Watching him wade through ankle-deep, murky water and squint up at the hazy early morning Texas sun, I could feel the anticipation of an emotionally charged morning as Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Zak Ringelstein appeared, live, on my laptop while I was having my morning coffee on a recent Saturday. This was the second time that week I’d tuned in to watch Zak.

One thing that impresses me most about Zak is that his demeanor, his ability to communicate and his conviction are the same, whether he is comfortably sitting here in Maine in a town hall forum with voters or sitting in the hot Texas sun surrounded by more than 20 armed personnel as he advocates for the basic human rights for children and families at the borders. He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t make unreasonable demands. He had a calm and clear conversation with the people working at the facility, and at the end of it all, he was arrested.

What I know about Zak Ringelstein is where he stands. He is clear in his convictions. He makes good on his promises and he is a man of action. He could have made a few remarks from the safety of the campaign trail here in Maine, but instead he put aside his own interests and flew more than 2,000 miles away from home to facilitate change at our borders.

They asked him why he didn’t just call the agencies that are set up to help. What do you do when those agencies don’t respond, or those agencies stop helping, or those agencies are the ones locking children up? You show up with a pickup truck filled with toys, books, water and blankets, and you wait until someone lets you in or makes you leave.

Bravo, Zak, thank you.

April Fournier

Portland

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