Portsmouth Pride Coalition Brings Grassroots to Glen Park

By definition, a coalition means, in part, an alliance for combined action, and that is just what the organizers of the grassroots organization, Portsmouth Pride Coalition hope to form among concerned citizens of a seemingly-divided community.

"What we need to do and are trying to do here is get people together and start a conversation," said John McDaid, one of the organizers of Thursday's event on the beautiful grounds of Glen Park.

"There has been so much negativity in the town and we are hoping to help people come together again as a community, in a positive way and try to move Portsmouth forward in a positive direction.

"We have so much to be proud of from our school systems to our environmental achievements. We all want to live in a safe healthy community and we also want to feel like we can have an impact on our community. If we are constantly focused on the conflict points, there is no way to step back and get a perspective on the positive aspects of any situation."

McDaid says the PPC has no agenda yet, that this is just a day to bring people together and open the dialogue to get the conversation going. "We hope, in the days and weeks that follow, an agenda will emerge organically," he said.

Educators, local businessmen and woman, professionals and housewives alike were in attendance at the gathering.

“This is great,” said Len Katzman of the Portsmouth Democratic Town Committee. “This crowd reflects the diversity of this community. There are people here from all interest groups and it is nice to have this opportunity to get together on the beautiful August day.”  

"We have so much to appreciate in this town," said Gary Vaspol, one of the organizers of PPC and today’s event. "There is so much vitriol coming out of the Town Council that it is beginning to have such a negative impact on our town and it's people."

"This is a great town. I have kids here, I own a home here and I want to see and help this town move forward in a positive direction."

When asked what he felt that positive direction might be, Vaspol responded, "I don't necessarily know, I just know I felt compelled to get involved."

For more information about Portsmouth Pride Coalition and how you can get involved, log onto www.portsmouthpride.org.