Thank You Seekonk

A roller coaster ride is a pretty apt way to describe an election. There’s a line that’s usually many times longer than the ride itself, jockeying to try and get the front, and when you finally get on it-the short, fast, and exhilarating trip.

However, for many of us holding signs-this ride felt different. There was a steady stream of people all day long that never really slowed down and by the end of the day we had the highest turnout of any recent town election. The numbers from Monday night’s poll printouts suggest a total of 2589 people voted. That blew past the 2104 votes cast last year and, in all likelihood, breaks 22% of eligible voters. That number was unthinkable just a few years ago and makes me cautiously optimistic that 25% is in the near future. The bottom line is that Seekonk saw the importance of this election and turned out. Thank you!!

We can speculate as to the reasons why, but what is clear is the message Seekonk sent. The victors won in every single precinct and in each one, it was not close. I’m not going to lie-as the second-place finisher that was rough. I was hoping that maybe there was a silver lining somewhere, but the strong dose of reality is that there wasn’t any in the election results.

The only silver lining I can see is the ability to foster those who are engaged. For me the best part of this election has been meeting people who are seeing things they can help with and want to get involved. For those of us who didn’t win-I’d encourage you to find a friend and see what you can do on an appointed committee, PTO, or local sports board. To those of you who did win I’d ask you to govern in a way that facilitates those looking to help. At the end of the day there’s no better thank you than a helping hand. Those hands are what strengthen a community and the challenges over the next few years will require that strength. But if election day was any indication of the strength of a town; I’m confident in Seekonk’s response.

Best,
Chris Rizzo