"Nickels, Nickels, Nickels"

[Peadar O Suileabhain]

"Boy what a sound. How I love hearing that old money clank. That beautiful sound of cold hard cash. That beautiful, beautiful sound, nickels, nickels, nickels. That beautiful sound of clinking nickels."

In that spirit, I am asking for your hard-earned cash as I begin my campaign for Manchester City Welfare Commissioner.

Yes, that's an elected office. I don't know of another municipality that elects this position, and I don't know why Manchester is the exception, though I suspect some long-forgotten political skullduggery is involved.

At any rate, I am off and running.

The main reason for running is the need for a reinvention of the welfare department. The current commissioner sees his job as finding a way to write as few assistance checks as possible. People seeking assistance are treated as the adversary, not as fellow members of the community. That has to change.

The welfare department should be the focal point for a broader effort to promote personal empowerment and self-sufficiency. It needs to develop greater coordination among the confusing array of public and private health and welfare agencies; it should build partnerships with public schools to address the unique needs of economically at-risk kids; and it must work with the business and labor communities to make low-income families aware of job training and microcredit resources that can help them build a sustainable future.

This is a tall order, but it is our responsibility to leave a better city to the next generation. I want to begin that effort today.

Now, get out your Visa or MasterCard...

You can donate online here

p.s. The logo at the top of the page might still be the one from my aldermanic campaigns; don't worry, it is the same committee, and the logo will be changed sometime this week.