The Beginning (as appeared in the Barnstable Patriot)

Morning had broken as crisp air enveloped the Capitol. We walked our way up Beacon Hill as radiant sunlight reflected off the Golden Dome, forcing our view upward toward the heavens. Surely Bulfinch's impressive design was intended to raise our eyes skyward as a means to raise my thoughts to the covenant I was about to enter with citizens of our Commonwealth.

Today was a day to witness a ritual that has taken place in Massachusetts 186 times since 1630. I have witnessed this ritual before from the People's Gallery, the transition of power in the Great & General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The only difference today is I would be on the floor of the House, not as witness, but as participant.

In a few short hours a journey that began many years ago would take the ancient form of raising my right hand and swearing an oath to uphold and defend the oldest active democratic constitution in the history of Man. The unbearable lightness of candidate, laden with commentary and criticism, would be swept away, and the burdens of public integrity, leadership, and service would land upon my shoulders.

And with those famous words, "so help me God," the burdens were bestowed. They perched upon my shoulders like an eagle landing from flight. Not as a weight, but as an affirmation of the covenant I have now entered with my fellow citizens of the Commonwealth. Thank you for your trust, and now our work together begins.

Pro Deo et Patria

DAVID T. VIEIRA

David T. Vieira was born and raised in Teaticket, MA. He graduated as the Roll of Honor student from Falmouth High School in 1993, received his BA in Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government from The American University in Washington, DC in 1997 and earned his Masters of Public Administration from Suffolk University in Boston in 2004.

David has served as Falmouth Town Moderator since 1998 when he was elected the youngest town moderator in Falmouth's history and reportedly the second youngest in the history of the Commonwealth.

As a deputy sheriff, David is Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations & Citizen Corps for Barnstable County Sheriff James M. Cummings. He is an appointed member to the National Neighborhood Watch Advisory Council and the US Department of Justice's Terrorism Awareness and Prevention Program working group. David has also served as a disaster assistance employee with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In 2004, David became a founding trustee and vice chairman of the Marstons Mills East Horace Mann Charter Public School. David, an Eagle Scout, has also served as the Vice President of the Cape Cod & Islands Council of the Boy Scouts of America, as director of the Community Leadership Institute of Cape Cod and the Islands, and as a trustee of LIFE - Living Independently ForEver, Inc a nonprofit organization serving adults with learning disabilities.

In his free time David enjoys camping, mountain climbing, kayaking, and hiking. He is also known to hit the dance floor occasionally to swing dance to the big band tunes of Stage Door Canteen.