City Council Openings

[Man in the Middle]

Well, now that Schede and Zerio are stepping aside, how does this fall's race start shaping up? Will the Dems keep full control, or will the Republicans, or maybe independents, have anyone to takes seats? And who will the Dems pick to run in the open seats?

[BillCarson436]

Arthur J Petrucelli


LOL

[Man in the Middle]

For Arthur J....

[BillCarson436]

Hello...

" Oh Reeeeally ? Let's ask my friend Mr. Zero..." LOL

Art was once an ELECTED Union Official with over 2/3rds
vote of the "membership" ...over 150 at that time.

Arthur was for almost 2 years ... as they say... a heartbeat away
fom being their Local's President as he was their Vice President.

So... either 2/3rds the Union membership at Cytec were complete
IDIOTS.... or they saw something in his..." way ".

Then again... electing him to a position...any position as a " protest
vote " against the current ? administrationm, would not be in the
best intrest of the City... but it sure would make meetings a heck of
a lot more fun !!!

[Man in the Middle]

In the R-J yesterday on the Mayor's uncertainty of running, it noted Dan Brunet is running as an R in the 3rd, Schede and Kogut's district. First one out, looks like.

[Man in the Middle]

So the R-J notes that Mark Benigni is on the fence re: running again, and even his old nemesis, Joe Marinan, is betting that he elects NOT to run.

Should he stay or should he go? Does being a mayor impact his educational job opportunities? Will being a father of 2 in diapers impact his ability to focus?

If he doesn't run, who will the Dems look to? And who will the Rs? Is anybody on the bench (besides Arthur J Petrucelli? :) )

[collie]

The mayor may opt to run with his "terms" being finally playing the role as the city charter requires; that of a ceremonial post only. In other words, he runs but makes it clear he's not putting as much time in as he used to.
The Republicans should run Shamock again, and if the Democrats don't have Benigni, Rohde might be interested. Not being a fan of Zerio, I was happy to see all the reasons he publically put forth in writing for not running for City Council. I always thought he was aiming for higher political office and am thankful he won't be running for mayor. The Democrats will probably win but the Republicans will have a better chance if Benigni doesn't run. Who would make the best mayor for Meriden? Probably Rob Clermont. Concerned Citizens could approach Clermont and run him as an Independent. However, maybe nobody should waste their time; the Democrats will win and we'll be stuck with another ceremonial mayor acting like he (you know the Dems aren't ready to run a woman in Meriden) has the power of the city manager. Having voted for Arlene Dunlop before (at least she comprehends the post is ceremonial and would fight for more open public comment at meetings) I'll do so again if faced with any of the above running for office.

[Man in the Middle]

Not being a fan of Zerio, I was happy to see all the reasons he publically put forth in writing for not running for City Council. I always thought he was aiming for higher political office and am thankful he won't be running for mayor.
(you know the Dems aren't ready to run a woman in Meriden)

Why would Zerio want to be mayor? He was stronger as majority leader? What other higher office did you think he wanted?

And, what women in town right now do you think would be good mayoral candidates? Four years ago, the Dems did nominate Laura Gallo, but Marinan primaried her and she lost. Anna Neumon ran as mayor on the Republican ticket several years ago, and she lost too. So it's not like the parties aren't putting up female candidates. Isn't it the voters who aren't accepting a woman just yet?

[tjohnl]

why bother -the city manager runs the show - bring back the 'strong mayor'

[collie]

Who the heck put that poll up? Must have been the Record Journal; Arlene Dunlop's name was left off the list. Man in the middle, did you cast the lone vote (only one person took the poll!) for Steve Zerio? I thought Zerio would like the mayor's position because it's run as if it was a strong mayoralship even though it's supposed to be ceremonial. A competent, hard woeking female candidate to run for mayor? That's a cinch - Hilda Santiago certainly fits the bill.

[Eastside Bill]

A poll with four respondents? Come on....why even bother posting it?

[Man in the Middle]

A poll with four respondents? Come on....why even bother posting it?
I thought it would be interesting to see how a straw poll this early might run. Already, Collie notes two people missing: Arline Dunlop and Councilwoman Hilda Santiage, which unfortunately can't be added because there's no edit once posted.
What's interesting is that it says there's been 181 views to this thread, and only 4 votes (were you one of them, Bill?). Sort of like the real election, where no-one comes out to vote in municipals, arguably a more important election to locals than the state or federal.

[JohnH]

I too am amazed by the number of views and only 4 votes, one of which is mine.

[jma]

To be honest with you, I couldn't figure out HOW to vote in this forum. I confess-I'm a computer idiot!!

[eds]

I'd vote for Arlene Dunlop. Libertarian for Mayor. Or City Manager. I would vote for her.

She called me a couple times and we talked. She is a nice person and I think she really should be City Manager.

Without a libertarian candidate on the ballot, I will not vote.

[Deb]

As someone else said earlier, the mayor's position is ceremonial so what's the difference? The city manager is the person running the show.

[UNiRAC]

I thought it would be interesting to see how a straw poll this early might run. Already, Collie notes two people missing: Arline Dunlop and Councilwoman Hilda Santiage, which unfortunately can't be added because there's no edit once posted.
What's interesting is that it says there's been 181 views to this thread, and only 4 votes (were you one of them, Bill?). Sort of like the real election, where no-one comes out to vote in municipals, arguably a more important election to locals than the state or federal.

I like to reserve my Right to Not Vote for the Lesser of two evils , but since some people don't know:eek: how to participate, I cast my vote for the Incumbent [among many other reasons]