To All My Supporters:
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
This campaign was an enormously gratifying experience, one that brought me to all parts of the state and people from all walks of life. Bar none, the best part was meeting you - the people - who helped cultivate the numerous ideas throughout this process. Without the support and friendship -- this campaign would never have achieved what it did.
Thank you, the people of Rhode Island, for all your support. Obviously, there are too many people to thank individually, but I must mention a few:
• The Democratic City and Town committees of Newport, Middletown, Warwick, Woonsocket, North Kingstown, Barrington, Exeter, Burriville and Charlestown;
• The Labor support from the National Education Association RI, SEIU's 1199 and it's State Council, United Nurses and Allied Professionals, the Int'l Brotherhood of Police Officers, AFSCME Council 94, Newport and Providence Firefighters; and,
• The African Continental PAC, Youth In Political Action (YIPA), Black PAC, RIFuture.org, Planned Parenthood, Providence Phoenix and Phillipe and Jorge.
No one can dispute that the final vote was close, especially in such an unprecedented low democratic primary turnout. I want to personally thank the 27 cities and towns (click to see the list) where we won in this election - that in and of itself - made a powerful statement. And for those cities and towns where I did not prevail, I thank those of you who did support me, hopefully next time we'll convince the majority!
This is just my first foray into politics, but an experience that I will never forget. My desire for public service has not been stifled -- this is just the beginning -- and I'm happy to get the losing out of the way early.
I look forward to your continued support as we carry on to build on what we started, and pursue the simple idea that this democratic process should be open to any all who choose to serve - not just the political insiders.
I am reminded of one of my favorite quotation from the legendary football coach, Vince Lombardi, 'It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up.'
All the best, keep in touch, and see you next time.
Sincerely yours,
Guillaume de Ramel
