To the Editor:

Earlier this summer I campaigned for the Democratic nomination for Senate District 19 against Eloise Vitelli, and was roundly beaten. There were four lessons, not all gently learned, I took away from that race:

One, she leaves nothing to chance. As the favorite endorsed by the popular departing senator and the House Majority Leader, she probably could have coasted to an easy victory. She did not. Every call I made, every connection I thought I might be able make or leverage, Eloise was there before me. Great work ethic.

Two, she knows her stuff. Her three decades of leading the Maine Center for Women, Work and Community have made her an expert in workforce development, and successive legislatures and governors have sought her expertise. In the Q&A part of the Democratic town committees we attended, Eloise demonstrated a commanding knowledge of issues, and of the process by which policy is made to deal with them.

Three, she is smart. She argued cogently and succinctly in support of her policy positions. She knows the facts, and how to present them. This, I suspect, is why the Republican and Green candidates in the race tried to duck meeting Eloise in a public forum, where they would have to go head-to-head on the issues.

Four, she has heart. She is passionate and principled, but does not confuse issues with individuals. She was always relaxed and cordial in what otherwise could have been tense situations. The ability to temper zeal and competitiveness with empathy and respect, conspicuously absent from the Blaine House, is essential to leadership. Eloise has this in spades.

It is not fun to lose, but for my part, it is better to have been beaten by someone as hard working, competent, intelligent and compassionate as Eloise Vitelli.

Maine has produced some exceptional politicians on both sides of the aisle, and Eloise will continue in that proud tradition. I do not see the same potential in either of her opponents.

Will Neilson
Arrowsic