Clay Pell best choice for Rhode Island

We are fortunate in the Democratic Party to have some really good choices to be our candidate for Governor. After careful consideration I will vote for Clay Pell. Here are a few of my reasons for supporting him:

We have had governors who have had prior governmental experience and governors from the business sector, yet still Rhode Island was first into the recession and last out. In my opinion, our economy has not recovered from the Navy’s massive pull out decades ago. Our leadership needs a new outlook, advisors who are experts in their fields, and a governor willing to accept their advice, not lobbyists.

Mr. Pell has some refreshing ideas to utilize our natural resources such as our waterways. I think our ports give us a huge advantage if handled correctly. That is why I think a Port Authority, as suggested by Clay, is something that should have been done decades ago in order to protect and manage our port system. Our ports have much to offer. For example, the Newport and Quonset Point shipyards were vital areas during both the immediate past and WWII.

My passion for education is one which Mr. Pell shares. I agree with him that a single high stakes test is not the best way to assess what a student has learned or what the student has become proficient at. Tests are a snapshot of what is recalled right at that moment. Besides the number of students that do not do well on tests for a variety of reasons, I believe that research projects and demonstrations are a much better way to judge someone’s skills. In this global economy where our students are going to be competing with people from around the world, I think the best way we can help our students compete is to teach them how to think, not what to think.

My final point is that I am tired of the detrimental effects that outside money has played in our elections up and down the ballots. I am thrilled to hear of Mr. Pell and others turning away lobbyist money. I hope that others in the future will consider their own type of campaign reform, and support candidates who raise money from the people they plan to work for, not lobbyists.

I hope you will join me in voting for Clay Pell in this month’s primary.

Marjorie Levesque