period where outside speakers caused bad feelings as well. In the Council sessions that I observed on public television, Mr. McBride maintained a calm and professional composure by focusing on the priorities of the subject matter at hand and not getting distracted by any comments.

David McBride has a solid business and school management background in areas where we need the experience. He has worked in school finance as a Trustee of St Bernard's and helped with the property sale to the Mohegans. He has been an invaluable asset to the City of New London in bringing finances from a deficit budget into a more positive direction, a most difficult task.

I have no doubt that this man can have a positive effect as a leader and role model to help make the Town Council more effective in representing and serving the needs of the citizens. I am therefore encouraging that as many of us as possible make a point of voting for David McBride in order to show that we believe in him as a positive leader, and that we also encourage our local representatives to support him as their leader, regardless of political party alliances.

He is the right man....at the right time.....for the job. Thank you all for reading this. I hope you agree.

Ed Johnson, at the Old Noank Jail