Last night, I had the honor of attending the Portland Republican Town Committee at the local Legion Hall.  The hall had fall in disrepair until the committee approached its owners and offered to help fix it up.

Now, the building is bright and clean with a fresh coat of paint inside and out. There are various pictures and plaques honoring those who have served and fallen from Portland adorning the walls.

The meeting was clearly the biggest ticket in town Monday night at at 7:3o p.m. Almost every member of the Portland RTC was in attendance including chairmen and friends from Cromwell and East Hampton.

Portland’s energetic and focused chairman,Cindy Varricchio, believes in working as a team, especially in drafting candidates for legislative offices. Rather than allow intra-town rivalries to occur, Varricchio is seeking  cooperation with the neighboring towns in the candidate review process.

The committee has other activities planned in the community in the coming weeks to register new voters, raise money and to promote candidates for the state House, Senate and Congress. 

The  rest of the business meeting was brisk and to the point. 1st District Congressional candidate Joe Visconti spoke and told one questioner he was an ardent supporter of the Second Amendment. Visconti of West Hartford, said he has had a license to carry a gun for 20 years and thinks other law abiding people should, too. The crowd went wild.

Commissioners from various boards and committees gave their reports and offered pertinent insights.

By 8:15 p.m. - the committee was done and they broke up for some food and drink. It was fun. That’s what politics should be - full of purpose and fun.