It won’t take long to notice that Bristol Republicans, for the most part and in particular when it comes to political coverage, have refused to participate in any way with The Bristol Edition.
Yesterday’s election questionnaire is a good example. Here is what was sent to every candidate for state office this year:
The Bristol Edition, Bristol’s online community newspaper, is beginning its 2022 election coverage. With that in mind, we are asking you to submit a candidate photo, bio, list of endorsements, and an explanation of what you consider to be the three biggest issues of the 2022 campaign and why.
We sincerely hoped that all the candidates will respond. Here are the candidates who were contacted:
Senate 31st District– Henri Martin (R-incumbent) and Greg Hahn (D)
House of Representatives, 77th District– Cara Pavalock-D’Amato (R-incumbent) and Andrew Rasmussen-Tuller (D)
House of Representatives, 79th District– Mary Fortier (D) and Jennifer Van Gorder (R)
House of Representatives, 78th District– Joe Hoxha (R), running unopposed
There are no trick questions in this request, just an honest attempt to inform our readers. The only responses came from Democratic candidates Greg Hahn, Andrew Rasmussen-Tuller, and Mary Fortier. The only Republican response came from Joe Hoxha, and we thank him for that.
Now one would have to ask the question, why the lack of response? The editors of The Bristol Edition believe that there is a concerted effort to stop all Republican office holders or candidates from cooperating in any way with TBE. The orders here are coming from the top of the party organization. They seem to feel that TBE has not been fair in their coverage of Republicans. We disagree, but we also want to point out that a truly open and transparent organization would not hide from the press.
There also seems to be the idea that we are not a major media player in the Bristol market, so it is best to ignore any requests from TBE. We believe that is a mistaken assumption, as our readership increases every month. It is also not a good look to be trying to eliminate a Bristol business serving the citizens of Bristol.
That being said, we would not be fair if we did not point out that both City Council members Sebastian Paniotto and Cheryl Thibeault have replied to our inquiries in the past year. We thank them for their cooperation and urge them to appeal to their fellow party members to engage with local news organizations in an appropriate way.
All TBE readers, supporters and donors
The Bristol Edition will be limiting the number of stories non-members and free readers may access each week. This decision is based on our financial projections and, most certainly, to remind people that TBE is serious about providing accurate, timely and thorough reporting for Bristol. To do this we have devised a financial support structure that makes unlimited access extremely affordable, beginning with a $6 monthly donation.
- Non-members will be able to access eight (8) articles per week.
- Free readers and people who have subscribed by email will be able to access eight (8) articles per week.
- Donors and financial supporters will have no limits.
Note: Donors may have to contact TBE if they find they are being limited, since we will need to set up a membership account for you. Email editor@bristoledition.org for instructions. Sorry for any inconvenience. People with financial difficulties may write editor@bristoledition.org to be considered for free access.