Event for Sen. Whitehouse featured great food, beautiful setting and good company
By Will Collette
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| Donna Walsh introduces the Senator |
There was a great turn-out last night for a fund-raiser for Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. The setting was the beautiful
Charlestown Gallery (junction of Route One and South County Trail) - Senator Whitehouse promised to come back to buy one particular painting that caught his eye.
The Democratic Committees of Charlestown, South Kingstown and Westerly turned out the troops. So did organized labor. There was a sizable troop of members of the Rhode Island Labor History Society as well.
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| Chef Mauro works his magic |
In addition to Rep. Donna Walsh (D-Charlestown) who was one of the hosts, Representatives Teresa Tanzi (D-So Kingstown), Larry Valencia (District 39, which includes part of Charlestown), Sam Azzinaro (D-Westerly), Senator Sue Sosnowski (D-So. Kingstown), Democratic State Party Chair Ed Pacheco, AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Maureen Martin (one of the co-hosts) and Charlestown Councilor Marge Frank were there.
Chef Mauro Cavezzale made four different types of crostini on the spot. There were platters of good cheese and cold cuts from the classic Italian market,
Ritacco's, at 84 Oak Street in Westerly, plus tray after tray of great hot hor d'ouvres from the
Hungry Haven next door.
The Charlestown Gallery setting added the final ingredient to make it a great party. From beautiful Persian rugs on the floors to the jewelry cases (which did a brisk business last night) to Gilley and Renee's great taste in paintings, sculpture and other art media, the scene was beautiful. Newcomers to the Gallery were amazed at the terrific selection. Regulars like Cathy and I were delighted at their new acquisitions.
It seemed like everyone was having such a good time, it was hard to end the event at 8 PM. Tom Ferrio and I had to resort to throwing people out the door when they just wouldn't leave.
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Rep. Larry Valencia and Deb Carney flank
Senator Whitehouse |
Of course, the point of the evening was to raise money for Senator Whitehouse's re-election bid next year in a year when incumbents will be under a lot of pressure.
But in his brief remarks to the group, Senator Whitehouse made it clear why he is one of the country's best Senators - and why so many local folks turned out last night to support him. His rousing call for action to create jobs, preserve and protect Social Security and Medicare, and a new initiative to guard the health of our oceans, made it plain why we need to work for his re-election.
