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June 2nd MeetUp at the Silver Star Diner in Norwalk
In addition to Jim Himes' campaign manager, several Democratic candidates for State Representative and State Senate spoke to attendees at the June 2nd MeetUp. All canddiates for the State Legislature are seeking funding from the Citizen’s Election Program – which provides campaign money to legislative candidates. Each candidate is required to raise a certain amount of money – some of which must come from local donors – in order to qualify for funding.
Every one of these candidates for State office is devoting their lives full-time to campaigning and letting voters know what they stand for. Every one of them is dedicated to efforts in
JIM HIMES
Connor Pfeifer, Jim Himes campaign manager gave the June 2nd MeetUp a quick overview of plans for Jim’s re-election campaign. First phase will identify and contact all Democratic voters who have voted consistently in the past few years in municipal, state and federal elections. Studies show that these are the “base voters” who will most reliably turn out at election time. The second phase will move on to independent voters who are also regulars at the polls. A program called CT Van will be used to find this information.
The Himes’ campaign plans to open several local campaign offices and will need volunteers to staff them as well as volunteers to make phone calls and knock on doors. Connor noted that campaigning for Jim would, and should, dovetail with campaigns for other Democratic candidates.
Along with the speakers that followed, Connor discussed what can be termed “the enthusiasm gap.” The greatest danger – and challenge - Democrats face in the coming election is low turnout because so many voters have become angry and disillusioned at what appears to be a continuance of the status quo. You can contact Connor at: volunteerhimesforcongress.com or Jim Himes in DC at: (202) 225-5541
MITCH FUCHS – 28th Senatorial District -
Mitch Fuchs is a former member of
The state’s serious problems are not being resolved by the current leadership Mitch said, and mortgaging our future by spending money we don’t have will push the state closer to bankruptcy.
Mitch said his goals would be to lower the state deficit and encourage job creation. At the risk of stating the obvious, Fuchs noted that right now Connecticut is losing jobs faster than any other state and, despite turning out highly educated people, we have a real “brain drain” that is killing our job market. Fuchs concluded that “This state is a wonderful place to live and we have to get out there, sell it and encourage people to work live here.”
Contact Mitch at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
JONATHAN STEINBERG – 136th District –
Government is necessary to perform certain tasks and it is up to legislators to make sure they perform them well Jon said. “I'm ready and prepared to take on the challenges ahead, to be an agent of significant change in
Although already working on his election strategy, John will be ramping up his campaign in August after the primaries when he can be more focused on his opposition. It will be a tough year for Democrats Jon but he is believes that his long record of service to the community will convince voters to support him. Here is John’s e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
DEBBIE BLANCHARD – 134th District –
Debbie Blanchard knows what it means to juggle kids and home and run a small business; she lives that life as the owner of an accounting resource firm and mother of three children, one of whom is still in grade school. She is a tireless advocate for education reform and is treasurer of the Executive Board of the Fairfield PTA Council and the Stratfield PTA Council.
Debbie believes that her accounting experience and ability to solve financial problems is her greatest practical asset as a candidate but just as important she said is her commitment to her community’s well being - and that makes her the best candidate to serve the needs of working families and small businesses. In fact, Debbie said, making it easier for small businesses to locate and work in the state would be a prime objective because growing small business is essential if the state’s economy is to recover.
Debbie has just begun her campaign and is challenging incumbent Tony Hwang and can be reached at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
ANNA DULEEP – 142nd District – Cranbury, Silvermine, Broad River, West Norwalk, Brookside
Harvard graduate,
Having a math oriented mind Anna researched the actual financial support Cafero has received for his campaigns and finds that – unlike the hundreds of small contributors to her own campaign – Larry Cafero is very dependent for his financing on substantial donations from a small group of lawyers at the high profile law firm where he himself works. It is to these donors that he owes his loyalty, not his constituents, and consequently his voting record over the years reflects where his interest lies.
Anna believes she can offer a combination of brains, perspective, integrity and local know-how that have become largely absent from the agenda of the incumbent. She already has her campaign staff in place and has been knocking on doors in her district for nearly two months now. Contact Anna at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
JOHN HARTWELL – 26th State Senatorial District –
John Hartwell is running against long time politico and present Republican incumbent Toni Boucher who he came very close to beating in the last state elections.
In his presentation John outlined the three principles that will guide his campaign:
- Share the pain 2) Protect the weak 3) Invest for the future.
John said that
John can be reached at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
We have some exciting speakers lined up so watch this space!!
Thirteen men and Mary Glassman!
Democracy for
(Note: Below this article on Mary Glassman you'll find the first in our three part series on tax reform in Connecticut. Property taxes are the third highest in the nation and are causing widespread loss of both residents and jobs in the state. In these articles Professor Fred Carstenson presents some practical solutions.)
4th in a series of interviews with prospective gubernatorial candidates
Democratic Candidate for Governor of Connecticut
Mary Glassman – A Woman Among Men
Mary Glassman is running for Democratic Governor of Connecticut and the fact that thirteen men are running against her doesn’t trouble her one bit! At the recent Democracy for
Born and raised in
The New Declaration of Independence from Corporate Interests
The New Declaration of Independence from Corporate Interests
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the bonds between those politicians who take money from corporations and other special interests and no longer serve the interests of the people they purport to represent, it also becomes necessary to declare the reasons which impel us to separate ourselves from them.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and are endowed with certain unalienable rights, that among these are the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We further hold that these inalienable rights do NOT apply to those entities other than individuals, be they corporations, unions or non-profit organizations. That the principle of one man one vote does not apply to any of these non-individuals and that any government that becomes corrupted and unduly influenced by these non-individuals no longer has the legitimacy upon which it was once based. That whenever any government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.
When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object of accruing the absolute dominance of corporate interests over the interests of the People, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of our People and such is now the necessity which calls upon us to change our political process and take back our Republic from the moneyed interests. The history of the growing rapacious oligarchy that has come to drive the United States of America to its collective knees is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations of power, all having in direct object the establishment of an increasing tyranny and domination over the citizens of the Republic. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
- American corporations have eliminated millions of jobs by moving operations overseas, thus benefitting a relatively few stockholders to the detriment of jobholders and drastically lowering tax revenue
- American corporations have spent tens of billions on lobbying and pedaling influence at all levels of government
- American financial corporations have swung government to deregulate their functions, allowing them to engage in high-risk secretive operations that cause deep recessions, bankrupt investors, and build ungainly fiefdoms that require taxpayer rescue
- American corporations, using the threat of offshore hiring, have kept real wages stagnant for four decades
- American corporations in the insurance sector have immorally and virtually fraudulently dispossessed millions of clients by denying or depriving them of health insurance, even after years of paying inflated premiums
- American corporations in the armament/ security sector have received sweetheart deals with scant oversight often based on politics, not the national interest, and have cheated and defrauded the government, only to be rewarded with more contracts.. Their influence perpetuates wars and leads to enormously expensive military misadventures that have killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of American troops and foreign civilians
- American corporations have led the fight against climate change, thus placing our planet and future generations of mankind at risk of a dramatically reduced quality of life. Instead of leading the world in green technology, they squander beneficial opportunities
- The right-wing branch of the Supreme Court has equated corporate money with the right to vote, thus virtually defranchising all individual voters and taxpayers
- Corporate influence over the years has succeeded in a massive transfer of wealth from the middle class to a handful of Americans with unprecedented tax breaks, thus further reducing government revenues that could provide programs in the public interest
- Concentrated corporate ownership of the media has severely compromised distribution of information. Misinformation dominates the media, hampering good decision-making
We, the people of the United States, have petitioned our representatives for many years but increasingly to no avail. The influence of corporate money has drowned out our collective voices and, with this recent Citizens United decision, our Supreme Court has basically told the citizens that corporate influence is now fully injected into the political process, bringing us close to a dictionary definition to fascism.
We have become a government of the corporation, by the corporation and for the corporation. We must re-establish the cherished freedoms enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and embodied in the Constitution. In that spirit we propose the following actions and commit ourselves to work for their implementation in every way our hearts and souls and bodies can muster:
We pledge to support with our money, volunteer effort and votes any progressive candidate who demonstrates political and financial independence from corporate sponsors by refusing to accept large contributions of any kind from “special interest” corporations or organizations. We say “enough is enough” and any candidate who becomes beholden to special interests is a candidate who is not free to vote in the public interest.
Goals
- Amend the Constitution to overturn the recent Supreme Court decision Citizens United vs FEC
- Change laws to prevent the corporate takeover codified and legalized in CU vs FEC
- Election of candidates who refuse to accept corporate or special interest money
Action Steps
- Look for common goals and actions with state, regional and national DFA organizations
- Attempt to join forces with other progressive organizations with similar grievances against special interests
- Form a national coalition to curb the influence of corporations and other powerful special interests
Links
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