We The People

[cherrybarbs]

Deserve To Have Our Voices Heard.we Like Many Other Voters Are Tired Of The Status Quo.it Is A Sign Of Relief That Descent Candidates From We The People Are Running Against The Tax And Spend Policies Of Our Present City Counselors.our Family And Neighbors Are Greatful To These People Who Took The Time To Listen And Offer Real Solutions.things Like An Unsupervised Skatepark That Has Destroyed Our Entire Neighborhood. Wasted Tax Money Like This Could Go To More Community Police Exposure.we Urge The Votes To Support We The People Candidates That Are Running In November.

[Eastside Bill]

Who is this "we" that you represent? There's something about an anonymous endorsement that doesn't carry much weight.

[cherrybarbs]

Walt Micowski ,Candidate for Mayor ,Joe Luca for area 1,Tom Greene for B.O.E. and Walt Shamock is going for council at large,these candidates are in my area. hope this helps you.

[SoxFan]

What, exactly, will "We the People" do???

[cherrybarbs]

For starters they want a tax freeze, we cant keep giving away freebes, they also want to bring back town meetings and a referendum on multi million dollar projects. Doughnut shops, fast food chains and big box stores are okay to have, but they do very little for the community. They're in every city and town across Amercia .The bread and butter of every town is your downtown area and your mom and pop shops , any manufactorers or real businesses are not going to come to a city with high taxes.This is why our surrounding towns do much better of bringing then in. I would like you find out whos running in your area and ask them the hardcore questions about how they're going to spend your tax money.

[SoxFan]

In my area we have Brian Daniels and Dan Brunet running; I do not believe there is a WTP candidate there. Tax freezes in theory are a good idea, but what happens when you have cut as far as you can go and there is still a shortfall? The Council made the tough decision this year to follow the City Manager's recommendation and lay people off, yet the net effect was still a tax increase. The lower mill rate, however, should foster further economic development as business was a "winner" in the revaluation. I too would like to see more small businesses open, but the reality is that most small businesses fail despite efforts by a city to encourage them.

[jaxma]

To be honest, I'm not sure how comfortable I am with the idea of bestowing my vote upon "We the People" who, based on this initial post, are apparently incapable of formulating a proper English sentence. ("Descent candidates?" "Counselors?")

[cherrybarbs]

I and my wife are just independent voters, tired of the two-party system, wasting our high taxes on fruitless projects. Did people forget about the power plant that destroyed half a mountain? And how many football/softball fields do we need? Look at the ones we have now, full of litter and graffiti. The parks and recreation dept. has a lot of people working there. Where are they all day? I only see them around Meriden at election time. And what about the 20 year deal for Rushford? Wait till you see that side of town in a few years. Then we have all day kindergarten, meaning, fulltime [DAYCARE] for about 8 million + dollars. The Mayor told us this Saturday, that they have more then enough Police to do the job, yet there spending close too $20,000 a week in overtime. I'm not a politician or do I ever want to be one, we just still care. And we are not leaving Meriden without a fight. The [We The People] candidates are the only ones willing to talk to us about these same issues that we have.

[Eastside Bill]

Does "We the People" have a website? It is difficult to get a grasp on what the platform is of the candidates except the representation here that the main plank is simply cutting taxes. I certainly don't want to pay more taxes but is that the sole focus? What do these candidates plan to do if they are elected?

[wtp2007]

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: If you're looking to make community service hours, you can make them on Election Day; Tuesday, November 6, 2007. If you're interested you can email voiceofvoters@yahoo.com for more information. Thank you.

[collie]

The democrats or republicans in Meriden don't have a "website" that I know of so why expect so much more from a small independent party. Certainly Record-Journal coverage on all the candidates has been really good, I thought, in terms of familiarizing voters with all the candidates and their slates. Essential reading if you're not voting a blind party ticket. There are a few in the We the People party I'll be voting for and I appreciate having more of a choice. Certainly it's more of a choice than we're going to see in the presidential election.

[cherrybarbs]

The democrats and republicans have a lot of money for advertising there candidates, they get it from big business and special interest groups who all ways want something in return. So independents party's have a hard time getting there name out ,other than going door to door and having small fund raisers. Most independents want to do the right thing for average person.This one party system in Meriden hasn't work for the average taxpayer,because local businesses got a small tax increase I think was about 15% which is still bad , while homeowners got stiff with a 70 to 115% increase.There needs to be a balance or simply stop wasting money.The state just cut a lot of grants for city's and towns,Meriden got hit pretty bad.So if the mayor and his counselors go though with all there pet projects, who's do think is going to pay for it.[THAT'S RIGHT WE ARE], lets stop this Tax and Spend Policy, Thank You for supporting. [WE THE PEOPLE]

[jaxma]

I still don't quite understand how We the People will seemingly avoid all tax increases/and issues...are you proposing a way of eliminating state mandates like reval and the larger economic forces that led to the increased burden on the residential portion of the tax base (and the respective cuts to the industrial and commercial sectors)?

I understand that a "tax increase" is troublesome, especially for those on a fixed income, but due to the dramatic increase in property value in CT overall between 2001 and 2006, and the lack of property value increase on the commercial and industrial sectors during that same time, the burden fell to the residential sector of the Meriden tax pool.

Consequently, in order to avoid such burdonsome increases, does this party plan to leave the constitutional confines of the State of Connecticut and declare Meriden independence? ;-) That really is the only way to avoid the State-mandated financial handcuff.

[wtp2007]

That being said, WTP has no intention of "... proposing a way of
eliminating state mandates like reval..." WTP takes exception with the
percentage of property value increases, without objective justification,
that City officials subjectively directed the revaluation consultant to
consider: 49%, 79% and in some cases 114%! State mandated property
revaluation every 5 years is what it is; however, it was Meriden City
officials who determined and set THE AMOUNT OF THE PROPERTY VALUE INCREASES!
It is our contention that City officials increased property values in
order to be able to lower the overall tax rate after 6 straight years
of increases to one of the highest in Connecticut. Consequently, while
the tax rate DECREASED, taxpayer's property tax bills(small business,
home and property - not autos) INCREASED. Call it political feel good
slight-of-hand!

As far as "... the larger economic forces that led to the increased
burden on the residential portion of the tax base," I would remind the
questioner that increased and questionable discretionary City spending
over the past 6 years has also contributed to the need for these
exorbitant property revaluations and resulting increase in tax revenue to cover
expenses. True, property values in Meriden, Connecticut and nationwide
did increase, but to what extent? Buying a property in Meriden used to
be a good deal because of lower-than-market property values and a
tolerable, although high-for-the-amount-of-services, tax rate. An
"average" percentage should have been considered, not a valuation based upon
inflated property values taken at the top of the housing market bubble in
late 2005/early 2006. With such an increase, City officials were able
to politically lower the tax rate and back into their budget numbers.
Unfortunately, the taxpayer still saw an increase in his/her tax
bill.

Lastly, WTP does not have a "...party plan to leave the constitutional
confines of the State of Connecticut..." Rather, we do plan to conduct
objective, Spending and Efficiency Audits of each Municipal Department
and the Board of Education, in an effort to get a true, objective
assessment of our financial situation and to better manage City spending
and to limit tax increases and the added burden on any one, particular
taxpayer group.

[eds]

that City officials subjectively directed the revaluation consultant to
consider: 49%, 79% and in some cases 114%! [...] however, it was Meriden City
officials who determined and set THE AMOUNT OF THE PROPERTY VALUE INCREASES!


I challenge that statement. You directly claim that city officials engaged in an illegal practice and unless you have concrete proof you are bordering on defamation. I find your statements to be full of vitriol and serve only to incite people into voting for your people without so much as offering any concrete solutions to the problem. You are playing the blame game very well. All you are trying to do is make this election based solely on increased taxes and yet offer no real solution to decreasing the budget. The city set the mill rate and that is the issue, not the value of the property which is set at fair market value.

The real issue is that when the property values increased, the mill rate should have decreased proportionally so that the tax bill was the same for every tax payer. No net increase. What really happened was called a margin increase of about 30% playing on the margin created by the increased property values. Meriden officials did not make the property values increase to some set amount they just thought up. What they did was increase taxes by 30% and give the taxpayers only some of the reduction in the mill rate. I will prove next that the mill rate should have been somewhere around 20 to 21 and not the 27 or so it is at now. The officials reduced the mill rate , sure, but not enough. It should have been reduced more. That is the plain issue, not the property values themselves. And you want us to vote for you? My proof follows.

Let's do some math. If your house full value was 125,000 you take 70% of that and you get 87,500. The former inner city mill rate was about 44 mils. That gives you an annual tax bill of 3,850. After the revaluation, let's say the increase was 114%, as you say. Your house is now worth 267, 500. The taxable amount is 70% so that makes your value 187,250. The new mill rate is about 27 so your tax bill is now about 5,055 which is an increase of about 30% using the formula ((5,055-3850)/3850). The new mill rate should have been around 20 to 21 so that the tax bill would be about the same.

What we need to do is determine if the extra 30% in taxes will give us an extra 30% in value. If we reduced the budget by 30% we would not need that increase. If you look at inflation which is about 3-5% annually, that is what the budget would increase by. Not counting health care, because that is going through the roof. Even so, 30%???

What is WTP going to do about that beside coming up with outrageous accusations just to get elected? Let's talk serious numbers and serious facts. You say you would do an audit of the departments, cut spending, etc...but how? The budget numbers are a matter of public record. Put forth a plan that talks numbers and facts. Which budget line items are you going to reduce? What projects will you cut out? Falcon Field? Downtown revitalization? What? Please talk specifics. Audits and studies are cheap talk.

[jaxma]

I think that the point that is being missed in this forum is that taxes did not go up overall- the amount of local property taxes in the 07-08 budget was $1.2 million less than the amount of taxes in the preceding year.

For every dollar of increased taxes due to revaluation on residential property, there was more than a dollar of corresponding decreased taxes on commercial and industrial property and on motor vehicles and equipment.

Meriden homeowners with smaller increases in the value of their residence and relatively new, more expensive motor vehicles had their overall tax bill decrease.

"Eds", it's nice to see an intelligent and reasonable response on this forum. However, you also should keep in mind that residential value increased at a greater rate than other types of property, which is why the mill rate was not reduced proportionately to the increase in residential property alone. (This is an often overlooked fact that may help the people understand the situation here.)

Also, in response to the "WTP2007"'s questions about the City budget, including the Board of Ed: you should know that non-education City spending decreased by $490,000 and that the entire increase in education spending was funded by increased education funding from the State. (This is common info.)

So, in conclusion, as we seemed to have beaten this topic to death lately, the City of Meriden is NOT collecting and spending extra money because of revaluation. We all need to remember that residential taxes have gone up because of revaluation because residential property increased at at greater rate than the commercial and industrial sectors due to larger economic forces, not because of increased City spending.

[eds]

"Eds", it's nice to see an intelligent and reasonable response on this forum. However, you also should keep in mind that residential value increased at a greater rate than other types of property, which is why the mill rate was not reduced proportionately to the increase in residential property alone.

Thanks. That is true. Its nice to know about the disproportionate nature of property taxes. It helps to understand why the increase happened but no one has told me what items of the budget they would cut, if any. We don't need any fancy, schmaltzy audits and studies. We need results.



I think that the point that is being missed in this forum is that taxes did not go up overall- the amount of local property taxes in the 07-08 budget was $1.2 million less than the amount of taxes in the preceding year.


Yes the single year decrease went from $104,038,963 (FY 2006-2007) to $102,850,345 (FY 2007-2008) which is as you say a difference of $1,188,618 or about $1.2 million.

However when comparing FY 2004-2005 to now the overall net increase was $10,862,228 or about 11 million dollars. Which is an increase of 11.8% over 4 fiscal years or about 3% every year. Which is fine when you look at the numbers in terms of percent increases. The shift in tax burden is what people are complaining about. Now each individual in Meriden is responsible for a greater share of the same pie, so to speak.

Here is a link to the fiscal year 2007-2008 budget:
http://www.cityofmeriden.org/forms/customer-files/232-FY2008AdoptedBudget.htm

If WTP wants my vote, tell me line by line what to cut to make the budget more appropriate. We need to cut things out. What I do not know. That is why I am not running for office. We need to be more responsible with the private citizens money now that the money is coming from hard working people without the deep pockets of large corporations. Its a well known fact that when there are big business in town, the residential share of the budget burden is lower.

If WTP cannot say how they will help the residents, like me, they should quit belaboring the increase in taxes. Because the increase as I have shown is not there. The increase comes, as you so correctly pointed out, from the disporoportionate nature of the overall tax burden. Which to put it in plain English, Joe Citizen and Jim Corporation used to pay say 50/50 on a bill totalling for sake of argument 1 million dollars. Now Joe Citizen and Jim Coporation pay 70/30 split of the same 1 million dollar bill. Joe Citizen saw his taxes increase by 20% in this example. It does not matter that the overall bill stayed the same. That piece of knowledge won't make writing the check out any easier.

If WTP is complaining as is everyone else about higher taxes, then take the numbers I gave in the link above and tell me what they will cut. If no cuts can be made then we the taxpayers must pay the bill. Period.

[cherrybarbs]

I'm one of those Joe citizen, I don't have all the facts on every dept. I do know they're is alot of back door deals that aren't on public records,some of them are. The city bought a building in downtown for $200,000 and renovated it with $300,000 ,then sold it for for $50,000 ? Another is, the Koguts put flowers pots all over Meriden with no bidding. Seeing that they work for the city, I would call that a conflict of interest. And how about the so called caretakers that live rent free at our parks ? This city also spent 20,0000 dollars with a bond to revitalize downtown, and what do we got to show for it. Bump outs, a Police station with insufficient parking ,antique light poles which the bulbs burn out constantly. It was nice that middlesex collage move form broad st to downtown, I don't why the Mayor and his council are taking credit for that one. They ask them if they could go there, lastly a bond is another word for a credit card and we are just about payed off that $20,0000 dollar downtown project, with interest ,we payed about 38,0000+ dollars for that mess we got there now . GIVE ME A BREAK :mad:

[eds]

I think everything non-essential should be a vote.

Did the town's people vote for revitalization of downtown? Buying the building? The price at which to sell? Rent free living? The charge for flower pots (unless they were donated)? Etc...

It's the people's money. Unless its absolutely required meaning life limb property would be lost, emergencies etc...then we need to all vote on the expenditures.

Maybe I am too idealistic or over simplifying, perhaps.

[Man in the Middle]

What EDS suggests is to go back to the days of the town meeting, a staple of New England in a bygone era, but for a City, this is unrealistic.

We have a representative democracy on all of our governmental levels: local, state and federal. We've chosen this form because no-one has the time to devote to the issues the public brings forth on a regular basis. We choose our leaders based on our opinion of what their judgment and decision-making capability is, on a wide-ranging level of topics. Some we elect are good, some are not. The key is to find those good ones and GET THEM ELECTED.

Sadly, though, less and less people are voting today, and it's the lowest on the public level, where teh impact on day to day life is so much stronger. So, you have fewer people making decisions on who should decide for the public as it is. The Town Meeting would enjoy even less attendance, I would wager. Then you really have the minority running the show.

[eds]

Is it that people are not voting, or that the political process is unable to generate candidates that are worth voting for. The vast political machine weeds out more qualified candidates due to lack of funding, or lack of press. If you or I were to try to run for president, we would need to find a way to get our names on the ballot on all 50 states. Something the Libertarian Party itself tries desperately to do each election and it is wrought with legal battles and difficulty. Were you or I try to we would spend countless dollars before we even got name recognition enough to justify the vote itself. We as common people could not possible run.

Therefore, we are left with choosing from crappy or crappier. This presidential election I find one candidate I really like, but that candidate has a better chance of getting hit by lightening than being elected, even if the polls are dead wrong. Its not even close.

So come election time my guess is that its Guiliani or Clinton. And to me that's no choice either way for me. At the local level its Democrats or We the People with maybe a Republican or two thrown in. Do we vote a We the People ticket because we're mad and out of spite we throw the incumbents out? Do we run that risk or the risk of letting the status quo remain? A thinking person would need to weigh these risks and not just vote with anger.

At least when there is a referendum, like in Southington or Chesire where this guy got enough petitions to put it to referendum the decision of letting seniors get a break on property taxes. It was something like that. Everyone turned out because there was a clear issue at hand, a clear problem that everyone could focus on and clear response, yes or no. It wasn't some ambiguous nebulous thing encompassing multiple issues, platforms and people.

With every vote we run the risk of ambivalence. But eventually when things aren't going the way people want, turn out will increase. But only when clear issues and resolutions are presented. If you ask a child what do they want to eat, you might get all kinds of answers. But if you limit the choices to "Burgers" or "Pizza" you'll a choice in the range you expect.

If we put to referendum the choice of delaying the property tax increase over a course of two years, or implementing it all at once, there probably would be a different tax bill on people's desks.

Also, voting itself is very hard. We need to take time out and go to a place we don't normally go, at a time we don't normally go, and then stand in line waiting to cast a ballot. Its not efficient and its not streamlined. If you could vote online, and be guaranteed of no tampering, more people would vote. Tampering is probably rampant in the current election process. What more would happen online, realistically. We would still have the booths for those who either can't or won't use the Internet. But in any case, online voting would increase the number of voting participants. That and offering us better candidates.

[Man in the Middle]

Is it that people are not voting, or that the political process is unable to generate candidates that are worth voting for.

Which is why Churchill said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.

I didn't weigh in too much on the state and federal level. I'm talking local. We had a charter revision this past year, and some (well maybe the disenfranchised few) will say it was a sham. But it went through the process, with public hearings, press, etc....and the people voted to accept the commission's recommendation. Not a lot of people, but the majority of those few who did. So, if the public isn't going to take a position on the charter (they could have voted no, start over) I'm scared to death what they'll do with referendums. And I acknowledge that the power of referendum is strong, and the people's right.

Most people do not care what goes on in their community for the greater good. They get riled up on one issue agendas. Those who run often do so to give something back, but get jaded very quickly. What's left then is the chaff, not the wheat. Sad...

[eds]

True...but I have nothing better to offer. Society is a complex machine.

[cherrybarbs]

Anyone wishing to see what the We The People candidates have to offer the good citizens of Meriden. You can watch them on Cox public access, channel 15, tonight at 6:00 pm. I know they have something better for us , than the smoke and mirror's, this Mayor and his Council are telling us.Only if they believed election time was every month, not just in November, they would do the right thing for the taxpayers of this city. Then again ,most likely not, having dealt with them this whole yr + on going issues in our community that affects all of Meriden. And nothing has changed. Meriden belongs to all of us ,something they must have forgot. [ Thank You ] Kevin

[Golden Gooch]

Having grown up here , I belive that we can make Meriden as good as we can by all of us getting involved and pulling toghther.

[cherrybarbs]

The debate went ok ,it was mostly about high taxes, the downtown area, the mills and the hub.I think Mayor Mark Benigni, was the worst of them all ,over confident ,arrogant and smug.The democrats used the same smoke screen, all is well ,very little crime and they were proud to bring in new businesses, like donut shops, box stores and fast food chains. In other words if they are elected again expect another tax increase for 2008 and as far the Republicans they just repented what the[ We The People] candidates have been saying all along. The moderator, Ralph Tomaselli did a fine job,considering what he had to work with.We have a real good chance to change things at city hall, I hope people go out and vote this year.

[eds]

The more big box stores we bring in, the more donut shops and commercial ventures we bring in, the more the tax burden will shift from residential to commercial.

The budget went down this year by $1.2 million. Residential tax increased because the total value of commercial property is less than the total value of residential property. If we want to change that we need to get more commercial ventures in town. Or reduce the number of residential properties. It's called math. Not spin. We needed to make the mill rate 20 or 21 to keep the same tax bill for residents. How could we have done that without cuts? Technically the mill rate did not go up, but did not go down to what it could have. The reason: The budget. So people say cut the budget, but where? What do we cut? And I don't want to hear this baloney about back door deals and things no one ever saw. If we can't cut the budget, then we must pay.

The debate did nothing to reveal the WTP plans yet past history of the incumbents is evident. I still wait for someone to tell me why WTP is better. My taxes went up just like everyone else's. To me, that's life.

[collie]

I'm looking forward to watching the debate on public access - caught the Board of Education debate on yesterday and really enjoyed it! The article in today's paper was fascinating re the Washington Middle School debates; it will be fun to see it in its entirety.

[cherrybarbs]

After being involved in politics for some time now ,I got to say I learned alot about the two party system,basically we are pawns in there game, I was at city hall when I heard a employee say whats happening to this city is a disgrace too all taxpayers, here's a few of them. There is no one that's has P7 license working on falcon field, yet there putting in the sewers and drains. That's like having unlicensed contractor build your house with no accountability if something goes wrong. If you look at the States archives for the V.M.M.C. on Paddock Ave, which the City gave away to Rushford. That deal was set in stone in January 2007, did anyone ask why Cris Donavon just happen to show up the day the Mayor and his Councilors were set to vote on it.Now lets take look at the brand new Lincoln middle school . Walt Micowski who's running for Mayor, was totally against building that new. I can see why now, it was over price , the roof has leaks in it already ,and there's a flooding issue on the east side of the building. So with the money spent on that one new school, we could have rehab both Lincoln and half of Platt high school. That's just the tip of the iceberg, and I did say donut shops and big box stores are ok to have,but these multimillion dollar company's do there research before they come to town,and if there's money to be made,it doesn't matter what party is in office. But this Mayor and Councilors are take credit for something that's coming sooner or later. How about the 20+ real business that where here, alot of them went to our surrounding towns that have lower tax rate then us . The fact that people believe taxes go up every year because they have too,I would like to tell you that other big city's like New Britain didn't have a tax increase in 3 years, yet Meriden is working on there 8 straight year,you simply cannot spend more then you have.Did you that every child born in Meriden owes this city $1200 to $1500 dollars and then they say we have a good bond rate. I do have to say I understand why alot of people don't vote anymore, I'm glad I have a choose this year or I would have been one of them too.

[eds]

Now lets take look at the brand new Lincoln middle school . Walt Micowski who's running for Mayor, was totally against building that new. I can see why now, it was over price , the roof has leaks in it already ,and there's a flooding issue on the east side of the building. So with the money spent on that one new school, we could have rehab both Lincoln and half of Platt high school.

I personally thought it was a good idea to rebuild the school from scratch. You don't slap a new paint job on a rusty car. You buy a new one. It cheaper in the long run. That's the problem I see. No one in WTP wants to invest in the city long term. You have to spend money to do that. Any project will have problems. To expect a perfect outcome is unrealistic.



the fact that people believe taxes go up every year because they have too,I would like to tell you that other big city's like New Britain didn't have a tax increase in 3 years, yet Meriden is working on there 8 straight year,you simply cannot spend more then you have.Did you that every child born in Meriden owes this city $1200 to $1500 dollars and then they say we have a good bond rate.

New Britian and Meriden are fairly similiar demographically so I took the liberty to look for their budget online.

New Britain's budget link
http://www.new-britain.net/PDF/FY08GF-Summary.pdf

Correct me if I am wrong, but if you look at the total state grant column, they took in $98 million in state grants. Looking at Meriden's indirect revenue, which contains some grants, its about $74 million. Its not broken out the same so I am making an interpretation here. New Britian received $20 million more indirect revenue, i.e. grants than Meriden did. Had we received more revenue from the state, perhaps our taxes would be lower. So is that the council or our State Representatives fault?

You say we can't keep spending spending spending. But it seems people have a one track mind. All people are looking at is what they paid last year and what they paid this year in taxes. No one wants to spend a dime more. They're not looking at the big picture. We need to invest in our community. Capital expenditures are necessary and needed. Aren't we proud of our community? We really need to clean up Meriden even more. Remove blighted property. Make it a place people want to move to, not out of. Meriden has improved very much so far, but we need to keep improving, keep investing.

Hey I pay taxes too. They went up just like everyone else's did. I think its justified. So I pay it. Until someone shows me otherwise. I will be watching the WTP tonight to see what they might say.

[eds]

I just finished watching the Voice of the People and this is my opinion about what they said. The more I listen to these folks the more I realize they are what's wrong for Meriden. It's a total outrage what the WTP candidates say. What's with Luca and the flag in the background? Were it me, I would have worn a jacket and tie. We don't need clowns on the council. These people are the same people involved with the Concerned Citizens meetings and those meetings were nothing more than venting sessions.

They talked about buildings being bought and sold at a loss. What they don't say is that in order to renovate these buildings to sell for what they were worth it would have cost tax payers millions. So the council brought in private money to do that and as an incentive the cost of the building was lower. There were stipulations in the sale to ensure the buildings would be used and renovated.

They talked about education and the fact that the superintendant gets a $5000 stipend for travel. Ok so? Say you cut that out. How will we attract top talent to that position? With peanuts? There needs to be incentives for that level of expertise.

We spend $11,000 a year per student, the most in the area according the WTP candidates speaking. Yet our SAT and test scores are the lowest in the area. According to WTP themselves. They say the answer is not spending more money. So what is the answer? They want performance based pay. That is certainly not the answer. All that will do is encourage teachers to be lax and give higher grades just to make their pay. That has happened in every place that has been tried. Learning is a two way street. Students should also be held accountable. We really should privatize education.

It gets better. The WTP candidates hate the idea of a full day kindergarten. Yet they want to increase test scores. The sooner we get students into the classroom, the sooner we get them learning, the better the scores will be. That's innovation. They talk innovation, yet because no other town in the area is doing full day kindergarten, they say we shouldn't either. Full day kindergarten is the only innovative idea I've heard of that makes sense. And WTP wants to axe it. Please.

They want to take away medical benefits for paraprofessionals to reduce costs. And how will these people get health care? Go on Husky where my state tax dollars can fund them? That's just a shell game. That is not the answer to lowering taxes. Lowering the cost of welfare is the way to do that. Getting people back to work, that's how you lower the taxes. The more taxpayers there are, the less each person has to pay.

They talked about the aging schools. The original Lincoln was the same school my mother in law went to and she's in her 60s. Classrooms need Internet connections to keep up with technology. How would we wire an old school? Forget wireless, it does not work well through cement. Wiring a new building is far easier and far more cost effective. Sometimes trying to renovate, costs more in the long run. More in labor and unseen costs. But its easier to hide those costs from the taxpayers. Again, smoke and mirrors.

A brand new school will last a lot longer than simple renovations will. Down the road, had we just renovated, we would have had to renovate again. Now this school will last another 50 years without much work being put into it. Or should be trying to patch the same repair over and over again. Duct tape only goes so far.

They talked term limits. Let the people decide that. They take one statement the mayor made out of context, and they use it against him. Let the mudslinging begin. We don't need that.

They want to give tax abatements to attract businesses to downtown area. That takes the cake. How will we ever get the residential portion of the tax bill shifted back to commercial entities if we give them abatements? Abatements mean these WTP candidates want to LOWER the taxes for commercial entities and do what for the residents? We need to attract more affluent residents to the area so that higher end business will come. Those are the facts and the plain hard truth of the matter no one else will say.

They talked about attracting viable businesses to downtown area like Starbucks and Lowes. And displace the mom and pop businesses that are already in the downtown area? What about them?

They say there is no crime in the downtown area, yet my mother in laws car was spraypainted tonight not more than 5 minutes ago. It had the letters WCD. If I catch these people I'll paint 45 ACP on their asses. They said there was no crime downtown. Yeah, right.

They say there is plenty of police, yet I spoke with Chief Cosette and he said he does not have enough manpower to do radar patrols on my street. Hmmm...something smells fishy and it ain't downtown.

We have the largest land area among all the towns. We absolutely do not have enough police on the force. The WTP complained about litter and jaywalking and why no one was cited for these crimes. Why are the bus stops are full of litter like diapers? Well...you answered your own question. The police are stretched to the limit and they can't even write jaywalking tickets. Yet they say there are plenty of police.

They say there is no crime downtown because nothing is happening downtown. What kind of logic is that? So we increase the activity downtown and that is going to increase the crime? Is that what they are saying? Are we trying to attract crime or business?

They want to focus on downtown development by attracting more retail to the area. Have you looked at the demographics of that area. Who in that area can afford $7 coffee at Starbucks? Does that area need a Lowes, like they proposed? To do home improvements to what houses? Focus on the demographics of the area, change the demographics, and then you have a customer base to work from. There is a reason the Starbucks and Lowes are where they are in Meriden.

They want to clean up Meriden. Again, look at the demographics and then you tell me how to clean up the town. It's not the litter that's the issue. Start with the teens walking down the middle of the street, not getting out of the way. WTP brought that up. Their words. Not mine. Cleaning up the streets will take more police presence. With what police? And what pay. They want more from the police with the same people. How will they fund the overtime?

So far at this point I still see no comprehensive plan to do anything different. No radical changes. No innovations. Just a shell game moving money around to give the impression of doing something. Instead of spending money in one place, they want to spend it in another. They'll claim cuts in one area, and just spend it in another. Instead of spending the money to invest in the improvement of the city by creating real change, its just smoke and mirrors. The real work is being done already. We are working to change the demographics of this town. Removing the blight. Will it ever be like it was? Maybe. But the WTP is not the way to get there. I think its just someone's lame idea to get re-elected.

[cherrybarbs]

The fact of the matter is that, Walt Shamock says, he does'nt believe we need more police officers and Walt Micowski thinks that we do. You see now they can have a dialogue and check the facts, not only with the Chief of Police , but also with the Police Officers working the beat. This is why we need an independent party in Meriden. Rubber stamping everything because you belong to one party or another, isn't in the best interest of the tax payers.And when the Mayor and his counselors say crime is down, that goes to show you they'll say anything to get elected.The facts are crime is up in every town and city across America, but not here? Even the F.B.I. says so, http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel06/prelim2005061206.htm, plus I have a Police scanner,so unfortunately I know the truth about the crime in this city, that the Public will never hear about. An uneducated taxpayer/voter is their best defense they have, to keep doing what they want. If that isn't enough for you take drive down West Main ST to downtown Meriden on any giving day. If you like what you hear and see, you can vote for more of the same. Plus pay higher Taxes. Or you can Vote for [WE THE PEOPLE] and take back our City, that belongs to all of us that [Lives] here. Thank You ,too all the people that will go out and vote this year.

[eds]

Your FBI facts are a bit old. And you bring out the tax card again.

Nevertheless, I will address the crime argument. The majority of crime in Meriden involves larceny, theft , burglary, etc. The report indicates violent crime is up 2.5%. That is the usual year-to-year variation we see plus or minus. The report also states the 1.6% DROP in property crime offenses. Again a statistical zero change from 2004 - 2005. Those are the stats.

Crime is not going up and up and up and its not going down and down and down. I don't think any political party can claim to be the godsend to ending crime.

Most of the stuff you hear on the scanner is petty stuff. Scanner chatter is no indication of crime stats.

Nevertheless we do need more police. To at minimum, maintain the status quo and perhaps made strides toward lowering the amount of crime to something more than a statistical zero. The fact the change in crime is at a statistical zero, the amount of crime which is ever present, is still something more police would be able to address better.

[Eastside Bill]

I happened to catch some of the mayoral debate on one of the public access channels and Micowski was not at all impressive. I didn't hear one new idea, just a litany of things he's against, boiling down to taxes and spending. Who isn't against paying less taxes, but a one note focus is not a strong foundation for managing a city. I didn't get any sense of what he would do beyond reducing taxes and cutting spending on city services. He also didn't seem to have a grasp of what the city does because of state requirements. If he had any proactive ideas or plans, I didn't hear them. I'd would want to hear what he plans to do to run the city after he reduces the income flow and that seemed to be missing.

[collie]

Are you so sure a ceremonial mayor has so much control over those issues anyway? He gets a vote only in tie breakers that don't come up that often.

[cherrybarbs]

Not so, the Mayor has veto power over the budget,I think he used it once since he'd been in office. But just the fact that he's running again, after he said on his platform in 2001, two terms would be his limit. After that he becomes part of the problem not part of the solution, that's when he ran as a Republican. I bring up the tax issuse, because theres a lot of people that can't afford it. I hope on his tour through the City today he and his Council saw the number of for sale signs. I even saw one that was odd, re elect Mark Benigni on a foreclosed house. I know the Democrats want to keep in power, especially when you see the them raise $18,000+ for one Council seat, that's on heard of. I wonder if money can really buy an election. I know it does on the Federal level, but a small city like ours. Well it's almost over, then it will be back to Business as usual, unless [WE THE PEOPLE] win ;)

[eds]

Regarding the statement of "can't afford it", in the previous post, I take exception to.

Crying poverty and expecting a handout is not the way to pay one's bills. I am talking the able bodied person. Not the elderly, not the paraplegic who truly cannot work, or other similar person. I mean the person you see who just sits around whining all the time and has a book of excuses to back them up.

What are able bodied working people, who claim they cannot afford the taxes, doing to improve their situation? Are they getting educated? Are they trying to advance their career to something that pays better? Or do they make excuses? Sometimes the choices you make in life are like dominoes. One poor decision can affect someone the rest of their life. It can make it harder and harder to get out the hole they keep digging for themselves.

Attending the town meetings, voting, and getting involved is a better approach when you see things going the wrong way in your town. No matter what people may say, disagree on whatever you want, but get involved. I have to say, no matter my opinion on the WTP I have to admit that at least they are getting involved. People who just whine do not provide a solution to the problem. Whining does not solve issues.

I am not trying to be a hard ass. But too many times I see people who appear perfectly capable, yet for some reason, have excuses as to why they can't work, why they can't get educated, why they cannot manage their money and afford the necessary things they need to. Some people spend their money on the things they want, not the things they need. They run up large credit card debts. All because no one taught them, or they did not teach themselves, how to manage money.

They say its the system, the "man", or some other reason that only shifts the blame from personal responsibility to some other entity. There are some things in this world that happen which are truly not someone's fault. But those things certainly cannot account for everyone's misfortunes. People can be their own worst enemy sometimes.

When we provide handouts we only enable poor behavior and cause them to become beholden to hand outs for lack of motivation to achieve better results in their life. The handout becomes a drug and the addiction is hard to break.

[Tino3]

Cherrybarb--Some of your frustration is justified but for the most part, the people involved in the city, live in the city, and volunteer for the city want what's best for Meriden. Real estate values go up and down. As for the planters, many (maybe all) are donated by local businesses. That's a tradition that started in the 90s with Community Vision. I think generally the politicians in this city really care about doing the best for Meriden. Sure, they could be more careful about how they spend money and that's where We the People should be given credit. The more feedback politicians are given the better they represent the average citizen--and your group is giving feedback--And that's a good thing.

[wtp2007]

The We The People candidates, would like to Thank the citizens of Meriden who supported us. We hope we have given the voters something to think about. A special Thanks to www.Myrecord-journal.com, for allowing us, to use this forum. Its a valuable asset, that serves our community well. May the best candidates win. THANK YOU AND MAY GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

[radiotriphammer]

This is a short news story I did on Tom.

Tom Greene's Campaign (http://youtube.com/watch?v=pTXSXp15dDU)

Josh

[collie]

Good job, Josh!

[radiotriphammer]

Thanks a lot! I'm a recent CSB grad trying to get my feet wet in the business and I'm working on a demo. Tom happened to be right there on Sunday and I took the opportunity.

He seems like a nice, incredibly honest guy. I sure hope he wins tonight.

[Scouter]

I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate Walter Shamock who today won a seat in the at-large City Council race.

Before I went out in the rain to the polling location today I did some research on the candidates. I reviewed their positions and watched a video clip from the council debate. Former at-large Councilor Patricia Lynes gave a "political" speech that I would equate to being over the heads of the common man of Meriden. During the debate Walter Shamock made his positions known in a simple manner. I felt that I knew what he stood for.

I am affiliated with a political party but not active within it. I don't vote along party lines because that is plain stupidity. I vote for the individuals who I feel can best represent my community. I rarely vote for candidates in a third party because they are often filled with wing-nuts whose views are often so ridiculous no one takes them seriously. Most of the other candidates in We The People I would lump into the extreme category. In most cases I would not waste a vote with a third party but Walter Shamock really left an impact with me that he is someone that will truly be a barrier or at least an opposite opinion from the opinions formed in the democratic caucus that runs our city. So today I dabbled and voted for Walter because he stood out as someone who truly could make a difference.

In my opinion republicans and the We The People party need to run stronger candidates if they think they can unseat a successful democratic machine that runs our city. Where did these parties get some of these candidates from? One of the We the People candidates was talking about a pet project of the Humane Society as a platform.... (humans first animals second is all I have to say.) The Republican Party not running a mayoral candidate...what's up with that? Even though Mark Benigni is an awesome mayor maybe the republicans should have endorsed a candidate who might make an awesome mayor as well.

Having one non-Democrat councilor on the city council is a chink in the armor of the democratic machine. This councilor can both make an impact on the council and make people realize the importance of minority insight or can put a nail in the coffin of any future, realistic third party council runs. Keeping their presence on the council as professional, inquisitive, and non-combative will earn the We the People party future votes.

I am glad that Patricia Lynes has ended her twelve year term as a city councilor and am very pleased that Walter Shamock was elected onto the council. We will certainly see what a third party impact within the city council will be. One voice will not change the way Meriden does business (or taxes business and residents) but it will give a different perspective a platform.

I don't know you from a hole in the wall Walter but congratulations on your election to the at-large Council seat.

[Scouter]

Dear We The People,

Thanks for screwing up the Area 3 council member election. Here you had a prime opportunity for a non-democrat to be elected to the seat and you blew it. Brian Daniels (D) won the election with 1590 votes, followed by Daniel Brunet (R) with 1302 votes and then Diane Morenze (WTP) with 553 votes. Knowing that area 3 was a highly contested area and sensing that your candidate was not picking up critical mass to be elected perhaps you should have backed out and thrown your support to Brunet in the week or so before the election. While not all of your electorate population would follow the lead we would have only needed 300 or so to have change in Meriden. "You the People" blew it and let down "We the People" who were looking for a more diverse city council.

By the way... if the Republicans and We The People worked together the Council Area 4 and Council Area 2 election could have been won by either a republican or We the People candidate.

This is a downside of third parties in that they sometimes hinder positive change as they quest to simply get their message out there. One diverse voice on the council is better than none... yay Shamock... but two, three or four diverse voices would have been better.

According to an article on the Meriden Mayoral campaign Micowski said: "It looks like we got 1 percent of our vote," which would establish We the People as a minor party in Meriden. "We gave people an alternative and the Democrats had to run a campaign. We'll meet toward the end of the week to see how we're going to move forward."

To Micowski and the We the People party, sure your message is out there, you might become an official third party....was it worth it? This was done all at the cost your party and the Republican Party getting destroyed during the election.

[Man in the Middle]

Adroit observation, Scouter, on where WTP and the Republicans went awry. I don't agree that Keith Gordon would have been defeated if there were only one opponent, but the two who opposed him definitely cancelled each other out. Marenz was Brunet's spoiler in the third, and it's hard to believe that someone in either minor party couldn't have seen that coming. That WTP felt that was the best way to win a seat from the Dems is incredulous. And Daniels spent, what, $18K? That too is incredulous for a district race. And it only got him a 200 vote plurality.

Shamock won, and he owes nothing now to the party that supported him for years. But if Zerio ran, Shamock more than likely would have been odd man out, and it would have been a tug of war between Thorp and Lynes.

I don't see Shamock doing anything more than he did in his earlier terms, which is to just say no to the BOE. He brings no new ideas to the table that will prepare Meriden for the future, but clearly, that resonates with some part of the City. But let's be realistic, he represents no mandate.

Meriden likes what the Dems are doing with the City. On to the state and presidential elections next year. Those campaigns start tomorrow.

[eds]

Shamock is Mr Republican. Shamock got in because he's Shamock and he has a history. Had Marinan run for office, he would have won by a landslide.

Marinan was known for welfare reform. In his words "If you don't want to work and you don't want to go to school, if you want to sell drugs, we don't want you in Meriden anyway," Mr. Marinan said. "If I lose some poor people, it'll never match the number of middle class people we've lost. That may sound harsh, but there are always some casualties in any great effort, and I think this is a great effort, a noble effort to save a great city."

When Shamock was minority leader, he often agreed with Marinan on social services and welfare.
Regarding Marinan, Shamock said, "We don't always see eye to eye, but when it comes to social services and welfare we generally agree," Mr. Shamock said. "He's a Republican at heart."

So I don't think Shamock brings anything different now that's he's WTP. It was just a vehicle to get him elected again. If he keeps to his history maybe the riff-raff will get swept from Meriden and the middle class will be able to get back on its feet.

Quotes taken from NY Times article published March 26, 1995.

[HurlingFrootmig]

I guess Meriden is always going to be run by Democrats. Why work, vote Democrat.:rolleyes:

[Scouter]

It's clear from the election results that Meriden could swing from being a city of democrats to a bipartisan council. To say that the democrats will always have complete control of the council is a stretch. I think that if the We The People Party and the Republican Party worked together and if they really stepped up the quality of candidate running there would be a good chance to have seats won on the city council.

While it would be difficult for the current Democratic crop to be removed from office entirely (which would be a bad thing) it is not out of the question to have a fairly good size minority party on the council to voice opposing and shared views. Having one political party in control of local government is never a good thing regardless of what party has the majority.

Why work? We have to in order to afford the increased tax burdon the council has placed on us this past year.

[eds]

WTP essentially lost by margin of 2 to 1. This is not a dawning of a new age just because Shamock got elected. By a slim margin I might add. Shamock didn't need WTP, they needed him.

Shamock got in because he spent 16 years as a Republican councilor and at times there was only two Republicans on the council during that time.

The current crop of Democrats are essentially Southern Democrat conservatives. So how much more conservative can Shamock be? Marinan started cleaning up Meriden in the 90s and Shamock will continue that and so will Benigni. WTP brought nothing new to that equations except to provide a platform perhaps to Shamock. And the voters showed that in their decision.

Marinan and Shamock support the American middle class, or anyone who works for a living, whether they make $35,000 or $200,000 annually. This includes everyone from factory workers, electricians, and machinists to doctors, lawyers, engineers, and teachers. In others, working people.

Shamock won just like Lieberman did. On his name and reputation. People in Meriden, and CT in general, vote the person, not the party. That is why there are so many unaffiliated voters.

The quality candidates are already in office today. After Luca jumping around with a flag in his shirt and a mop off camera, I realized quality of the crop of candidates running on WTP platform was lacking. I hear he makes a better hairdresser.

[collie]

I think WTP sent a stong message to the Democrats. Don't get too comfortable and take your unaffiliated voters for granted. I thought I read Mikowski spent $25.00 on his campaign and yet he raked in 30% of the vote! They did pretty well overall in my estimation. It was great to have so many choices; I was able to really have a choice and voted for WTP, Democrats and Republicans, picking who I liked and not by party lines. I think in the past when Arlene Dunlop stepped up to run, just so someone wasn't running unopposed, the best she did was around 700 votes. Mikowski got close to 3000 votes. Not bad. Personally I did not vote for Patty Lynes and if you watch the mayor's acceptance speech, he promises her a seat on Planning or Zoning because she "tells it like it is." I think EDS has scored a home run in his observation that Meriden Democrats in general represent the Southern Conservative type of Democrat! Hence the big sweat to tear down the MIlls. Thank you, WTP for at least running for office. Someone said, perhaps EDS, Marinan would have won if he ran for Mayor. I doubt that. He ran the City Council meetings like a dictator towards the end and people found him offensive. That's why he lost. Mark Benigni is a conservative, I think, but he sure looked progressive to Meriden when he stepped up to run against Marinan. Bottom line to the Democrats - don't tell people their taxes didn't raise when they sure the hell did and don't call us whiners either. Meriden generally only runs conservatives anyway, whether they are Democrats, Republicans or others. What a good election! Not all my choices got in, by any means, but I am still tickled pink. I would have liked to see Kelvin Pinckney on the BOE but he did really well considering. And the Mayor is a hard worker and intelligent man. I think it stung the Democrats big time that Patty Lynes didn't get in. Appoint her all you want to a powerful commission but resentment in Meriden is not going away and neither are the financial problems we face, the homes for sale and in foreclosure, failing schools, etc. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to the losers; wonder how the voter turnout will be rated. Seemed pretty good to me.

[cherrybarbs]

I think voter turnout was OK but, [ We The People] would like to now why only 11,000 went to the polls.There are 32,000 + registered voters in this city,so its safe to say, that high taxes weren't a big issue. After taking to alot of people, most have there's escrow in there mortgage ,so they don't know how much they really pay or renters think they don't pay taxes, of course they do. One of the resolution's on the $ 4.2 million surplus by [W.T.P] was to give $2 million of it, back to the taxpayers including renters, but the demos wasted 1.5 million of it already,and got big plans for the rest. Walt Shamrock is doing is best to look out for interest. If you watch the public access channel you can see the [W.T.P.] party are still very active. What happen the the Republicans? I never see them show up to any of the meetings speaking out for the people that took the time to vote for them, Politics is yr round. We would like to know what things the citizens of Meriden what to change. I for one would love to see more police patrols or maybe the Demos can spend some of our money on private security for our parks?. And great job Chris P I read the article in the newspaper today ,If anything that's what Meriden needs [people who still care.] THANK YOU

[cherrybarbs]

The outlook for Meriden is petty bad and getting worst ,downtown looks and sounds like a war-zone still, and spreading fast throughout the city. And the Mayor and is crew ,with a big smile on his face is saying Meriden is getting better and crime is low. I like too know what part of the city do they live on, that they don't see or hear, the loud bommbox cars with terrible mufflers on them, trash on every street I go on and people driving though red lights and stop signs without a care in the world ?. And Forget any help from law enforcement, they're under staff and over work. As I listen to my scanner I'm in disbelief the number of calls they have to respond too ,which leaves very little too no time for routine patrols and with a recession on the way, wait till you see what this Spring and Summer is going to look like in this city. I was here in the 1990,s and the teens gotten alot worst since then. With just touching in tip of the iceberg [ We The People] are still hopeful we can make a difference,even if it takes one person at a time, If you have any ? for W.T.P. or Walt Shamrock our only leadership at city hall right now ,lets us know. Thank You

[Chriss P]

Ah someone who can afford a digital scanner ?

I agree Cherry; things get sugar coated a bit. Its always been bad as I luckily escaped the Expo Riot of 1980's.

The city needs to be beautified, patroled and pride restored. I disagree with anyone that thinks Brookside park looks to be a warm welcome place; and by restoring parts of the city, it will show pride and send a meassge that Meriden cares about its self.

Meriden is a very unique city (industrial, rural, wilderness, surburban and historic) and people should be proud to be Meridenites. There is no city like Meriden; and the potential it has to be a great city is there.

[cherrybarbs]

Did anyone see Meriden's city employee salaries [what a joke] I hope every taxpayer got a good raise this year? And don't worry about B.O.E budget, they will come back and say, were going to take away your sports and layoff your teachers. They pull the same scam every year and our taxes are raised once again. Just wants too make you rush out and buy one of those for sale or foreclosed homes, that are on every street :rolleyes: .

[eds]

The first six pages of the 17 page salary report (18th page is essentially blank):

http://www.mysunforums.com/content/RJ/content/myrj/Documents/Meriden2008salaries.PDF

show salaries in excess of 60,000. That's a third of the salary report. Quite a lot of those positions are fire and police positions too. The rest are highly skilled positions. There is an automotive mechanic earning about 69,000. For example, a grade B detective in Meriden earns in the mid 60,000s. Police lieutenants earn in high 70,000s. That's good money. Upper middle class starts around $75,000, remember? Librarians earns low 70,000s. Some experienced police officers earn salaries in the low 60,000s. I think these salaries are very fair. Every wants more money. But if you look at what is fair, I think any reasonable person would agree these salaries are quite good and quite fair.

How could anyone struggle earning $65,000 - $75,000 a year? Unless you define struggling as not being able to take vacations to Aruba or enjoy certain excesses in life. You make it sound like police officers are being paid squat. Are they paid over six-figures? Not all, but some are. Some police officers, for example, in Danbury, I know earn in the six-figures with private duty jobs and overtime pay. They work their butt off, but who said it would be easy?

Are there people earning low salaries in Meriden and struggling to pay bills? Sure there are. Two-thirds of report indicate less than $60,000 a year. But that is the going rate for those positions. They deserve no more money in the same way the higher paid employees deserve less. The rates are what they are for the positions they represent. Why should we cut the salaries of other people just because there are people who chose a career that does not earn that much money? Sounds communist to me.

This is typical rhetoric from the peanut gallery. The six-figure salary has been a hallmark of success for some time. It represents 1% to 5% of all city employees. Even if we cut their salaries in half, what would that save? A mere half million dollars? On a a nearly 200 million dollar budget that's like what; a quarter of one percent? The repercussions would be that Meriden would not be able to attract top talent at that pay level. To save that little and affect that much is ridiculous.

These people deserve that much money. That's called attracting top talent. That rate is the current market rate for those positions. I am sure if you were earning that money, you'd feel quite differently about it. Look at any town in CT and you'll find pretty much the same salaries across the board.

I think perpetrating the stereotype of these jobs earning bare minimum and big bad management taking all the money is a just another political ploy to give the WTP platform more air-time. WTP lost big time. Somewhere there is a rock with nothing underneath it. Why not rectify that problem instead of making a problem where there is none?

[cherrybarbs]

All I can say is WTP were able to change some things already, like no more living rent free at our city parks. I even saw that some of our police officers are interested in staying there,that would be a big plus. And the city's books are more open to the public. It's going to take some time for people to see how much better an Independent party can be. However, EDS ,you being a Fireman does explain your defense of city hall,I don't know of too many jobs that get raises and top shelf benefits year after year, even If the economy is good or bad. Unless of course, its taxpayers flipping the tab. Hunters is a private company that serves the city well.They had to make changes due to the high cost of gasoline,they can't just pass it on the taxpayer.I know we could never out source our Police Dept. But many high taxed Cities are privatizing their Fire Depts. It would save millions of dollars for Meriden. Just a thought for now. http://www.privatization.org/database/policyissues/fire_local.html

[eds]

I am not on Meriden's FD payroll. I was with Danbury in the mid 90s. Though no longer active, I remain state certified, which I maintain for life.

I am all for privatization of the fire and police services. And charging for the calls that involved mostly "smells and bells" as we used to say. So many times we run the truck out for nothing. Burning fuel and resources and risking being out of service for a real call. Raises are union based. Its contractual right now. It has nothing to do with city hall but what the union and city hall negotiated. That won't change under privatization. I think you'd get better pay without the union but less job protection. I think with a private entity running it as a for-profit organization you'd get better incentives. I could be wrong. But that's how I see it. Some though, like the town, some don't. It's still a job no matter what.

It was always hard to justify spending money on new equipment. I think private funding would get the funds in quicker. Danbury was getting IR when I was in. We had to practically beg for ladder 1. Everything the department spent was tax dollars and no one wanted to pay more taxes to get better equipment. Scott packs are thousands of dollars. Lighter weight kevlar gear which helps fire fighters increase their stamina costs big bucks. With privatization we would be able to make profit and use that profit to make much needed equipment purchases, training facilities too.

We trained in Windsor Locks. The CPAT center could be improved with more funding. Traditionally public services always get cut at budget time.

We could hire more PD as well as dedicated Fire Police and more FD guys to lighten the load a bit. Right now hiring has to be budget approved and that right now is tight. Training on the latest equipment and techniques would be beneficial. Private training grounds for PD and Fire to train with new weapons and new equipment would be nice. All that costs money. For profit entities would be able to better pay for that.

I don't know if my fellow brothers and sisters in the fire service would agree. But that's my take.

Privatize everything. Education too. Our taxes for the town would go down and we would be able to spend the money as we felt for the services we needed. We could take out a yearly contract with the services we needed. Pay so much per month for fire services, police services. Then we can determine where the money is really going and see real value for our dollars.

[gene36]

I was able to print out the City salary (18 pages), but only get 1 page of the Bd of Ed. They only show the salary of 38 top people which is scary enough, but we must have more then 38 employees in the education system. Where do I find them?

[cherrybarbs]

Looks like there some good news for Meriden Mayor Mark Benigni might be leaving. The bad news is that the Democrats will appoint who they want. It would have been nice if We The People [ That's All of Meriden ] could elect who we want for Mayor. There's a lot of good people that really care and want to change Meriden from gang land to a nice place to raise a Family. We could walk the streets without being robbed or offered to buy drugs, get run over by one of those ghetto cars that race up and down our streets. Just taking care of those few issues would bring respect and pride back to the city , and people would start investing here again. Middletown did it, but it would take a strong Mayor to make it happen.I think the Top B.O.E. only puts out their salaries, not the teachers and what you see doesn't include all their perks.None of the City employees have their benefits included in that report.:confused:

[eds]

"change Meriden from gang land to a nice place to raise a Family. We could walk the streets without being robbed or offered to buy drugs, get run over by one of those ghetto cars that race up and down our streets."

I couldn't agree more. That "element" should leave Meriden now and make it a nicer place to raise a fine upstanding family. Not what we have today.

I think we agree on that much. Where we differ is who can bring that prosperity to Meriden and get rid of the riff-raff. Clean up our town and make it respectable again. Who can do that? Let's let the voters decide...if they're smart enough, they'll make it happen.

[Man in the Middle]

It would have been nice if We The People [ That's All of Meriden ] could elect who we want for Mayor.

Well, everybody had the chance last November, and they did vote for who they wanted...and Mark won.

The Charter calls the shots in filling unexpired terms: in Section C2-5:

§ C2-5. Vacancies.

"Any vacancy in any elective city office from whatever cause arising shall be filled by
appointment by the City Council for the unexpired portion of the term or until the next
biennial election, whichever shall be sooner, provided that when the person vacating in
the office shall have been elected as a member of a political party such vacancy shall be
filled by the appointment of a member of the same political party. If there shall be a
biennial election before the expiration of the term of any office in which a vacancy
occurs, such office shall be filled until said election by appointment as provided herein
and subsequently by the election of a person to fill that office for the remaining portion
of the term, and such person shall take office on the first Monday following his/her
election."


Dems da rules, voted on by the People.

[Man in the Middle]

I think funny thing is the Demos spent $50,000+ to but him into office.

...but I don't think the Meriden Dems paid that amount. Maybe Mark's campaign did. And perhaps he had other reasons, like gaining statewide exposure in case he planned a run for a larger seat (Secretary of the State?). Why else would he buy time on Cox Cable, which reaches farther than Meriden? Let's face it, Benigni could have run and won on a press release in this town. His opponent didn't lay a glove on him, and it wasn't because of the money Mark spent.

[eds]

Just what we need.

[cherrybarbs]

As I saw the Budget meeting for Meriden,I could only shake my head in disbelief , how can they would cut library hours? but give $1.7 million to a golf course on the chance people will come there to play. Make it part of Giuffrida Park.Their's just to much waste, and the City keeps spending our tax dollars like drunken sailors .I'm starting to feel they want all the good people who care, out of here?:confused:

[Chriss P]

1.7 mill. I can see a chipped gravel hand peeled railing bike/walk path thru Guffrida all the way to Berlin and quite a bit more including doggy litter bags. Maybe a fountain some place. Lets not forget the pea gravel path around the res. A nice picinic area and open space area and a patrolman to patrol the park.

Thanks for the dream Cherry.

[collie]

Hey, Chris, I like to think that the new adopt-a-park program going on in the city came from your pictures and concern for the parks in Meriden. I just have a feeling that it made a difference, especially the article in the paper on Guifridda Park. Keep dreaming big - can you imagine what a lovely walk that would be in Guifridda, all the way to Berlin?

[cherrybarbs]

Yes, I would agree. Did you know that they will not live rent free there anymore. The rent is $400 to $600 a month and several Police Officers are intererested in living there. I haven't fish there in many years, it use to be $5 Dollars for a permit I'm willing to pay $50 for nice, safe and quiet place like that again.:rolleyes:

[Chriss P]

"can you imagine what a lovely walk that would be in Guifridda, all the way to Berlin?" I did it one winter in a 1/2 foot of snow and it took many hours. A summer walk without a nice trail is tough due to ticks, and all sorts of critters and spider webs. A chipped gravel trail would be such a getaway.


Wow its nice to know about the adopt a park prog.. Its about time I take my hikes with a litter bag to make even a bit more of a difference now.

Thanks for the kind info Cherry and Colllie.

PS

Not everyone can enjoy a golfcourse but most can and are in dire need of a nature walk.

[Chriss P]

Well on the good side again, we were loading 400 Alewife herrings from our trap on the shore ; and when done, my boss looked thru his list of possible tranfer sites. He chose Quinnipiac at Hanover Pond Meriden. We bought up the special shad truck (large round lab like contraption 12000 gals) and let em shoot out of the distribution tube into the pond.

We had quite a curious crowd and pretty freindly at that.

Anyway, The Alewives (river herring) are an important food source for osprey, eagles, oteers, striped bass etc. They aren't really good to eat for humans though. They are also dwindling in population and they are federally and state protected.

The herring come in from the ocean to spawn (and we give some of them a lift) and thier offspring return back to the area they themselves (offspring) were spawned in. Hopefully we can now monitor the progress in Hanover pond and get these offspring back in a few years once they head back out to the sound.

Some of the herring are landlocked (dumped by fishermen usually) and free to take as many as you like as they are overwhelming once established in a lake.

Thought I'de add a positive note for the Meridenites.

[cherrybarbs]

That new dam with the steps is a big help for the shad too. I saw four red tail Hawks plus a lot of new wildlife I haven't seen in decades. I would love to see a Bald Eagle over there. I live near Hanover Pond, I'll keep my eye out. Thank You Chriss for thinking of us.You are one guy that should be head of our Parks and Recs. Department.

[Chriss P]

We will be opening the fish ladder in the coming weeks. We didn't have our poles with hooks to pull up the Wier boards or we would have opened up the steps yesterday. There are reports of an eagle around Hanover Pond and thats a great sign for Meriden.

I agree again Cherry. When Im on Mt Lementation over looking Beavers Pond and West Peak, the Power Plant sticks out like a sore thumb and to add another below the pond would be more of an eye sore. I'm surprised the new one was not enough.

[cherrybarbs]

MERIDEN - Former City Council Majority Leader Stephen T. Zerio has added his name to the list of those who want to be to be mayor if Mark D. Benigni resigns.[ Just what this City needs, a nice , public friendly guy for Mayor] .

[Stephen T. Zerio]

MERIDEN - Former City Council Majority Leader Stephen T. Zerio has added his name to the list of those who want to be to be mayor if Mark D. Benigni resigns.[ Just what this City needs, a nice , public friendly guy for Mayor] Give us a break.

Oh, I don't know, Cherrybarbs, I think I'm a pretty nice, public friendly guy. :)

[cherrybarbs]

Just by the way you handled public comment should say it all. If you want to be a Politician ,you got to take the good with the bad. And why do you want to be Mayor? You didnt run again to save your seat:confused:

[Stephen T. Zerio]

Just by the way you handled public comment should say it all. If you want to be a Politician ,you got to take the good with the bad. And why do you want to be Mayor? You didnt run again to save your seat:confused:

I know that there were certain people that didn't like the way I handled public comment. But overall, the feedback I received from the public at large was that I did a good job, abiding by the Council rules for comment. In fact, many were amazed that I could remain as composed and professional as I did in the face of periodic rudeness. To that I always answered that if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. Much like you just said.

I left my seat after 3 good, solid 4-year terms, (elected with pretty good numbers, by the way), having completed most of the goals I ran for in the first place. I wanted to spend a little more time with my family, and focus more energy on my employment. Being Majority Leader was very satisfying, but could be extremely time-consuming.. And, I think it's good to have new blood on the Council. So, I'm comfortable with my decision to step down from that seat. I know some people were happy (you appear to be one!), but most people were kind enough to thank me for my years of service to the City. An that was gratifying. And that's politics.

As to interest in becoming mayor: when it was clear that Mark was considering stepping down, I was contacted by a couple councilors to see if I would think about it. I believed, and still do, that this was premature, as the Mayor has not made any formal announcement. But politically, as these things do, things started to heat up. So I thought about it.

The mayor's position is still a hard position, but it is different from the Majority Leader's. So for me, it will be a new experience, different from a Councilor's role. I think I have the skills to preside over the City Council, engage with the community as the City's chief elected official, as well as partner with the Council on the many issues they face and are, by Charter with the City Manager, ultimately responsible for. Time consuming, yes, but in a different, more fluid way than the structured meetings that as Majority Leader I had to attend ( and in fact had to call and lead!).

So, I discussed this possibility with my wife and family, who actually encouraged me, and I cleared it with my employer, who I believe has a vested interest in how my days go. They were most concerned with potential conflicts of interest, which I had earlier cleared when I was Majority Leader. My employer adheres to a stringent Code of Conduct, much like the City's Code of Ethics, and I'm mindful and adherent of both.

After all that, I agreed to be considered by the City Council as a mayoral replacement. I've talked to them all, except for Mike Rohde, as well as the mayor. It's ultimately up to the City Council, if and when Mark steps down.

So, there you have it. I hope I cleared the confusion.

[cherrybarbs]

Yes, Thank you for the clear up, you must know by now that there are a lot of issues that we talk about here. I was a hard core democrat once, that all change when the City decided to put an unsupervised skate park in my neighborhood, I don’t know if you were one of those that voted in favor of it? As you can see the new proposed power plant, high taxes, crime and our City parks, are big topics. Since the Mayor has veto power over the budget and some input on these issues. Where you stand? I will give credit for coming to my record journal com to explain you’re self. As you see from all the posts there are many different views about Meriden.

[Stephen T. Zerio]

I will give credit for coming to my record journal com to explain you’re self. As you see from all the posts there are many different views about Meriden.

Thanks, Cherrybarbs, for the credit. As to stands, I'm still a private citizen for the time being, and the way the wind is blowing from what I hear, will continue to remain. I believe the Council may be poised to select Mike Rohde, as he is a sitting councilor, and some strongly feel a current councilor should be appointed. So, since I'm not officially "campaigning," I'll keep my counsel to myself until the fog clears. If I am appointed, I'll make my stances known. I hope you appreciate my position. But thanks for asking about the "whys" earlier and allowing me to explain my thoughts on this "hot" topic.

Good night to you and all.

[eds]

Hey! Mr. Zerio is here. Welcome!

I have an idea that perhaps the administration on this board would consider. A forum to ask councilors questions directly. I know you are not a councilor anymore, and a private citizen now, but the thought occurred to me at any rate.

So much rumor and innuendo are thrown about here that left to its own devices rapidly spins perspective out of control. If more councilors would post answers to questions, especially to letters-to-the-editor in the paper, perhaps we would better manage expectations and foster a greater appreciation for the challenges we face as a community. I understand that careful choice of words and posting those words can be challenging. It can be a potential political career ender or a career builder depending on the way in which responses are worded. That said, I think that if councilors were to post replies it still would be better in the long run than silence.

My thoughts at any rate...

[collie]

That will never happen, EDS because it is too open a process. Let's face it, the public comments couldn't be censored then or limited to the action agenda.
Actually, I think Steve Zerio did start some kind of a Meriden blog, recognizing the "wave of the future. I don't know what happened with it - actually remember finding it on line one night but there were few entries on it? Perhaps it died a natural death.

[eds]

http://talk-meriden.blogspot.com/

Still around but nothing added since last year I think.

You're probably right. It'll never happen. I can understand having a certain amount of control at council meetings. Things can get out of hand.

But why not something informal, no agenda, like open office hours or something like that. It wouldn't disrupt any meetings and one could respond at their leisure.

well anyway...one can dream...

[Stephen T. Zerio]

Collie was right, and EDS found the remnants of a blog I started, some time ago. It isn't dead, because you can still access it, as EDS did. But it has lain fallow for quite some time. I had hoped to keep up regular updates, and I was able to for a while, with some few comments coming in. But while it was fun while it lasted, frankly, I bit off more than I could chew. The Majority Leader position was getting more intense, and I had changed jobs, where I could not access it to review or update on lunch breaks per company policy. Also, the "Blogger" site switched their format, and I really didn't adjust to it well. So, between technology and time constraints, I really couldn't keep it up. But then, even the professional bloggers on this site have huge gaps between new posts, too.

And, frankly, Collie and EDS, I don't know how you find the time to post here as much as you do. I tip my hat...

[cherrybarbs]

I have my suspicions why Mr. Zerio jump back into Politics, but only time will tell. On a positive note, the Daffodil fest is this weekend. And the City is expecting a big turn out. I hope the weather holds up. The City employees and sponsors are having their private party Thursday or Friday. I think that’s nice of them, especially for all they do for Meriden.

[factsonly06450]

The "party" you refer to is given for the people who volunteer to work at the Festival or are sponsors and so forth. It is not for City employees, although many of them do volunteer. The cost is paid by the Daffodil Festival committee, not the City.

[cherrybarbs]

Goods news Mayor Mark finally quits, then again maybe not. Mr. Zerio hasn’t come out to say what his position is a lot of issues. We have the Power Plant deal,City Parks, Police and library cuts ect. I think Rhode is easier, typical Tax and Spend Democrat. And he doesn’t bring anything new for Meriden, look how long he’s been there already. What should be done and cant is, We The People should vote who we want to be our next Mayor.

[tjohnl]

why did Meriden go to the 'soft' mayor position? i've been under the impression that the city manager really runs the city

[collie]

I believe it was a knee jerk reaction to our former Mayor Abe Grossman, who ruled like a tyrant and publically embarassed the city. Somewhere in the late 70's, early 80's?

[cherrybarbs]

Two down and many more to go, I like to think that [We The People Party] had some input in this domino affect. For so many years our City Councilors have been sticking it to the Taxpayers without a care in the world. I can see some of them now are more cautious in how they waste Taxpayers money. Then there are others like, Brian Daniels, Hilda Santiago, Keith Gordon, and David Salafia who are always going to cater to certain groups no matter what. However I must say, I’m very pleased with John Thorp, for a newcomer he has shown some real leadership so far.

[Charles E. Peevyhouse]

Two down and many more to go, I like to think that [We The People Party] had some input in this domino affect. For so many years our City Councilors have been sticking it to the Taxpayers without a care in the world. I can see some of them now are more cautious in how they waste Taxpayers money. Then there are others like, Brian Daniels, Hilda Santiago, Keith Gordon, and David Salafia who are always going to cater to certain groups no matter what. However I must say, I’m very pleased with John Thorp, for a newcomer he has shown some real leadership so far.


?????? Is this a serious post??????

[whalers44]

Come on Charles, I agree that Salafia, Santiago, Daniels will do anything to play to the crowd. Take a look at the last meeting on 5/05. The only reason they talked was to get applauds from the crowd. Plus Salafia, chairman of the Falcon Field Renovations, and the rest of the council spends $2m on the field yet they cry about the education budget for a show....At least the rest of the councilors stand up for what is right and this includes Mr Gordan. I have to give them credit for standing up and giving us a tax break this year.

[cherrybarbs]

100% correct, Salafia, Santiago and Daniels are the worst. I don’t know about Keith Gordon. I’ve talked with him in to past about different issues, we don’t see eye to eye on everything. However at least I can have a dialogue with him. His voting record has always been to raise taxes; but let’s see you will override the Mayors veto.;)

[Charles E. Peevyhouse]

Come on Charles, I agree that Salafia, Santiago, Daniels will do anything to play to the crowd. Take a look at the last meeting on 5/05. The only reason they talked was to get applauds from the crowd. Plus Salafia, chairman of the Falcon Field Renovations, and the rest of the council spends $2m on the field yet they cry about the education budget for a show....At least the rest of the councilors stand up for what is right and this includes Mr Gordan. I have to give them credit for standing up and giving us a tax break this year.

So you are seriously asserting that a councilor who voted no for the BOE increase did so because of their fear/respect for We The People. I do not see the connection, with the exception of Shamock, what other councilor voted differently than normal. I fail to see how We the People or the inept Republicans have in any way influenced the current decision. Cherrybarbs is obviously a We The People supporter, and his post/propaganda is laughable. Maybe the person who should really be applauded is Kendizor. He has put the council in a nugget. There will be a tax increase next year, there is no doubt about that, and then the municipal elections occur. Maybe a tax increase this year with no elections pending makes more political sense. Anyways, I disagree that the any outside force has influenced the vote. The council is still 11 to 1 and everything is still scripted. I can insure you that most councilors knew how the vote would break before they took their seats. Just as I am sure on the 5/15 the councilor's will know if they have the 2/3 required to override the veto.

[whalers44]

What I was saying Charles was that Daniels, Santiago and Salafia were a yes and especially Salafia, he won't talk at the council meeting but because there was a crowd, he spoke out in favor of it. I agree that they have there caucas before hand and now exactly how things are going down. I have to applaud the other councilors for sticking to Kendziors budget. I thought for sure that they would swing the other way. It is a proven fact that next year we will have a tax increase....and each year thereafter unless we increase our tax base which the people in this city don't want to do. I am in favor of the power plant because it will bring in alot of $$$ plus it only operates maybe 4 weeks out of the year. But unless the tax base increases, we the taxpayers will be seeing increases each year from here on out....because you won't see the city cutting back anymore and the BOE. Kendzior sent a good message with this budget to all branches of the city and i hope that he keeps this up.

[collie]

Kendzior did do a good job freezing taxes but I don't think he did so with the elections in mind; isn't he an unaffiliated voter?

I think what really influenced Kendzior is the increased numbers of foreclosures and the increased number of homes for sale since the revaluation. People were ticked off after reval. and the housing market and economy has crumbled since. The council, as much as they like to put a positive spin on everything, with the exception of Shamock, must also be aware of the whole housing situation and the implications for the city.
Current furor re BOE funding will not influence people to move here when combined with the failing schools and the superintendant resigning over the lack of funding.

It will get worse, I think before it gets better. It will not be a great time to run for office next year in Meriden if the taxes go up again. Everyone is getting hit it the pocketbook every where you turn right now. As much as I value public education, I can't believe how inflation is rising and I don't see my pay rate rising, nor do I see much of a return in my investments right now.

[Charles E. Peevyhouse]

What I was saying Charles was that Daniels, Santiago and Salafia were a yes and especially Salafia, he won't talk at the council meeting but because there was a crowd, he spoke out in favor of it. I agree that they have there caucas before hand and now exactly how things are going down. I have to applaud the other councilors for sticking to Kendziors budget. I thought for sure that they would swing the other way. It is a proven fact that next year we will have a tax increase....and each year thereafter unless we increase our tax base which the people in this city don't want to do. I am in favor of the power plant because it will bring in alot of $$$ plus it only operates maybe 4 weeks out of the year. But unless the tax base increases, we the taxpayers will be seeing increases each year from here on out....because you won't see the city cutting back anymore and the BOE. Kendzior sent a good message with this budget to all branches of the city and i hope that he keeps this up.

Whalers (I love that name, I can recall going to the old Hartford Civic Center to watch hockey): I have no disagreement with your assessment. I think you are completely right. I just had an issue with the assertion that a certain political party was claiming that it had influenced the decision. If the other two parties in town had any real clout, there would be more that one councilor who is a registered republican but claims to belong to another political.

[cherrybarbs]

The [We The People Party] has a mixture of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, all of them have different views. Just because you are affiliated with one party, you shouldn’t have to vote the way they tell you too. And there shouldn’t be a shock that Walt voted to override marks veto, your right he’s Mr. No. [No more new taxes]!

[cherrybarbs]

It looks like our new mayor will be Mike Rhode, that’s good news for, We the People Party :D

[ringmaster]

How is that good news for We the People?
That means Walt Micowski (who was also asking to be considered by the Democrats for the vacant Mayoral position) didn't get it.

[cherrybarbs]

Walt Micowski can never be Mayor because of how the Charter is written. With that benign said,we think the vote is 6 to 5 ,with Walt Shamrock benign the deciding vote., Our guess is, he will still vote for Walt Micowski as a protest vote, which leaves Mike Rhode has mayor. Remember we are only supporters of W.T.P. party. We can only think this will happen. ;)

[whalers44]

when are the meeting for We the People and where are they held....this party needs to get stronger soon.....I would like to get involved with it. One are i would like to see changed is in the councilors. We should be allowed to vote for all the councilors not just our area. Decisions are made by everyone not just for that area so we the citizens need to have the right to vote for every councilor. Also, we should be allowed to vote for the budget and large ticket items. The charter needs to be changed....

[collie]

Last time around was only a few years ago and it was a terribly stacked deck in terms of the actual charter commission. They refused to seat any of the people who organized the original petition which irked people no end and I think really decreased the public attendance at the commission meetings.

The types of changes you mentioned were up for discussion but, in my opinion, were not taken seriously and were ultimately not included in the final recommendations. I went to a lot of the meetings and they had special guests at a lot of them. Public got their usual comments in but the special guest got a half hour or so. I remeber Steve Zerio being one of the guests and his, to me, famous quote that we don't have a democracy, but rather a republic.

Don't expect it to be easy, is my point. Electing officials who made such changes part of their slate might help.

[Stephen T. Zerio]

Public got their usual comments in but the special guest got a half hour or so. I remeber Steve Zerio being one of the guests and his, to me, famous quote that we don't have a democracy, but rather a republic.


And, Collie, I stand by my opinion. By sheer accident, I just found this link that captures my view of the difference. Not sure what 1215.org supports (looks pretty libertarian to me at a glance) but I agree with the discussion on democracy vs republic. Which was my opinion as an invited guest to the Charter Commission, and is still so today.

And I'm honored that you still can quote me. It's nice to know one makes an impression.

http://www.1215.org/lawnotes/lawnotes/repvsdem.htm

[ringmaster]

I think Cherrybarbs is way off on this one.
The charter states it has to be someone of the same party. Micowski is a registered Democrat. Although I don't think they'd ever support Micowski I would expect them to pull something together. They always do.:cool:

[collie]

Yes, Mr. Zerio, I'm glad you feel that way about the way that comment has stuck in my craw. Out of curiosity, can you tell me why your party (Democrats) doesn't run around encouraging people to vote in a "representative republican" process," as opposed to participating in a democracy?

Think about all the work Bysiewicz's office does for elections. We always hear: "Vote, your vote counts, participate in our DEMOCRACY!" Another slogan we hear quite a bit of, especially as the government justifies the war in Iraq and similar foreign policy, is: "We are the greatest DEMOCRACY in the world, we are fighting so that others may enjoy the DEMOCRACY we Americans do ..."

In the real world, we do not hear our government, whether local, state or national, referred to in common useage as a representative republic. Suddenly, when it involves public comment at Meriden City Council meetings, a democracy becomes a republic.

Personally, I felt that to mean they don't particulary welcome the input from citizens and that citizens should defer to the "wisdom" of their elected officials. Not only do I find that to be patronizing, I also feel that kind of an attitude is a nice environment for dictatorships to thrive.

[cherrybarbs]

Yes, Micowski is a registered Democrat, but he ran under W.T.P. Party, there’s an article in today’s paper about it. As far as when the next meeting for W.T.P. , it’s on 6/18 at the American legion @ 7:00pm. You’re absolutely correct “this party needs to get stronger soon” this is the only chance we got of taking back our city. We’re hearing the same thing from a lot of people, even the ones that didn’t take us seriously before. We also heard that some top Democrats fear us more than the Republicans. Especially now with Mike Rhode benign our new Mayor, if you think taxes are high now, wait till you see next years. We got a bulletin with our paper today, its say's “Public Meeting, Meriden’s plan of conservation & development” How many times did we go though this act, did they ever listen us before. We also see that they put the bulletin in English and Spanish, we must to have paid a pretty penny for that one. :mad:

[collie]

Yeah I sure the heck am going to that POCD meeting next week. I emailed those buggers several times without a response. Legally they have to hold public hearings; I swear that's the only reason they're including the public. I know that POCD plan includes a "vision" of higher income housing in the City. They call it balanced housing. All those college degrees wasted in twisting the English language for a perverted plan like that.

I think we already got a balance of higher income housing in Meriden - it's called REVALUATION.

[cherrybarbs]

Yes, we heard right before revaluation, the city was looking to bring in some higher class cliental, however it did back fire, and we lost and still are losing some of our best seniors who work all their lives, kept their homes in nice shape and gave back to our communities. And not just them, we lost a few middleclass family and friends also. Meriden ranks # 6 for the highest taxes in the state. Change will not be easy, there are still a lot of back door deals going on. We’re hopeful that We the People Party can break up this mafia.

[Charles E. Peevyhouse]

Yes, Micowski is a registered Democrat, but he ran under W.T.P. Party, there’s an article in today’s paper about it. As far as when the next meeting for W.T.P. , it’s on 6/18 at the American legion @ 7:00pm. You’re absolutely correct “this party needs to get stronger soon” this is the only chance we got of taking back our city. We’re hearing the same thing from a lot of people, even the ones that didn’t take us seriously before. We also heard that some top Democrats fear us more than the Republicans. Especially now with Mike Rhode benign our new Mayor, if you think taxes are high now, wait till you see next years. We got a bulletin with our paper today, its say's “Public Meeting, Meriden’s plan of conservation & development” How many times did we go though this act, did they ever listen us before. We also see that they put the bulletin in English and Spanish, we must to have paid a pretty penny for that one. :mad:

Hey, I think it is kind of funny that the flyer was in Spanish as well. Remember when Patty Lyons wanted the anti-littering billboards in Spanish and English. Some people went crazy and claimed it was racist. :eek:

[collie]

That's because it was probably the ONLY thing she ever asked for in Spanish; kind of gave the impression she thought they were dirty. At least that is was I heard about that incident. I do remember the woman saying people should speak English at a public debate; that doesn't jive with wanting the signs in Spanish.

[Charles E. Peevyhouse]

That's because it was probably the ONLY thing she ever asked for in Spanish; kind of gave the impression she thought they were dirty. At least that is was I heard about that incident. I do remember the woman saying people should speak English at a public debate; that doesn't jive with wanting the signs in Spanish.

That is a good point about her only asking for that one thing in spanish, but regardless, I will attend, I always find this mass public meetings to be amusing. I wonder how much feed back the council really listens to.

[ringmaster]

It's not hard to be a bigger threat than the Republicans in town since they do absolutely nothing. WTP candidates and members should register as unaffiliated if they have issues with what the two major parties stand for.:rolleyes:

Collie is right about Pat Lynes. That was the only time she ever spoke in favor of getting a message to the hispanic voters of our city.

[cherrybarbs]

That’s one of the reasons why the W.T.P. Party was started, the Republicans were afraid to put a candidate up for Mayor. And your right, they do absolutely nothing, they know what’s going on behind closed doors too. We like that there’s a mix from different Parties; this is the only place you can talk about your views and issues and not be reprimanded. No one group, organization or Party, should have control over the will of the people. Patty Lynes is a good example of what can happen, if you don’t play by rules, such things should never take place.

[Charles E. Peevyhouse]

When will we see the list of candidates for state office from We The People.

[eds]

2012. I understand Hillary will be their nominee...

[RC12L4]

2012. I understand Hillary will be their nominee...


It ain't over yet sonny!!!
\
http://members.cox.net/rc12l4/hillary.gif

[Charles E. Peevyhouse]

2012. I understand Hillary will be their nominee...


Stop your killing me.

[ringmaster]

Pat Lynes was the endorsed candidate. She had her opportunity to run and the residents of Meriden chose not to re-elect her. She was not taken out by a few party leaders. I think it was more like 250 individuals who felt she just wasn't worthy of re-electing.

[cherrybarbs]

We believe what people in other posts wrote to be more accurate.Were sure there are others who just didn’t like her too.

[ringmaster]

:confused: Not sure what you mean.
Everyone has their own opinion on what happened in this last election.

[Charles E. Peevyhouse]

I do not want to put words in Cherrybarbs mouth but I believe his comments about Patty Lyons reflects the fall out after the election. It is pretty common knowledge that Patty felt she did not receive enough support from the party, this displeasure manifested it self in other incidents within the Democrats of Meriden. I think we all agree that Patty had the misfortune of running against some very strong at large candidates. Walter is a known commodity and the voters missed him. John Thorp ran a blitz campaign and did a great job.

[ringmaster]

How can we forget about the fall out. You're right about Walter and John, they were very strong candidates. It was also common knowledge that Pat Lynes did nothing to help herself.

[Charles E. Peevyhouse]

How can we forget about the fall out. You're right about Walter and John, they were very strong candidates. It was also common knowledge that Pat Lynes did nothing to help herself.


Agreed. She did very little campaigning and I think blaming the party was unfair. The democrats put out a few of those bull-eyes ads that included all the candidates. I think Patty wanted someone to blame and the party was the target. I also think the Democrats were right to demand some level of loyalty. I do not care what some people may think, there is some level of loyalty that is expected from a political party if that party invests time money and resources on a candidate. Additionally, the basic concept of a party is suppose to be a common belief in core values and promotion of those values. If you bite the hand that feeds you, should you really be surprised that the hand slaps you? If there is no core belief or shared values, then is the organization really a party in the political sense?

[factsonly06450]

[QUOTE=cherrybarbs] Meriden ranks # 6 for the highest taxes in the state.

That is incorrect by any measure. There are 51 municipalities in Connecticut with higher mill rates than Meriden's, as of the 07-08 fiscal year, and another ten within one mill of Meriden's tax rate. Given that the mill rate will not increase for the 08-09 fiscal year, that number may well increase. Meriden is well below the statewide average in per capita property taxes. Take a comparable home in any of Meriden's surrounding towns and you will find that the property taxes for that comparable home are higher because the assessments are higher.

[eds]

Before we get too far down the mill rate path, let me remind the readers that mill rate by itself is no measure of how hard people are being taxed. It's mill rate multiplied by the property value baseline. For example, mill rates in affluent towns are typically in the teens. But the average property value, making up the property base, is quite high. So while the mill rate is lower, the tax bill is higher to live there.

Meriden can never have a mill rate in the teens unless the value of the property base increases significantly thus causing many in Meriden to be unable to continue to live in Meriden.

A 13 mill rate is not necessarily cheaper than a 26 mill rate. If we look at the average real property tax bill in CT, Meriden's is very low comparatively.

[cherrybarbs]

Wow, with Meriden taxes so low, we won’t need “Hillary for our nominee in 2012. Lets just keep all the Democrats in power here then? :rolleyes:

[eds]

What town is cheaper to live in, when you consider the average home price and the mill rate together? I pay $3600 per year for 2200 sq ft colonial 4BR 2full baths on .26 acres in South Meriden. Recently remodeled. Can't beat that with a stick.

[cherrybarbs]

We pay the same amount for a 4br, 1 bath on a slab nothing fancy, and that was after fighting the with the City 4 times. My family member who lives up Diamond hill is paying almost double then they did 8 years ago, something’s not right. :confused:

[Charles E. Peevyhouse]

We pay the same amount for a 4br, 1 bath on a slab nothing fancy, and that was after fighting the with the City 4 times. My family member who lives up Diamond hill is paying almost double then they did 8 years ago, something’s not right. :confused:

I agree, I pay in excess of $8000 for a 2500 square foot, 3br 2.5 bath on .53 acres.

[eds]

I think they must go by location or something. Dead end roads or how the new the house is. Mine is over 100 years old. Who knows?

What I would do is have three appraisals done by different companies and make your case with a lawyer. That's what I would do. But now that the window for that is closed it might be too late.

A friend of mine at work constantly gets over-appraised and needs to do just that.

[Charles E. Peevyhouse]

I think they must go by location or something. Dead end roads or how the new the house is. Mine is over 100 years old. Who knows?

What I would do is have three appraisals done by different companies and make your case with a lawyer. That's what I would do. But now that the window for that is closed it might be too late.

A friend of mine at work constantly gets over-appraised and needs to do just that.

I agree that is the way to approach the situation but the reality is that my home is newer and I have no objection to the assessment. I was well aware when I built the home that it would be assessed and I would pay more. I think Cherrybarbs may have a point if what he/she says is accurate. Additionally, eds you are correct, if my home was in Wallingford, Cheshire, Southington, it would be assessed at a much higher value and thus, no matter if there is a lower mill rate, I would pay more property tax. Meriden has always had that one advantage, because of various perceptions, either right of wrong, our properties are less than comparables in neighboring communities. You essentially get more bang for your buck.

[cherrybarbs]

Yes, in Meriden you get more house for the buck, but you also pay more in taxes, we compared house for house in today’s market for one in Wallingford. The house in W. is $230,000& taxes is 2700.00 a yr and our house is worth $185,000& taxes is about $3600.00 a yr, a difference of $30,000 for the homes. Now with a 15 yr mortgage in Wallingford and having an avg. of 3% +/- a year in increase in taxes, we would pay about $41,000. Now in Meriden taxes avg. 5%+/-, so we would pay about $57,000 over life the 15 yr loan here, that’s a difference of about $16,000. Let’s say we are going to retire in Wallingford, over 45 yrs we made up the difference in home value and now were paying less in yearly taxes and our home is worth more. We can have a similar tax /home values that our surrounding towns have, we would need to cut spending, stop the freebee programs, and eliminate back door deals for starters. But what are chances of that happening in Demoden?

[factsonly06450]

QUOTE cherrybarbs: "Yes, in Meriden you get more house for the buck, but you also pay more in taxes, we compared house for house in today’s market for one in Wallingford. The house in W. is $230,000& taxes is 2700.00 a yr and our house is worth $185,000& taxes is about $3600.00 a yr, a difference of $30,000 for the homes. Now with a 15 yr mortgage in Wallingford and having an avg. of 3% +/- a year in increase in taxes, we would pay about $41,000. Now in Meriden taxes avg. 5%+/-, so we would pay about $57,000 over life the 15 yr loan here, that’s a difference of about $16,000. Let’s say we are going to retire in Wallingford, over 45 yrs we made up the difference in home value and now were paying less in yearly taxes and our home is worth more."

Your own example proves the opposite of your point: for the Wallingford house with a value of $230,000 the assessment is $161,000. Multiplied by the July 1, 2008 Wallingford mill rate of 22.9, the tax bill will be $3686.90. For the house in Meriden with a value of $185,000, the assessement is $129,500. Multiplied by the 2008 Meriden mill rate of 27.96, the tax will be $3620.82.


Meriden mill rates for the five fiscal years beginning July 1, 2003 were 36, 37.3, 39.09, 40.34, 27.96, 27.96. The average year to year increase is 2.32%. If Cherrybarbs is correct that the average mill rate increase in Wallingford is 3%, then again the example proves the opposite of the point- taxes in Wallingford would have increased at a greater average rate in the last five years.

[cherrybarbs]

We were given example's on home/taxes values compared to Meriden. Also you like facts only maybe you can tell us who is the architect of downtown parking lot?

[eds]

Your own example proves the opposite of your point: for the Wallingford house with a value of $230,000 the assessment is $161,000. Multiplied by the July 1, 2008 Wallingford mill rate of 22.9, the tax bill will be $3686.90. For the house in Meriden with a value of $185,000, the assessement is $129,500. Multiplied by the 2008 Meriden mill rate of 27.96, the tax will be $3620.82.

You really cannot compare house values from one town to another. A 300,000 house in Rowayton, if you could find one, it probably a run down shack with no roof on a small lot. The same house in Meriden would be fairly different and rather nice. Location as they say. The location makes all the difference. Even in the same town two exact houses, same size, same age, same condition, are differently valued just by where they are located. A shaded lot vs one that is in full sun. All the difference in the world. If anything you would look at the median, not average, home price in the two towns to get as accurate a picture as possible as to which town pays more taxes.

[cherrybarbs]

Countrywide is the worst, but how many people know ,Meriden ranks 4th in the state with the number of houses for sale. We even beat Hartford, that’s sad.:( http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-digedlets0618.art2jun18,0,2871236.story

[eds]

Oh well...

[cherrybarbs]

Mayor Mark Benigni is finishing his tour of Meriden, looking back over the 7 years he can feel proud of the work he did for this City. Downtown looks like a masterpiece from 7 yrs ago, you can go from West Main to East Main and see the pride people have liven here and our parks are now safe and clean. These are some the reasons why Meriden is choosing to honor him, in Southington.

[jma]

. These are some the reasons why Meriden is choosing to honor you, in Southington.

Actually, it's because there isn't a facility large enough in Meriden to handle the crowd.

[collie]

Yeah, Fischer's Deli wasn't big enough.

[ringmaster]

Fischer's would have been great, if it weren't for that eyesore of a "park" next door.:rolleyes:

[cherrybarbs]

Meriden doesn’t have one place to accommodate Mark Benigni players, how many can he possibly have?

[collie]

The only eyesore I've seen with the park next door to Fischer's were the illegally parked cars on the grass. And I suspect they belonged to business owners poed the parking lot was voted down by three successive committees.

Too bad Benigni ended his mayoral career with Gulino on the Mayors' Corner. I'd love to hear what others thought of THAT little episode. The developers want that parking lot so bad, they're willing to pay for part of it. Pay the whole 90,000, I say, not just a "part" if you really want to play fair. Now that LaRosa is paying a hundred dollars a day in blight fees for the Fischer's Deli building, or so I heard, isn't it funny he has the money to help pay for the parking lot but he couldn't affort to fix the back of his building for a year???

That park, if converted to a parking lot, will be for use BY THE PUBLIC. Hope the downtown business owners don't think tenants will be able to park 24/7.

[cherrybarbs]

On November 4 voters will have a chance to make history in CT by voting YES to this question that comes up every 20 years. That question is: Shall the state Constitution Convention be convened to revise or amend the state Constitution of Connecticut. I can tell you some of the people who want you to vote no, most all Politicians and 99.9% of all City and State employees. Why, for Politicians it mostly about power and for union City and State employees, well where in the private sector are you guaranteed pay raises, top rated pensions ,healthcare and almost no chance of a layoff? Imagine if we the taxpayers had a say in that, were the 2nd highest taxed state in the country and even worst is, we rank 46 out of 50 states when it comes to Constitution issues and were supposed to be the Constitution state? Inform yourself. www.ctconcon.com or you can watch it on http://www.ctn.state.ct.us/ondemand.asp

[brunet]

Great point on Constitutional Converntion Cherry, very little has been mentioned of this important ballot question. I have read both sides arguments and come away surprised at the fear of empowering voters on specific referendum questions. I say lets see Democracy in action and let the chips fall where they may.

[cherrybarbs]

It still early the unions and special interest groups only spent about $40,000 so far, their trying to make it a one issue vote [The gay marriage law] I would hope the people of this state would educate themselves on Constitutional Convention vote. http://www.ctconcon.com/ I know politicians at the state capital are scared to death about this, so just about every voter in CT is going to hear about the Constitutional Convention by November 4 ,especially when they start dumping 100’s of thousands of dollars in the media why people should vote no.

[collie]

I'm looking forward to voting yes on this come November.

[cherrybarbs]

What they should do with Chamberlain Heights is knock it all down, the biggest problem Meriden has is its density populated. Which means more resources are needed like police, fire and so on, it also puts a heavy burden on already crowded school system. These projects never were good for Meriden in the past and so what makes the city think there going to be good for taxpayers in the future? That’s why I say tear them down.

[cherrybarbs]

Do you plan to veto next year’s tax increase which may be substantial since state grants are drying up and the city's spending is out of control? And who will pay for the extra cost of garbage pickup to commercial propertys which can be 200 % more than residential homeowners? And do you think by having more sober homes/halfway houses throughout the city will help with some of your new initiatives?

[alwaysright]

I'm looking forward to voting yes on this come November.

this is a clear indication that a no vote is probably the right one- this is a woman who supports reparations and nader. clearly a confused lady.

[Happy]

Alwaysright, you are not ALWAYS right but I give you respect to have your own opinion without calling you confused or any other name. Like the presidential campaign, I would like people to present clear reasons for a difference of view or opinion without berating someone else (it's not happening). I appreciate different views and the reasoning behind those views. It gives me better perspective and empathy for others. Actually, I would like to hear more of the reasons why Collie believes what she does and furthermore, why you believe what you do.

[cherrybarbs]

Very well said happy, none of us is always right.

[alwaysright]

because my opinion is all that matters to me- I am always right.

[alwaysright]

the more I think about it, why on earth would you want to know the reasons BEHIND what collie or even myself has to say? We are not all pals here- just people writing thoughts. Some who think they inform, others want to chat and then some of us simply getting a laugh or two.

can't speak for her- but mostly I just like to **** off republicans, religeous folks and right wing nut jobs. that's about it.

[collie]

I take it alwaysright does not support reparations.

On July 27th, Alwaysright said he (or she) is a "lifelong, extremely liberal Democrat" who "makes liberals look like right right wingers." I should think such a bastion of liberality would support reparations.

Now who's confused? Got more right winger in you than you'd care to admit, perhaps, always right.

[cherrybarbs]

The Constitutional Convention has a host of other issues connected with this vote, both heterosexual & homosexual agree, like eminent domain abuse, both sides want term limits and a 3 strikes and you’re out law. Because these Constitutional affects everyone why not let us all come together and do what’s right for all the people of CT and vote yes, why should we let these same politicians set the standards in our life's when [We the People] should be telling them!:

[alwaysright]

I think e should add an italian flag to the skatepark as well. and loudspeakers to blast that rap stuff. neighbors complained in the 70's when Abe let the youth use that lot and others at Platt to hang out. Lasted two years before a complainer like you got their way.

[cherrybarbs]

The [WTP] Party has good mix of Democrats, Republicans and Independents with the same goal a better quality of life for everyone. Since the city is mostly controlled by Democrats and not much as gotten better over the last 2 decade’s with them, a 3rd party was needed. Everyone when they shop likes to have choices it should be same thing when we vote. Do you think these's same people that get elected by spreading propaganda to one group or the other give a rats xxx about you. Example, there were two new business that open up in Meriden in the last month, only one kept making the news, the other one didn’t even get a welcome or an Thank You from the City. Thats not right the [WTP] welcomes everyone to the table, because without them or you, there is no future here!

[ringmaster]

If my memory serves me correctly there was not one unaffiliated voter on the "We the People" line last year. Mostly Democrats and a couple of Republicans.

[alwaysright]

If my memory serves me correctly there was not one unaffiliated voter on the "We the People" line last year. Mostly Democrats and a couple of Republicans.


these off shoot partys are a joke. walt is well loved, although not by his own party I guess! and NO ONE else even got close to elected. I think that guy from S Murdin who ran and lost then complained here on these boards until he quit writing will join them next. you know, that crybaby lawyer

[cherrybarbs]

Yes that is true one of the reasons people what to be a D or an R is so that they can still vote in primaries, but a lot of us are unaffiliated too. In 2009 voters will have some good choices from the WTP Party. ;)

[ringmaster]

We're all in favor of good choices.:)

[cherrybarbs]

This election year we have to make some tough decisions we are facing a massive deficit and our bond rating is low, so how can we make Meriden a more desirable place to come or live. Some of the answers are easy, lower taxes, have a good education system and of course lower the crime rate, even with a shoe string budget all this can be done. Here’s some options we have, city employees take a 10% pay cut and pay more for their benefits this will minimize layoffs, cut all social programs that are not effective and in pack the quality life here, open the biding process to everyone for things like subcontracted work, flower pots and so on.. Meriden has a few nice places left for people to in joy the outdoors, we think the million dollar sprinkler system for hunter’s golf course is a waste of taxpayer’s money, lets make it part of GIUFFRIDA Park, people will come if we have biking and walking trails there. On cathode mountain that a toss up, we love to have that has open pace, for the hall farm that would be a great place for an 55 and over complex, Meriden cant afford to build anymore condos that might have kids and the one I like is dragging Hanover pond with private monies, with no strings attach that one will not be easy. And the biggest hurtle is downtown we know we can get outside sources with the money to develop it they did it in New London, Middletown and so on. All this will come down to the voters; our website will be coming soon. Thanks for any input to all the voters of Meriden might have.

[Meridenborn]

This election year we have to make some tough decisions we are facing a massive deficit and our bond rating is low, so how can we make Meriden a more desirable place to come or live. Some of the answers are easy, lower taxes, have a good education system and of course lower the crime rate, even with a shoe string budget all this can be done. Here’s some options we have, city employees take a 10% pay cut and pay more for their benefits this will minimize layoffs, cut all social programs that are not effective and in pack the quality life here, open the biding process to everyone for things like subcontracted work, flower pots and so on.. Meriden has a few nice places left for people to in joy the outdoors, we think the million dollar sprinkler system for hunter’s golf course is a waste of taxpayer’s money, lets make it part of GIUFFRIDA Park, people will come if we have biking and walking trails there. On cathode mountain that a toss up, we love to have that has open pace, for the hall farm that would be a great place for an 55 and over complex, Meriden cant afford to build anymore condos that might have kids and the one I like is dragging Hanover pond with private monies, with no strings attach that one will not be easy. And the biggest hurtle is downtown we know we can get outside sources with the money to develop it they did it in New London, Middletown and so on. All this will come down to the voters; our website will be coming soon. Thanks for any input to all the voters of Meriden might have.

Why don't YOU try a 10% paycut and pay more for YOUR benefits? You must not know any city workers or their families to make such a callous remark? They are human beings like you and struggling like you. Many of them are your neighbors.

As to " On Cathole Mountain that's a toss up, we love to have open space".
What exactly does that mean? Walter Micowski's recent letter to the editor listed Meriden Concerned Citizens wish list for 2009. No.4 on the list was: "Open-up Cathole Mountain to developers giving priority to local contractors guaranteeing jobs to Meriden residents." Do you and your We the People group agree with the above statement?

[cherrybarbs]

Walter Micowski hasn’t been to our meetings for a long time, if the Demos maintain power in 2010 that mountain will be gone to the highest bidder. That’s why so many people that live in this city are in favor of developing it. They think their going to get a tax break when We the People know that the Demos are only going to put another welfare program here or make excuses why we should keep the ones we have. As for your defense on the 10% cut, look at the number of people who lose their jobs, at least we have a plan to save most if not all of Meriden’s employees!

[cherrybarbs]

I got to say I’m very disappointed in Walt for being in favor of spending $155++ million in taxpayer’s bond money in a golf course sprinkler system, he was the only one we had against wasteful spending. I’m glad the D.E.P. rejected most of the plan. The real sad thing here is, R.J. only used Frank Rotella for a rebuttal, I’m sure you guys could have found a lot of different upset Meriden taxpayers against this plan too!

[factsonly06450]

I got to say I’m very disappointed in Walt for being in favor of spending $155++ million in taxpayer’s bond money in a golf course sprinkler system, he was the only one we had against wasteful spending. I’m glad the D.E.P. rejected most of the plan. The real sad thing here is, R.J. only used Frank Rotella for a rebuttal, I’m sure you guys could have found a lot of different upset Meriden taxpayers against this plan too!

The golf course irrigation project is being paid for by golf course user fees- the money paid by golfers to play golf- no tax revenues are being spent on that project. The estimated cost of the project is $1.55 million, not $155 million.

[cherrybarbs]

Hunters golf course irrigation system is being paid for from a bond, where did this bond come from? It count have come from them, they didn’t even pay off their first loan yet. So what makes you think their going too pay off other $1.55 ++ million with interest simply by raising fees from a few golfers that use that course?

[factsonly06450]

Hunters golf course irrigation system is being paid for from a bond, where did this bond come from? It count have come from them, they didn’t even pay off their first loan yet. So what makes you think their going too pay off other $1.55 ++ million with interest simply by raising fees from a few golfers that use that course?

Facts:

30,000 rounds of golf played at Hunter last year
$856,940 of revenue last year
Payments made on all three bonds that the golf enterprise fund has outstanding, as scheduled

[Jakie19]

factsonly06450, do you really think the leader of the WTP (cherryburbs) can actually understand logic and facts? Yeah, last time I checked, "a few golfers used the course." The only thing this guy knows about golf is you have to get it in the clowns nose for a free game! Oh yeah, Jim N's dogs are smarter than Jim N.

[cherrybarbs]

That’s nice that their bringing in that kind of revenue, instead of giving them the $1.55 million from the city’s bond money, the taxpayers should loaned them the full amount of 1.75 million with no interest for 20 years. Also Meriden is getting 4.9 million for infrastructure also known has [shovel ready projects] maybe hunter golf can upgrade to the best irrigation system out there? As for Jackie you came up with a great idea, it would be perfect for hunters to a have a miniature golf there, just add it to our tab. Also I m not the leader of we the peps nor do I have anything more to do with them , if there’s one good lessen I learn from being involved in Meriden’s politics is, there’s no real difference from either party.

[Snakebite]

I heard their are a whopping 17 registered as WTP.
Now, with 5500 registered R's and 13000 registered D's, just a little catching up to do.

[cherrybarbs]

And there‘s over 20 thousand registered independents, but most don’t vote I can see why now.:rolleyes:

[Snakebite]

Its shameful, local elections have the most impact on our daily lives and the turnout is only 30 percent.

[Meridenborn]

Its shameful, local elections have the most impact on our daily lives and the turnout is only 30 percent.

When I turned 18 I couldn't wait to vote. Haven't missed an election since.
I personally enjoy voting and don't understand why others don't.
I 've been taking my kids into the voting booth since they were toddlers and letting them pull the levers I select---now the ovals on the paper ballots. They like voting and will assuredly continue to vote when they turn eighteen.

[Pancho]

Looks like WTP Party put together a good slate, by endorsing Mayor Mike Rohde[D] and Dan Brunet[R] goes to show WTP Party are very open minded in picking the best candidates for Meriden. I just hope the voters support Joe Luca in area 1,Joshua Broekstra in area 2, Bob Williams in area 4 ,Tony Tomassetti & Floresia Allen at Large, Jody Winslow & Jason Ghidini for the B.O.E. Good Luck to you all!!

[ringmaster]

Save it for your WTP meetings.
Providing choice--wasn't that the reason for forming a third party?
Looks like deal after deal was made to form this slate. One party chair gets the cross endorsement if the other gets a the same cross endorsement?
Doesn't sound like choice to me, sounds like the WTP has resulted to riggin the election. :rolleyes: Its clear from the cross endorsements and lack of candidates that the support is obviously not there the way pretend it to be.

[whalers44]

it was a waste for the WTP. They just endorsed Rhode...tried to get Shamrock to run for mayor but he turned it down. When you come right down to it, the mayor in this city is a waste of money. we need to change the charter and get the mayors position back just like Hartford did and change the number of councilors like the board of ed does to require so many from the other parties. We also need to allow the whole city to vote for all councilors....it is not fair to have districts where we vote for one council position. When a vote comes up for our district, everyone votes. it is our taxpayers $$$ and we should vote for all

[ringmaster]

You actually vote for 3 councilor each two years. You can't forget the at-large.
Its not much different than the fact that you can't vote for each seat in the State House or Senate or US House and Senate.

[Jakie19]

Wow, a third party voice. we the peeps have put together a powerful slate:rolleyes: What a joke. The richest dem, the Mayor who hired the bully for public comment, the former dem town chairs little buddy, their own town chair, and the repubs town chair and the gal the repubs bounced. What's the matter no one to choose from! Hey Ponchie, what are you drinking?;)

[Snakebite]

Save it for your WTP meetings.
Providing choice--wasn't that the reason for forming a third party?
Looks like deal after deal was made to form this slate. One party chair gets the cross endorsement if the other gets a the same cross endorsement?
Doesn't sound like choice to me, sounds like the WTP has resulted to riggin the election. :rolleyes: Its clear from the cross endorsements and lack of candidates that the support is obviously not there the way pretend it to be.
Boo hoo.

The candidates for area 2, 3, 4 are very good and if you take the donkey's nose out of your butt, It's pretty clear.

[Snakebite]

Wow, a third party voice. we the peeps have put together a powerful slate:rolleyes: What a joke. The richest dem, the Mayor who hired the bully for public comment, the former dem town chairs little buddy, their own town chair, and the repubs town chair and the gal the repubs bounced. What's the matter no one to choose from! Hey Ponchie, what are you drinking?;)

Williams and Brunet are leaders that did very well in the last election, and clearly the best candidates around. People actually like those guys, you aren't making much sense on this one. Tomassetti and Rhode, who knows, but looks good.

And Cirillo too, snakeskin boots for all.

[ringmaster]

Read the police blotter in the RJ during the third week of May:eek:

[whalers44]

You actually vote for 3 councilor each two years. You can't forget the at-large.
Its not much different than the fact that you can't vote for each seat in the State House or Senate or US House and Senate.
I understand that but a city is much different population wise compared to the state or federal government. we do it for the board of ed so why not for the council...this can shake things up..

[Snakebite]

Read the police blotter in the RJ during the third week of May:eek:
I think the court dispositions were more interesting that day.

I am an angry snake today, I am ready to shed.

[ringmaster]

Do what you gotta do and then slither under that rock again!

[Pancho]

The We The People Party believe that we should have a strong Mayor. Whalers44 is right, as it stands now, it's a big waste of money having both. We also want more accountibility in how our tax dollars are spent. That's why we want charter revision, something most Democrats in power appose of. I also like the fact that they have people with an independent mind, they don't have to sing to the same tune. Everyone's got a vioce at the table, that's what is going to make the WTP Party stronger and stronger as time goes by.

[Jakie19]

hey puncho.."make we the people stronger as time goes by." Yeah, maybe by next year you'll have 29 people registered to you party. I really should call you a group because you'll need a heck of allot more people to make it a PARTY!

[don'tcareattitude]

No party in murdin has much mojo. The dems going out of favor- due to ineptness. The republicans can't win a game of solitare here. we the people is basically a bunch of people who hang at a diner with lots of grease and gripe about things. They should have 2 banjo players and a guitarist on the porch of that place.

This town is doomed.

[ringmaster]

Pancho,

Accountability and the threat of opening our charter????? First learn how to spell.

[Pancho]

Finally some real good news in todays newspaper, Mayor Mike Rohde accepts the WTP nomination and Republicans cross-endorse Bob Williams in area 4. As for Milly Torres's comments about Rohde's primary, he should be emphasizing his allegiance to the Democratic principles and the Democratic Party. I'd just like to say that this is the United States of America and we don't have to give allegiance to anybody. If she's so concerned about people voting on the wrong Party line because of all the cross- endorsements, I would like to say to her, that she should give people some credit for their intelligence. All the We The People candidates are asking is, to give them a chance to change the facebook of Meriden. Lord, know's, that the Democrat controlled Party had year after year to do so and look what a mess we have now!!

[don'tcareattitude]

"I'd just like to say that this is the United States of America and we don't have to give allegiance to anybody."

try saying that in school where a kid would be chastized for not pledging allegiance. and I believe they should have the right to refuse

[jma]

All the We The People candidates are asking is, to give them a chance to change the facebook of Meriden.

How is cross-endorse candidates changing the facebook of Meriden? Shouldn't they work on coming up with their own? Wasn't that their goal in the first place?

[don'tcareattitude]

How is cross-endorse candidates changing the facebook of Meriden? Shouldn't they work on coming up with their own? Wasn't that their goal in the first place?


I'd like to know what that person means by the "facebook" of Meriden. I searched on facebook and do not come up with a profile.
But lets face it- if We the People could find some "people" they wouldn't have to cross endorse. But hardly anyone in their right mind will stick their neck out to help this city when all they get is a few dollars and plenty of headaches.

BTW- Art Petrucelli for mayor

[Snakebite]

Nobody wants to run for anything it takes money and only the Meriden Democrats Friends and Family Adminstration can deliver that.

[ringmaster]

What does that mean?:confused:

[Pancho]

It's true about getting candidates to run, the Democrat control Party has plenty of money at their disposal, only with bribes,kickbacks and intimidation are they able to maintain this control. I can only tell you that the WTP members running are very sincere about giving a voice back to all of the people of Meriden .Everyone should have a say what happens in their community rather then it getting shoved down our throats like housing projects, NRG, Rushford,sober homes and the list goes on. Whether your for or against some of these things, all of Meriden citizens should have a right to speak out!!

[don'tcareattitude]

It's true about getting candidates to run, the Democrat control Party has plenty of money at their disposal, only with bribes,kickbacks and intimidation . .Everyone should have a say what happens in their community rather then it getting shoved down our throats like housing projects, NRG, Rushford,sober homes and the list goes on. Whether your for or against some of these things, all of Meriden citizens should have a right to speak out!!

I'd love to hear about the kickbacks and bribes. I do know that Zerio led the way when the council RAPED the park trust fund. But they ALL voted to do so. As far as sober houses, as long as they don't crack down on the drunk houses I have no problem. Rushford is a nice model- but isn't effective. NRG- a blight on our landscape- any council person who voted for that should be voted out. Facts only- if you'd be so kind to enlighten us on those votes.

Art Petrucelli for mayor- because how could it get any worse?

[ringmaster]

Pancho, as of the last filing the Republicans actually had more money. What bribes and kickbacks have they been making??
Seriously though, you are obviously a member of the WTP party; are you really okay with all these cross endorsements?

[Pancho]

I don't think that's true, the Democrats spent almost $80,000 to win the 2007 elections. Brian Daniels spent $18,000 alone just to win area 3 and the WTP altogether spent less than $5,000. I think the Repulicans spent about $10,000 [not sure]. As for cross- endorsements I'm ok with it for now, remember we're going against a mighty empire. A lot of people say it can't be done. I would like to say, even in Puerto Rico they elected their first Republican Governor since 1968. If they can break down the walls there, it can most certainly happen here. Meriden has a mixture of cultures and we all need representation no matter what your nationality is. Hilda Santiago in area 1 is a prime example of what a Politician should not be. She goes around to the Spanish events [that's ok] but does nothing for the rest of area .We know what they pulled the last time, unlike the 2007 campaign we'll have people watching at the polling places. When Joe Luca ran against George McGoldrick, there were people working there saying that Joe Luca was not on the ballet, when cleary he was.We the People need to fight back against these kinds of tactics to ensure a fair election this time!!

[ringmaster]

Oh the old conspiracy theory.
Educate yourself -- the Republicans do have more cash on hand.

Puerto Rico only elected the Republican governor because of the scandal surrounding the prior Governor

You're assuming voters can't read and didn't see Joe Luca's name on the ballot.

[Pancho]

It had very little to do with the scandal, just look at Mayor Eddie {madicxx] Perez. And when I went to Platt High School for the 2007 elections, the Latino working the polls knew Joe Luca was on the ballot, but turned many voters away. There's a lot of people in area 1 that can't speak or write English, that's a different debate for another day.

[Snakebite]

Hang in there Ponch, ring is stealing another page from the Bush gang, with Karl Rove-like spin.

Collectively, the R's could not have spent more the 5,000. Brunet was the highest at about 2,000. Ring is probably talking town committees and I doubt they have anything close to what was spent by just Daniels and Thorp.

A Fairway Ave. guy said Moore was by his house last week, and Brunet yesterday, he has both their cards and asked tough questions. Cha Ching.

Talk about that laaater. Now welcome me back from my Snacation.

Peeze an Love.

[don'tcareattitude]

I hope that neither of those campaigners come to my front door. They are no more welcome than a fuller brush salesman or a Jehova's Winess double teaming.

Who ever knocks first loses my vote. The second won't get answered.
I'll go to a debate- but don't want politicos in my house.

[ringmaster]

By mentioning the Eddie Perez support you only confirmed my point. Thanks.

But on a seperate note - there are alot of individuals who's primary language is not English in Area 1 but you chose the wrong voting precinct to make an example of. Platt is not one of the districts. Your accusation that a poll worker turned many people away means you stood by and watched it happen. :(

[Pancho]

I came in 15 minutes before the polls closed and when I saw what was happening I confronted the poll worker and the latino played stupid and said, it was a honest mistake [yeh right]!! The good news this time around is some of WTP supporters are going to be working the polls and a lot of us can speak both languages. The WTP Party believe's in a few basic principles, a voice for everyone,accountability in how our tax dollars are being spent,term limits and establishing a referendum. We also want Meriden to be business friendly again, right now our self-serving City Officals set up so many road blocks, only their friends and family can get through all the nonsence, paperwork and fees. WTP look forward in ending that program ASAP!!!

[Snakebite]

WTP is taking their hand at rigging votes too. Cool, maybe some rumblin gonna take place.

[Pancho]

I think the rumbling has already occurred, the Democrats as a whole are very nervous and the best is yet to come. You asked about Joe Luca, yes he's in favor of the auto auction but he's the only one on the WTP slate. I'm supporting him because, Joe Luca is a good guy, he served in Vietnam in the Marine Corps, was wounded more than once and was nominated for 2 Congressional Medals of Honor. Let's agree on this point, anyone that throws themselves on a hand grenade to save his fellow man is worthy enough to be given a chance to serve Meriden. Not just that, Joe Luca is a down to earth person, he doesn't see himself better than anyone else. What Joe Luca wants for Meriden is lower taxes, make downtown like our surrounding towns[a nice place to go],and to get rid of the Ghettos.His theory is, when you put so many families into a housing project and get nothing in return, most people living there just don't care. He says,give these people one of the many of Meriden's empty lots, let them build a house and live in it, pay taxes on it for at least five years.This way people can own and be proud of something.That sounds a lot better than Hilda Santiago's theory, which is to put all of them into a housing project and get grants to pay for it and hope for the best. Where in the U.S. has this ever worked? That's why I don't base my support on just one issue. I'll always support Joe Luca.

[ringmaster]

Santiago supports the same theory--but its not Lucas idea. It was Benigni's idea. WTP will jump on the wagon and claim it as their own, just like their candidates.

[Pancho]

Hilda/Donovan are major supporters of housing projects, they both live and feed off of grants. Mark was in favor of getting rid of them, but Donovan controls the whip and what he says goes, like it or not.There is some talk about working out a deal with Wallingford,Cheshire and Southington, where they will get credit by supporting more Ghettos, but actually they'll be located in Meriden.

[don'tcareattitude]

If we bulldoze the out of code buildings-21 Colony, 18 Colony, The old Home club and others- then get a real restaurant dowbntown the ghettos would keep them busy.

[ringmaster]

Lets not give WTP too much credit--after all even they ackowledged that they need the Republican support to win. I bet they get more votes on the Republican line.
Salafia shouldn't loose to a guy who was a Democrat turned WTP turned Republican. Willaims is likely to confuse the every other Tuesday council schedule. As for Salafia's prior opponent, I heard he's now a Democrat! :p

[Pancho]

Bob Williams was never a Republican, where do you come with these things? The only person I knew that was a flip floper was Mark Benigni. Besides that, there are more registered independents, than D's and R's put together. And our elected officials is supposed to be representing everyone no matter what people's affiliation is.You're losing power amgio;) and it is definitely time for David Salafia to go.

[don'tcareattitude]

Bob Williams was never a Republican, where do you come with these things? The only person I knew that was a flip floper was Mark Benigni. Besides that, there are more registered independents, than D's and R's put together. And our elected officials is supposed to be representing everyone no matter what people's affiliation is.You're losing power amgio;) and it is definitely time for David Salafia to go.


How about Walt?? he flipped. Tony flipped years ago- but from the "evil axis" of republicans to Murdin's party of choice. You are correct in your closing- but only because what has he done? He'll have plenty to do correcting papers soon....

[Pancho]

Walt was a Republican his whole life,then went to WTP in 2007. We're talking about people going from R to D, then to U then back to D, R or U.Some people do it because they look at what's going to benefit them, like what Mark did, others do it so they can vote in primarys. The two party's make sure they keep the doors closed from anyone other than D or R from coming in. I as a U should be able to vote in any primary!!

[don'tcareattitude]

any voter voting in any primary?? A real stupid idea. Why should I, a lifelong democrat and hater of republicans be allowed to vote in a republican primary?
I'd just do it to mess it up- kinda like I'm going to do in the morning when I vote for the least arrogant guy, in hopes of messing it up- then voting for Art petrucelli when the real election comes around.

And why would the dems want some assh*le like Joe The Plumber or Richter voting in the Democratic primary? This isn't the way.

And those who are Unaffiliated? vote in November or join a party.

[Pancho]

Then why you, as a Democract should be allowed to vote for Art P who is Unaffiliated? Exactly my point, anyone should have the right to vote for the person they want, no matter what their affiliation is!!

[don'tcareattitude]

Then why you, as a Democract should be allowed to vote for Art P who is Unaffiliated? Exactly my point, anyone should have the right to vote for the person they want, no matter what their affiliation is!!


It shows that you really don't have the basic knowledge about elections. In primaries- it's IN-PARTY votes. Then, in the general election we are not bound by our registration- but rather, our ideals., So... if you could only vote the party you were registered in, then we wouldn't even have to hold elections- just count up the republicans, the dems and the independants- tally the respective candidates in those registered votes and NEVER would the republicans win in murdin. In fact, since the unaffiliated outnumber both partys, Art would win in a landslide.

I think it's a great idea after all.

Art Petrucelli for Mayor-"Because HOW could it get any worse?"

[Pancho]

Mike Rhode worked very hard to win this primary ,Mike is the best man for City of Meriden and WTP knew it. This should show the old school Democracts , dont mess with WTP!!

[CTYankee]

...This should show the old school Democracts , dont mess with WTP!!

Oh please. This had far more to do with voter frustration that the town committee didn't endorse the incumbent than it had to do with the WTP party.

I admire their spirit, but the WTP wishes it had the political weight of the save the spotted owl society.

[don'tcareattitude]

all the primary shows is a distaste for arrogance- a trait often shown in zerio

[ringmaster]

I couldn't come up with stuff this good!! It's very intertaining to think anyone would believe Pancho's nonsense. If I wasn't so busy laughing maybe I would be shaking in my boots.

[Snakebite]

What is all the cross stuff, Torres is whining about.
Out of 12 total candidates between them only 3 are crossed so what is the big deal. Especially, since one has an excellent chance, one a good chance and one maybe not so good.
The R need their list in July, and WTP in Sept., makes things tough.

Torres' spin was another no sense comment. She is losing her mojo. You have to give Brunet an A+ for effort, even the Headquarter thing next to the other piece, realisticly that guy should be on the council.

[Pancho]

I think Dan and the WTP candidates have a really good chance to clean house this year. The only one that should be thinking about leaving the Democratic Town Committee is Milly Torres, she would be better off working for ACORN.One things for sure, it's going to be fun to watch all of the axx kissing at the Honolulu camp!:D

[ringmaster]

So Brunet deserves a seat on the council because he opened up a headquarters???
ACORN gets criticized for unfair election practices --sounds like what Brunet and Williams have done?

Brunet-cross endorsed
Williams-cross endorsed
Tamassetti-cross endorsed (Williams could've at least spelled the name right)
Rohde-cross endorsed
Allen-cross endorsed

I hear Healy dropped out. Will the Republicans cross endorse him too?

[don'tcareattitude]

the republicans have nothing left but rush and his ilk. Murdin's situation is permanant. The caliber of republican candidates has been weak since Walt Evilia stopped running. Brunet is the best they can come up with and he's meek.


Art Petrucelli for Mayor "Because HOW can it get any worse?"

[Pancho]

"I hear Healy dropped out. Will the Republicans cross endorse him too?"

Kurt [Healey] is running as a Republican, and you're spelling is not so good either. Hilda, I'm sure was very nervous when he said he dropped out of the race. However, I think he's back in again and this would not be good news for Joe Luca!

[Snakebite]

So Brunet deserves a seat on the council because he opened up a headquarters???
ACORN gets criticized for unfair election practices --sounds like what Brunet and Williams have done?

Brunet-cross endorsed
Williams-cross endorsed
Tamassetti-cross endorsed (Williams could've at least spelled the name right)
Rohde-cross endorsed
Allen-cross endorsed

I hear Healy dropped out. Will the Republicans cross endorse him too?
You wrote too early, the Brunet editorial this morning shows why. Moore has no resume, the card she hands out tells it all. He would at least be an independant guy, not held to the D party stuff. We dont need another to join in their circle jerk.
So much for the Chamber being non-partisan, an arm of the Democrats, a real tax friendly crowd.

The WTP folks have a chance, but they too have no history to go by. Maybe, DC is right, brunet is too passive and should mix it up a little.

He is showing leader qualities, I am surprised the Dems didn't rope him in for their group, thats what they usually do, Torres screwing up again.

[ringmaster]

Healy is a Republican but it's getting hard to keep track with all the cross endorsements. What I meant was - now that he dropped out will the Republicans cross endorse the WTP candidate?
My spelling maybe a bit off since these are quick postings however, if I were putting up a huge 4x6 sign on a busy intersection, I would make sure to double and triple check my spelling:D

[Pancho]

How about this one "Belote to run against Rohde for Meriden mayor" what in the hell is Dan thinking . All I like to say is, if you stab the Hispanics and all Mike Rohde's supporters in the back, you deserve your outcome in November!

[Snakebite]

How about this one "Belote to run against Rohde for Meriden mayor" what in the hell is Dan thinking . All I like to say is, if you stab the Hispanics and all Mike Rohde's supporters in the back, you deserve your outcome in November!
Panch, I dont get it, what does Belote got to do with hispanics. And what was Dan supposed to do, have no mayor choice.
I dont know Belote, but in passing, he seemed like a friendly old dude. He probably doesn't have a chance, but at least it isn't an uncontested race for once, that is just wrong and boring.
I makes more sense than WTP endorsing Rohde. The Belote thing will help WTP cross candidates.

[don'tcareattitude]

nice old guy- if that's his credentials, the republicans can hang up now.

[Pancho]

The hispanics count for 30% or more of the votes ,by putting this Belote in the mix, he will take away votes from Mike Rohde. Now there's no guarantee for Rohde's victory.They're a lot of us working behide the scenes, I cant go in details, but we have a new plan for the D.T.C. Till this point ,we were willling to support this guy Dan and the WTP candidates. You never pull a "trampa" in a game of dominoes! If the Republicans were so concerned about giving people a choice, than the WTP would have never came about in 2007 [remember]!

[ringmaster]

Are you referring to Clermonts plan to put his own Democratic slate forward?
:confused:

[jma]

The only Republican candidate who could possibly win would be former Chief Robert Kosienski, and they can't convince him to run.

[don'tcareattitude]

The only Republican candidate who could possibly win would be former Chief Robert Kosienski, and they can't convince him to run.


you gotta be kidding me. He was derisive chief-more arrogant than zerio.

[jma]

you gotta be kidding me. He was derisive chief-more arrogant than zerio.


Why do you think Hunter's created a BS position just for him? He's a natural politician, and very popular in town. He's perfect to represent the Republican party. He was born and raised here, he's an old white man, and not the brightest light on the tree. He's the GOP version of Matt Dominello, and you know how popular Matt is!

[Pancho]

I think R.J. should have a poll. "Should Papendrea and Cirillo serve on the D.T.C., being that the dont live in Meriden" or something like that? I think it would be very interesting to see those results.To me,these are just two more trouble makers for our city, who have no other investments here other than $$$. Robert Kosienski from what I know of him, seems to be very dedicated to the City of Meriden, if he ran against Rohde, it would be a very close call.

[jma]

Papandrea shouldn't run for dogcatcher, and Cirillo has long since worn out his welcome.

[don'tcareattitude]

Those two SHOULD live out of Meriden- what they've done in the past has only driven the town down into the spiral we spin today. The dems should take a long hard look at millie too- or at least have a speach writer tag along when reporters hit her with the hard ball questions....

The ret chief couldn't win dog catcher- he wouldn't get the police union support for sure.

Art Petrucelli for Mayor- Because HOW can it get any worse?"

[Snakebite]

The hispanics count for 30% or more of the votes ,by putting this Belote in the mix, he will take away votes from Mike Rohde. Now there's no guarantee for Rohde's victory.They're a lot of us working behide the scenes, I cant go in details, but we have a new plan for the D.T.C. Till this point ,we were willling to support this guy Dan and the WTP candidates. You never pull a "trampa" in a game of dominoes! If the Republicans were so concerned about giving people a choice, than the WTP would have never came about in 2007 [remember]!
Didnt WTP start with Demayo, she cant get along with anybody, anywhere and the same is happening to her again.
Why doesn't she run if she had such a problem.
What's the love affair with Rohde, how dare anyone run against him?

Having a mayor candidate helps the line or many R leaners wont come out to vote. Its in Dan we trust, or bust. Probably bust
but gotta love the effort.

[Pancho]

You say it all snakebite, "we trust, or bust", it's the same thing for the D.T.C, Dan and the W.T.P. Party. I think we're looking for the same thing, the dismantling of the D.T.C. In order for this to happen, we need Mike Rohde to win, we also need upsets in areas 1,2,3, and 4. So look at the odds, you got about 90% of the hispanic voters ****ed off with D.T.C. and the other registered D's who are in disarray. I suspect Dan and the W.T.P. Party is going to get around 40% of the votes from the D's. Then you have the registered R's which there are not to many of them.The ones that are left are from the old school, like, [DeMayo]. So out of them, Dan and his candidates will get about 98%. W.T.P. might get 2%.In total that's going to be 5% of all votes. Now we have the U's, who generally vote for the Democrats, 70/30%.But because of what happened with Mike & Zerio, and the $35,000 waste of money to the taxpayers. I think the U's are going to be up for grabs, 50/50 down the line. So what I'm saying is, if you have too many people running, you lower your chances of winning. Especially with a low turn out ,which is going to be the case this year, and just for dontcare, Art P. might get about 2% of all votes, not bad.

[EastSideres]

Papandrea shouldn't run for dogcatcher, and Cirillo has long since worn out his welcome.

Papandrea would run for dog-catcher if he knew his son David, who works for a construction company, would get a contract to buiild a new dog pound. In regards to Cirillo someone should tell him that there is a Democratic Town Committee in Rocky Hill

[Pancho]

Is the Record Journal an independent newspaper or do they favor one political party over the other?

[don'tcareattitude]

Is the Record Journal an independent newspaper or do they favor one political party over the other?


c'mon panc- murdin has really only one party- and they almost always win. Walt an exception. Demayo can't win at a carnival "pitch til you win booth" Williams won't beat salafia even though salafia about the weakest candidate out there. The hairdresser will run all over Brunet. WTP won't win a race.


Art Petrucelli for Mayor-"Because HOW can it get any worse?"

[Snakebite]

Brunet is a far superior for a wide variety of reasons, but that dont mean stool, I see what you mean, if he loses it will show we have a really politicly sick town. No wonder the town sits in purgatory.
The party puppets rule.

[Pancho]

The reason I ask ,was because R.J. journalist seemed to be extra friendly to the Democratic Party.The problem I have is, they call themselves an independent newspaper. If I'm buying their product and supporting their advertisers, I woud like to have fair and balanced articals for all the candidates running, whether I like them or not!

[don'tcareattitude]

hey- the publisher and most of the editors don't even live in murdin- at least they know that much. It really wouldn't matter who they endorse- the paper is more or less a pamphlet- more attention paid to the silly brochure on florida they put out.

[Pancho]

How are the candidates doing. Rush'Moore in Area 3 should be a sure win with all are connections:rolleyes: . Hilda and David are claiming they saved the firehouse, thats like saying I built it.:p Mike should have no problem unless his fellow Demo'rats keep stabbing in the back.:mad: I think Joshua in Area 2 might have a chance.:) The Democracts should sweep the BOE. Jody & Kevin should get the minority vote. At large Allen & Thorpe might be the most interesting of then all, I like both. Tony, well he got the free ride.:o But in the end, it's all up to the voters.:confused:

[ringmaster]

Joshua in area 2??? C'mon pancho. No one knows who he is. They probably know him in Plantsville. Dante is an easy win!

[jma]

Thorpe is a nice enough guy, but what has he done for us? He stays safely behind the scenes, takes no firm stand on anything, and is invisible for most of his term.

[Pancho]

Joshua was featured in the RJ a few weeks ago,I like the fact that he's a young kid interested in serving Meriden,he's a big supporter of environmental issues. He also was another casualty of the D.T.C. I'm glad he kept fighting for his beliefs with the W.T.P. Party. I agree with jma about Thorpe,but I'm hoping Floresia Allen wins, she's very involved in the community and city hall could use some diversity.