Burlington City Hall Event
Remarks by Anne Standish
June 28, 2000
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INTRODUCTION BY MURRAY BANKS:
Anne Standish is a friend - a friend of well reasoned politics, a friend of campaign finance reform, a friend of women's rights, a friend of Rick's. She is a Vermonter, raising her kids in Lamoille County, employed at UVM at the Center for Health and Well-being as a nurse practitioner. She is thrilled with the attention both Granny D and Rick have brought to campaign finance reform. She was the very first person to contribute financially to Rick's campaign
Anne
will speak about Doris Haddock, 90 year old "Granny D", who
recently completed a walk across the entire United States to highlight the
need for national campaign finance reform. Doris’s example inspired Rick
to walk throughout Vermont to also advocate for this same issue. Doris and
Rick subsequently walked together for 5 days in Kentucky. Anne will then read a letter to Rick from Doris.
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Anne Standish |
ANNE STANDISH'S REMARKS:
Good Afternoon,
I want to tell you a bit about a remarkable woman
– Doris Haddock of Dublin, New Hampshire, or “Granny D” as she is
now affectionately known to millions of Americans.
Perhaps you have already heard of her – for
she’s been on the radio, and in the newspapers, and on television quite
a bit this past year and a half.
One thing that’s remarkable about Doris is her
age. She’s now 90 years old, and having the time of her life.
A second thing that’s remarkable is this. At 89
years of age, Doris Haddock cared enough about our country, and our
democracy, to walk across the entire United States to highlight the need
for national campaign finance reform.
That’s right, at 89 when some are content to sit
at home, and knit, and watch television, Doris decided to walk across our
entire United States. And she did it! Starting on January 1st ,
1999 in Pasadena, California, it took her 14 months of 10 miles a day, 6
days a week. Eventually it totaled 3,200 miles through 12 states. Along
the way, Granny D, as she become known, had her 90th birthday,
collected petition signatures, buttonholed politicians and spoke out
against candidate dependence on big money contributions from special
interest groups and the corrupting effect this has on our democracy.
She arrived with much fanfare at the steps of
Congress on the 29th day of this past February and presented
thousands of petition signatures for reform to Congress. Along the way she
has walked with many well known advocates for campaign finance reform:
Bill Bradley, John McCain, Russ Feingold, Chris Shays and Marty Meehan,
among them.
Doris’s example inspired Rick to begin his own
walk for reform right here in Vermont. Rick figured, if an 89 year old
woman felt strongly enough about this issue to walk across the entire
United States, he – a mere “stripling” of 58 could certainly manage
the length and breadth of our own small state.
And walk he has. As Murray said, Rick has now walked over 400
miles, and visited over 70 of Vermont’s 251 communities, all the while
highlighting the need for national campaign finance reform in our
newspapers, on the radio, on television and with the
many citizens he encountered along the way.
Last fall, after completing the first part of his
walk, from the Canadian border at Highgate Springs down Rt 7 to the
Massachusetts border at Pownel, Rick drove to Kentucky to walk with Doris.
They walked together for 5 days, into Louisville where Doris spoke on the
steps of Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell’s office.
Senator McConnell, as you may recall, led the filibuster against
campaign finance reform this past fall in the U.S. Senate and Rick wanted
to support Doris in Senator McConnell’s Kentucky home turf.
Doris is very supportive of Rick’s campaign
finance reform efforts here in Vermont and has sent a letter to be read to
you all here today.