Rosemarie De Angelis lives up to the namesake “of the angels” to hundreds of asylum seekers hoping for refuge in the U.S. Her advocacy for these resilient people who, through circumstances of birth and geography have left them vulnerable and often fearful for their lives, gives them hope and self-confidence even as they try to navigate the many barriers that make their new lives in the U.S. extremely lonely and difficult.

Rosemarie is their advocate, their mentor, their muse, and their friend. I cannot think of anybody who is running for public office who can stake a more legitimate claim of rooting for the underdog.

Rosemarie is a fighter. She has to be. People who are nails in a world of hammers need a fighter. And the sad fact of American politics down to the state and local level is that the vast majority of us are nails. But the whole purpose of the public domain and one-person-one-vote is to make a fairer paying field for us nails. Channels of power always follow channels of money, even in our elections, but I am optimistic and hopeful that our representative democracy can still pit our best fighters in the ring against the corrupting power of moneyed interests in politics.

I am grateful that Rosemarie is running for District 33 representative and hope that undecided voters can be motivated to support this indefatigable advocate for the voiceless in the halls of power.

Eben Rose

South Portland