NEW: Abel Collins to Challenge Congressman Langevin
Monday, June 04, 2012
Local environmental activist Abel Collins has made it official. He will run against Congressman James Langevin this fall.
Collins had been flirting with running for office for over a month and supporters had formed the “Recruit Abel to Run for Congress” Facebook page, but he confirmed his plans in a post on his personal Facebook page Sunday evening.
"After hearing from hundreds of folks, including family, friends and strangers, and after long deliberation with Amber, I've decided I'm going to run for Congress," Collins wrote. "This will be a big adventure, and I hope you will join me for the ride my friends."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIn an April interview with GoLocalProv, Collins, a program manager with the Rhode Island Sierra Club, said he would likely run as an Independent and that his goal would be to run against the national Democratic Party more than Langevin himself.
“Langevin is a fine Democrat,” Collins said. “He toes the party line exactly. My problem is with the national Democratic Party. I think they've really lost their way. They've done little to hold Wall Street accountable. They've catered to corporations almost as much as the Republicans.”
Langevin, who is running for his 7th term in office, is already facing a challenge from several Republicans, including well-funded Republican Michael Riley.
Dan McGowan can be reached at [email protected].
