SAVE NORTH KINGSTOWN

Vanessa Mascaro for NK Town Council

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I've been thinking a lot about the last five or six months, navigating the asphalt odor, the surprise sludge facility, and whatever else Quonset has left in its wake for the Town of NK- how it started (like pronouncing asphalt as ASH-phalt ), where things stand now, and what it took to get here.

There were times I wanted to throw my hands up and say enough. But I didn't... and I wasn't doing this alone. So many residents came out to meetings, stood up and spoke, asked questions, shared information, and kept the pressure on when it mattered most.

Looking back on all of it, I keep coming back to this quote:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming;

but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause;

who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly,

so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

-Theodore Roosevelt, “The Man in the Arena”, 1910

The last few months have also reminded me why I decided to run for Town Council. I want residents to feel like they're actually being heard when they come forward with concerns. I want questions to be asked, even when they're uncomfortable, and I want someone who's willing to keep pushing when something doesn't feel right.

THAT's the kind of Council member I want to be.

Tomorrow is another important Town Council meeting. I'll be there. Keep showing up, asking questions. Keep speaking up.

Watch/listen to my public comment on MARCH 2, 2026 Town Council Meeting: https://youtu.be/faor9DaGdwA

PROVIDENCE JOURNAL FEBRUARY 13, 2026: https://bit.ly/4gzwVc7

PROVIDENCE JOURNAL AUGUST 13, 2026: https://bit.ly/4xEqni5

AUGUST 17, 2026 Town Council Agenda: https://bit.ly/4zqqlMI