Showing posts with label Forum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Forum. Show all posts
Friday, October 26, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
WALLINGFORD - Fur flies at forum for 85th, 90th
As published in the Record Journal, Friday October 19, 2012
By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225
Twitter:@RussellBlairRJ
WALLINGFORD — Republican Greg Bachand says state spending has grown 700 percent during the 32 years his opponent, Democratic state Rep. Mary M. Mushinsky, has held office.
“Her voting record speaks so loudly, it doesn’t matter what she said here tonight,” he said.
But Mushinsky called Bachand a “tea party aficionado” and said with the cuts he proposes, he’s putting dollars before people.
“There’s a clear choice between the two of us,” she said. “He looks at numbers, not people.”
Bachand and Mushinsky, who are vying for Wallingford’s 85th state House district, were the first of four pairs of candidates to face off in candidate forums sponsored by the Wallingford Community Women at Town Hall Wednesday and Thursday night. The forums were taped and will be rebroadcast on Wallingford Government TV.
On an issue that has financial implications in the millions, Bachand and Mushinsky also disagreed. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection adopted a phosphorus reduction strategy in response to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, and compliance with the current standards will cost Wallingford $19 million.
Mushinsky, who has been a longtime environmental advocate, said the legislature passed a bill to give municipalities more time to comply with the standards and to receive up to 30 percent of the cost of the upgrades from state grants.
“I think more time and good technology should allow us to solve this problem at a reasonable cost,” she said.
But Bachand said unfunded mandates are “not sensible.”
103rd House District: Parts of Wallingford, Cheshire and Southington
Democrat Elizabeth Linehan agreed with her opponent, Republican state Rep. Al Adinolfi, on several issues throughout the forum. Both candidates said they supported reducing state government spending and suspending the Risk Reduction Earned Credits Program, which allows inmates to take courses and earn time off their sentences.
“It’s too inefficient on who they allowed to be released early,” Adinolfi said.
“I may be a Democrat but I am tough on crime,” Linehan said. “I have kids who live in this community ... I’m not messing around.”
But Linehan, a mother of two, said she felt she was more in touch with the concerns of residents in the 103rd District, which includes portions of Wallingford, Cheshire and Southington.
“Mr. Adinolfi, as nice as he is, does not fully represent the values of our district,” she said. Adinolfi said he has been elected five times, and votes based on what he hears from his constituents.
“I know what’s going on up there and I know what needs to get done,” he said.
90th House District: Parts of Wallingford and Cheshire
In one of the sharper exchanges of the night, Republican Guy Darter criticized the record of his opponent, Democratic state Rep. Mary Fritz. Darter said Fritz has been part of Democratic leadership that, through increased spending and taxes, “has driven the state into the ground.”
“Sometimes I wonder how you sleep at night,” he said.
But Fritz defended her record, saying she voted against the state income tax when it was proposed in the early 1990s and also voted against Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s most recent budget, which included $1.8 billion in new taxes.
When Darter called for spending cuts, Fritz pointed out that his company, Darter Specialties, has earned hundreds of thousands of dollars in state contracts.
“Maybe we shouldn’t have spent that money,” she said.
Darter countered that he would be in favor of eliminating his own contract — which covers pens, pencils, coffee mugs and other promotional material for the state.
“It’s one of many of the frivolous ways we’re spending money,” he said.
34th Senate District: Wallingford, East Haven and parts of North Haven and Durham
Democrat Steve Fontana, a former state representative from North Haven, criticized Republican state Sen. Len Fasano for not working hard enough to support the middle class.
“He’s become too close to millionaires and corporations,” Fontana said. “On issue after issue Len sides with millionaires and corporations. What we really need ... are people that side with the middle class.”
But Fasano said that Democrats had supported a budget that increased the sales tax and made clothing purchases under $50 and over-the-counter drugs taxable.
“That hurts the average person.”
He agreed with Fontana that the middle class is in trouble, but said Democrats were to blame.
“We’ve had 26 years of one party rule. ... It wasn’t me, it wasn’t my party that got us here.”
Fontana, who served in the General Assembly from 1997 to 2011, was defeated by Republican David Yaccarino for the 87th state House District seat in 2010. He said in the two years since, he has learned to reconnect with his community. “Too often when you’re at the Capitol, you live in a bubble,” he said.
This year is the first time Fasano has had an opponent since he joined the state Senate in 2002, but the Republican said he wasn’t changing his message or his campaign strategy.
“I want my kids to stay in the state of Connecticut,” he said. “I have to make this place desirable for them to live here.”
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Wallingford 2011 Elections - Q&A for candidates set at two forums this week
This story originally ran in the Record Journal on Wednesday October 12, 2011 under the title “Q&A for candidates set at two forums next week”
In the instances where the article reads “next week” please remember that it will be referring to THIS WEEK Wednesday October 19 and Thursday October 20.
By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225
WALLINGFORD — Voters will have a chance to hear candidates for mayor, Town Council and Board of Education at two candidate forums next week.
On Wednesday, council candidates will answer questions from students from Sheehan and Lyman Hall high schools and local reporters, with a similar forum Thursday for the mayoral and school board candidates. Both are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall Council Chambers.
The forums are being sponsored by the Wallingford Community Women.
“This gives people an opportunity to learn more about candidates,” member Jeanne McFarland said. “This is a chance to ask specific questions. It’s a more informal opportunity to get information.”
Republican Town Committee Chairman Robert Prentice said the forums are a valuable opportunity for candidates, too.
“This is a chance for everybody to say what they have to say,” Prentice said. “All the signs in the world don’t tell anybody about the candidates.”
The forums will be taped and broadcast on WPAA-TV in the weeks before the election.
Democratic Town Chairman Vincent Avallone said forums are good for newer candidates who aren’t familiar with the political process.
“For newer candidates, this makes a big difference,” he said.
Avallone said some candidates are nervous about being on television, but are excited to get their message across.
Prentice said he expects the entire Republican slate to be present both nights. Avallone said the only absence he was expecting was Valerie Ford, a school board candidate who has a work commitment.
McFarland said her organization — formerly the Wallingford Junior Woman’s Club — has helped run the event with the League of Women Voters before, but this year’s forum is the first time it has sponsored the event alone.
Candidates will be allowed two minutes to respond to questions from the panel. Each candidate will answer eight to 10 questions. At the end, each candidate will be allowed three minutes to summarize their platform.
The council forum is divided into segments, with Democratic candidates Nick Economopoulos, Don Harwood and Robin Hettrick and Republican candidates Vincent Cervoni, Craig Fishbein and Tom Laffin answering questions beginning at 7 p.m., and Democrats Debi Reynolds, John Sullivan and Jason Zandri joining Republicans John Le-Tourneau, Robert Parisi and Rosemary Rascati at 8 p.m.
Thursday’s forum will begin with school board Democrats Kathy Castelli and Jay Cei pairing up with Republicans Tanya Bachand, Michael Brooder and Christine Mansfield at 7 p.m., followed by David Leonardo, Patrick Reynolds and Michael Votto representing the Democrats, joined by Republicans Joe Marrone, Roxane McKay and Chet Miller at 8 p.m. The mayoral forum will follow at 9 p.m. with Democrat Vincent Testa Jr. and Republican Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
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