To the editor:
So a Democrat, a Republican. a moderate, and an independent walk into a Panera Bread see...
If I were still doing standup in LA like I did in the 1980's, that is how this story would start. But this was not a joke.

I ran as the Moderate candidate for Lt. Governor in 2018 against Dan McKee. I had run for 10 Offices in the Previous 25 years. After the first time where I got bad advice, they were all positive. I also after that first one, ran as a centrist independent, which is what I am. By doing so I realized I was going to lose. I ran to get my ideas out. People say I have good, different Ideas.

After I would lose I rarely talked to my former opponent. A couple would not even shake my hand.

We all knew that we were going to lose to Dan McKee. We had a debate. No One saw it. No One heard about it. No one wrote about it. It was a positive respectful exchange of ideas. Not what the press wants in an election.
Dan McKee won with an impressive 69% of the vote in a 5 way race. Not close.

Afterwards Dan McKee invited us all out to lunch at Panera Bread to talk about the issues that faced the state. You could have knocked me over with a feather! I am a cynic by nature. When we got there I looked around for a camera figuring it was a great PR event for him. There was no camera. We all talked for a couple hours, about the economy, the schools, the PUC. No one publicized the meeting. I was impressed.

Like I said I have good different ideas. I wish I could tell you I had the right ideas to fix what is wrong with the state. I don't. I don't think anyone has the ideas to fix the state. We have real problems with conflicting powerful partisan special interest groups.

But if an answer is going to be found, it will start with a candidate who wins big and invites his opponents not for publicity just to talk, just to try to fix things. I had never seen it. In these times of bitter nasty partisanship would your candidate do it?

Joel Hellmann
East Providence