Democratic Town Committee of New Canaan, CT

On November 8, 2011, New Canaan held its municipal elections.

You can find our candidate profiles here.
You can find the results here.

We’d like to thank the many volunteers who came out to support our ticket, everyone who stopped in at our headquarters at 99 Main St., and all those who voted for the Democrats in 2011.

We’ll take a breather, then launch into Campaign 2012 in a few weeks.  This is gonna be fun…

We recently learned that Nanacy Barton, who ran for state Senate in the 36th district in 2010, died last weekend.  It was a terrible shock and very sad news. 

I was at the train station in New Canaan campaigning with Nancy.  She had a great sense of humor which she needed in her campaign.  She was a well regarded corporate attorney and dedicated town official in Greenwich.  Like everyone on the New Canaan DTC, I really liked her and was hoping she would run again. 

I was also at the Greenwich DTC meeting the night she declared her candidacy and told that wonderful story of her grandfather being the last Democrat to have won the seat that she was now campaigning to reclaim.  It made the news. 

A reminder to us all of how life is so fleeting … she left us with a wonderful memory of strength, courage, spirit and love of life.

Essay 1

Partisanship in New Canaan ELECTIONS is, of course, not only appropriate it’s essential. It is the most direct way to ensure town government remains accountable to the voters. Partisan behavior by both parties is a good way to help that happen. For us Democrats, partisanship in terms of acting as “the loyal opposition” throughout the year also aids in fostering good government and in trying to ensure that town business is conducted in an open and transparent manner and in accordance with state statutes and the Town Charter. Of course, in situations such as this year’s Town Treasurer contest where the respective party nominees provide such a clear choice between moving forward (Democrat Kathleen Corbet) or business as usual (Republican V. Donald Hersam, Jr.) then partisan support and enthusiasm actually equates to improved government.

However – when it comes to how the various elected and appointed bodies in New Canaan go about the MANAGEMENT of their responsibilities – then political partisanship is not good for the town, and, as the minority party, not particularly good for the Democrats.

Surely, if there is one thing that our national and state political discourses already have more than enough of, it is political partisanship. In many instances, partisan posturing seems to have replaced common sense or even civility as the lingua franca of our elected officials. Don’t misunderstand me – I like a good political donnybrook as much as the next person (probably more so) but the very nature of local governance –especially in a town such as ours – tends to blunt the effectiveness of political partisanship as a way to define government actions. The issues we face locally aren’t easily shoehorned into Democrat versus Republican perspectives, unless of course you belong to one of the fringe weirdo groups such as the “birthers”, “truthers” or “health care reform death panel-ers” who from time to time grace the entrance to our local post office. However it’s unclear if those people are even from planet earth let alone New Canaan, so I don’t think we have to count them.

Is there really a Democrat/Republican divide on main street sidewalks, the mill rate, the Downtown Market Study, and the umpteen other issues the town faces? If there is then it has certainly escaped my notice. We don’t really want political partisanship to inform the conduct of our local government (we see enough of that from Hartford and Washington) what we really want is competence, cooperation, and effectiveness. Overt partisan behavior by either party aimed at making the “other guys” look bad or “our guys” look good just gets in the way.

The best “partisan” contribution we Democrats can make to the management of New Canaan’s government affairs is to continue our long tradition of nominating, supporting, and electing thoughtful, responsible and qualified candidates – just like the ones running this year on the Democratic ticket!

Essay 2

The phrase, “all politics is local” is a phrase coined by the former U.S. Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill. In short — politicians, including New Canaan politicians, must appeal to the simple, mundane and everyday concerns of those who elect them into office. At the level of New Canaan politics we only have simple and mundane issues; inserting Republican / Democrat partisanship into the equation is unwarranted and disruptive.

New Canaan has 25 to 30 unsung heroes. These are the elected, but mostly unpaid government officials. ALL are well meaning: but all, in a good way, have differences of opinion around the running of a community that has one source of income (property taxes), one large-bloc source of expenditure (schools) and a collection of shared assets/services. We are not debating civil rights, abortion or Medicaid entitlement programs. We are debating Maslowian basic needs like sidewalks, bus routes and zoning laws. I believe it is very disruptive to be looking for conspiracies around partisan power-grabbing or political class-warfare. Let’s get real: building partisanship into the issues that affect everyday governance of New Canaan is simply not constructive – we need to stamp it out wherever it arises.

Let me give you an example

Several years ago the town Board of Finance (BOF) was presented by a request from several senior citizens who had insufficient cash-flow to pay their property tax. The three choices of the BOF were fairly straightforward:

• Foreclose
• Forgive
• Accommodate

Rather than take a partisan approach with hardliners voting for foreclosure and softies voting for forgiveness, the BOF looked into the details of these households to discover that they were mostly asset-rich but cash-flow poor. After round and round of discussion and multiple meetings of disagreement, they initiated a simple yet effective needs-based program where income-stretched households can defer taxes –with interest compounding at the town’s municipal bond borrowing rate- secured by a first lien on the house. The beautiful thing is that there was no need to go into partisan corner-options. These are not issues that move upward into the Maslow hierarchy of “safety, self-actualization and morality”. These are simple and mundane issues where reasonable people can find reasonable agreement.

Let’s not get infected by the partisan grid-lock of Washington. Let’s be reasonable people who all agree that New Canaan is great place and can be improved if we can speak from the heart of good intentions: not Republican / Democrat Partisanship.

Essay 3

Does it really matter whether you are a Democrat or a Republican when it comes to town politics or issues? This town is made up of mostly Republicans. We Democrats are in the minority and usually only win the minority seats mandated by legislation on the Board of Education, Town Council and Board of Selectmen. For this reason, we Dems rarely put up two candidates for the same position- we do not want to split our minority electorate and risk losing a stake in our local government or on our various town governing boards to an Independent /Republican. Within our own party there are divergent views on this question and there are solid arguments supporting both viewpoints. I discovered this when I applied as a candidate for the Board of Education against the sitting incumbent. In the end, I decided it was in the Party’s best interest to run only one candidate and I removed my candidacy from consideration.

For a Democrat to win a contested seat, some Republicans would have to cross over and vote Democrat. There are plenty of Independents in town who can be influential but you will still need that crossover to win. Should Democrats and Republicans throw party loyalties aside and vote for the best woman or man running?

Yes, you say; “Of course you should only vote for the best person running. Forget about which party you belong to! Party politics does not come into question when we are thinking about our town! We all want the best for our town and who cares what your Party affiliation is!”

Well, if you look at this year’s town elections, you could come to this conclusion. There is only one candidate up for First Selectman, Rob Mallozzi III, a Republican. The Democrats decided not to put up a candidate or rather could not find a candidate willing to run for First Selectman against a popular local business owner who won a hotly contested primary race in his own majority party. However, the Democratic Party has not officially endorsed Mr. Mallozzi as their choice for First Selectman. Is that important? In my opinion, it is. Why should Democrats come out to vote when the most important office in town is uncontested and a Republican shoe-in? I suppose you could argue that there are other Democratic candidates who need their support but these seats are secure so long as some loyal Democrats show up at the polls.

By endorsing Rob Mallozzi III as First Selectman, the Democratic Party would demonstrate that it can put party politics aside and support the best person for the job. This would show remarkable town unity and perhaps contribute to greater collaboration and goodwill in town between residents of the two opposing parties. By not endorsing Rob Mallozzi, and not stating why it does not support him, the Democratic Party is demonstrating a partisanship based solely on party loyalty and taking what I would call a passive aggressive approach. Alternatively, the Democratic Party could choose not to endorse him and state why, so that residents would have a better understanding of party differences from a local perspective.

I believe we need to support a bi-partisan approach to local politics in New Canaan if we want to win contested seats where we believe our candidate is the better choice for our town, party politics aside. This year, we have put up for the office of Town Treasurer, Kathleen Corbet, a highly qualified and well known, dedicated town resident who has served on the Board of Finance and other town committees. Her Republican opponent is a well-known and highly regarded “father” of our town whose family owns the New Canaan Advertiser and who has in all likelihood supported many a Republican candidate over his 46 year career as Treasurer. The trouble is that he has occupied this position “as a signatory” only (his words) and one can conclude after the Lakeview bridge debacle to the town’s detriment. Privately, some Republicans have indicated a willingness to support Ms. Corbet as they recognize her fiduciary talents and civic mindedness but her winning this race will require more than just a few supporters- she will need bi-partisan support.

We owe it to her and to the town to support the crossing over of Party lines when a candidate presents itself who is clearly the best person for the job. I will vote for Rob Mallozzi III this November and I hope there are Republicans who will vote for Kathleen Corbet for Town Treasurer.

Published on The Connecticut Mirror (http://ctmirror.org)

Home > Tong trying to leap past Murphy and Bysiewicz to U.S. Senate

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Tong trying to leap past Murphy and Bysiewicz to U.S. Senate
Mark Pazniokas
and Deirdre Shesgreen
September 6, 2011
William Tong had just finished pitching his candidacy for U.S. Senate, telling the story of growing up as the son of a Chinese cook who arrived in Bloomfield in 1971 with 57 cents and the promise of a job at the Hong Kong Kitchen.

His biography connected with the Democratic town committee in Windsor, a racially and economically mixed suburb of Hartford. One woman smiled at his mention of the long-gone Chinese eatery on Blue Hills Avenue in neighboring Bloomfield.

But then Nathan Karnes, a bearded young man sitting in front, directly, if politely got to the central challenge Tong faces: Why should anyone think that the logical next step for a little-known state legislator is the U.S. Senate?

Leo Canty listens to a pitch by William Tong.

Tong, 38, a three-term state representative from Stamford, is trying to leapfrog over two better-established politicians, U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy and former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, for the Democratic nomination.

“I know it’s not the U.S. House, and it’s not the U.S. Senate, but it is a legislative body that I’m proud to say has been pretty productive over the past six years,” Tong replied.

Tong is the first Asian Pacific American in the General Assembly and the first Democrat to represent the 147th House District of Stamford and New Canaan. In his third term, he is co-chairman of the Banks Committee.

His legislative record includes helping pass a foreclosure mediation law, and a bill requiring the reporting of lost or stolen firearms, a measure meant to take away an alibi from those who sell guns that show up in crimes.

“I am three months older, actually, than Chris Murphy. He’s had two terms in the House [three, actually], and I haven’t,” Tong said told his Windsor audience. “He was in the state legislature, Susan was in the state legislature. And all of us are going to talk about our records. My record is real.”

But he knows that Karnes’ question frames his nascent candidacy, and he will have to keep answering versions of the query as he makes the rounds of town committees, introducing himself to Democratic activists, many of whom already know his rivals.

Bysiewiecz, a former state representative, won three statewide elections, beginning in 1998. She has the best name-recognition of the three, but she is coming off a disastrous 2010, having started as a gubernatorial front-runner before jumping to the attorney general race, only to be branded as statutorily unqualified by the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Murphy spent four years in the state House of Representatives, four years in the state Senate and then won a long-shot bid in 2006 to unseat Republican Nancy Johnson, the senior member of the Connecticut House delegation.

They are competing for the seat now held by Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, who is retiring after 24 years. Unlike two years ago, when Richard Blumenthal was the consensus Democratic pick to succeed Chris Dodd after 30 years, Democrats are resigned to a primary.

“Certainly, I feel like the most unlikely candidate of the three,” Tong said in an interview. “It’s not the next rung in the ladder for me.”

But Tong frames his limited political experience as an advantage at a time when anti-incumbent sentiment is rampant. Congress’s approval ratings are at record lows, and the 2012 election promises to be a volatile affair, with the sour economy likely to drive deep voter angst and anger aimed at Washington.

“I think that people are unimpressed by what is happening in our nation’s capital,” Tong said. And they’re tired of the “same old cookie-cutter career politician.”

But as Tong discovered in Windsor, activists who are an important constituency in primaries, sometimes are vested in and loyal to those career politicians.

In the case of Karnes, he told Tong he first met Murphy when they were active in the Young Democrats. Leo Canty, a labor leader who is the town chairman in Windsor, said later that Murphy’s reputation as a rising star in Washington hardly is seen as a deficit.

Tong is trying to position himself as a politician who understands business and job creation, stressing his family’s background running two small restaurants in succession and his own work as a business lawyer and co-chairman of the Banks Committee.

So while he lacks the fundraising network Murphy has as a congressman and the name recognition that Bysiewicz brings as a former statewide official, Tong said he hopes to generate buzz and win support by pitching himself as different.

“By definition, being fresh and exciting and new means you haven’t been hanging around the hoop for that long,” Tong said.

Tong is emphasizing his personal story, as the son of Chinese immigrants who started in the U.S. with little and built up a small family business, eventually owning a restaurant in Hartford and, later, in Wethersfield.

His parents met at the Hong Kong Kitchen, where his mother was a waitress. After opening his own restaurant, his father faced deportation for overstaying on a tourist visa, but he won an extension and an eventual green card after writing President Nixon.

Tong, who grew up in West Hartford, talks about working after school with his parents in both restaurants, as did his three younger sisters.

But he also is the beneficiary of elite private schools: Renbrook in West Hartford and Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. He has a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a law degree from the University of Chicago, where Barack Obama was a professor.

He and his wife, Elizabeth, who are the parents of two young daughters, are both lawyers at Finn Dixon and Herling in downtown Stamford. She is a tax attorney. He is described in his firm’s bio as a leader of the firm’s dispute resolution and risk management team.

Tong has not been shy about linking himself to other political sensations in both parties who have taken the political establishment by surprise, including a certain former professor at Chicago and Scott Brown, the Republican who succeeded Ted Kennedy.

So even as he conceded that the U.S. Senate is “not the next natural step,” Tong quickly noted that others “have made the jump from the state legislature to the Senate–you know, Barack Obama, Scott Brown.”

Tong doesn’t drop those names lightly. It’s part of a strategic effort to frame his narrative as a potential political phenomenon–and his opponents as career politicians.

Asked if he paints Murphy and Bysiewicz with that label, Tong responded, “They are what they are.”

He noted Bysiewicz three terms as Connecticut’s secretary of the state. And as for Murphy, he said, “Chris has held office since he was 22 and has hit every rung on the ladder on his way up.”

Tong argued that Murphy was running an “inevitability campaign,” trying to portray himself as the obvious and clear choice in the three-way contest.

Murphy shrugged off that assessment and said he was hardly the face of a “career politician.”

“If I was running as a 20-year incumbent, I might be more worried. But I’ve been in Washington for five years and fought pretty hard to change the culture,” Murphy said. “Whether others want to anoint me as the frontrunner or not, it doesn’t change the way I’m going to run the race,” which he said would be as a come-from-behind challenger.

Murphy did agree with Tong on one thing: “The antipathy for Washington has never been higher and you’ve got to be able to show how you’re going to change the environment.”

For her part, Bysiewicz ignored Tong at a recent forum sponsored by the Working Families Party, focusing on Murphy.

He may prove hard to ignore.

Tong’s first fundraising report showed him raising more than $500,000 in 53 days, compared to Bysiewicz’s $427,000 take and Murphy’s $925,000 haul in the second quarter.

Tong said his surprise fundraising success just shows that even as he embraces the “underdog” label, he can’t be brushed off.

“We’ve been pretty adept at pulling a rabbit out of a hat,” he said.

The Democratic establishment will be watching in October, when the third-quarter finance report is due, to see what else is in that hat.

CT-SenElection 2012Joseph LiebermanPoliticsWilliam Tong

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Source URL: http://ctmirror.org/story/13816/tong-trying-leap-past-murphy-bysiewicz-senate

Summer is winding down, and the temperatures are bound to start dropping any day now (right?). Kids are getting ready to head back to school. September is coming, and with September comes:

The 8th Annual
New Canaan Democrats’ BBQ

Kiwanis Park, Old Norwalk Road
2:00 – 5:00 pm
Sunday, September 11, 2011

(note: the town’s service marking the 10th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11/01 take place at 5:00 pm at God’s Acre)

Please join us for an afternoon of quality food and quality company as we get the local campaign season underway. Meet the candidates who will be bringing accountability back to New Canaan Town Hall: Beth Jones for Selectman; Kathleen Corbet for Town Treasurer; and John Emert and Joe Paladino for Town Council. Chat with Alison Bedula for Board of Education, Wendy Fog for Board of Assessment and Appeal, and Cindy Franco, Nick Mitrakis, and Ed Vollmer for Constable.

Tickets are $30, and are available from any DTC member or by clicking here (children and teens under 18 are free). Your support for the New Canaan DTC helps us help Democrats win.

From the 2009 BBQ:

Moody’s Investor Services recently announced that it would review the AAA credit rating of New Canaan and 161 other AAA-rated municipal issuers if the nation’s own AAA rating was downgraded due to the impasse over the federal debt ceiling negotiations.

While an agreement to raise the debt ceiling is expected by the August 2nd deadline thus averting the risk of a default by the federal government, the terms of the agreement may not be enough to diminish the threat of a downgrade by the credit rating agencies.

Moody’s announcement was not simply a broad warning to all AAA-rated municipalities – there were another 400 AAA-rated public finance credits that were not placed on review for possible downgrade. Rather, the rating agency announced its intention to review those local governments which may have “direct and indirect reliance on federal spending, sensitivity to deteriorating macroeconomic conditions and vulnerability to disruptions in the financial markets.”

While New Canaan does not directly rely on federal aid as a source of revenue, there are still at least three reasons to be concerned about the implications of potential downgrades of the US and New Canaan’s credit ratings.

First, failure by Congress to address the unsustainable level of the federal deficit will result in serious implications for the national economy and, in turn, our local economy – potentially prolonging the depressed levels of spending and support of our downtown businesses and further delaying our housing market recovery.

Second, should Moody’s and the other rating agencies take downgrade actions, the interest rates at which the Federal government and municipal bond issuers can issue debt would likely increase – thus driving costs higher to fund the US deficit and finance new municipal projects.

Finally, in the event of a downgrade, the US government-backed securities – held in New Canaan’s investment accounts and pension fund – would likely be subject to negative price volatility. When credit quality deteriorates, the market demands higher yields on bonds resulting in driving the price of existing securities lower.

Although the threat of a federal debt default has been averted – Moody’s announcement about the vulnerability of the US and local government debt downgrades should not be ignored. We should expect that Moody’s will continue to consider the financial health and stewardship of our financial resources when reviewing New Canaan’s ability to maintain its top rating.

New Canaan’s AAA rating is an asset to our community and it should be protected by our Board of Finance, Board of Selectmen, Town Council and Town Treasurer. This requires vigilance in budget oversight and expenditure control, conservative maintenance of our reserves, and prudent management of our investments.

New Canaanites should expect nothing less.

New Canaan Patch reports:

Town Council member Thomas O’Dea asked Hersam about his responsibilities in the post, for which Hersam currently receives an annual stipend of $1,400.

“So it’s my understanding you’ve never been asked to perform an audit function or corrabation function of the checks?” he asked.

“This is the first question I’ve been asked in 46 years,” Hersam said. “And that’s being honest.

Maybe the town treasurer should be the one asking the questions.  Just a thought.

At the New Canaan Democrats’ caucus last night, the town’s Democrats voted to run the following candidates for offices in this fall’s November elections:

Selectman: Beth Jones
Town Treasurer: Kathleen Corbet
Town Council: John Emert and Joe Paladino
Board of Education: Alison Bedula
Board of Assessment Appeals: Wendy Fog
Constable: Cindy Franco, Nick Mitrakis, and Ed Vollmer

Beth Jones accepting the caucus endorsement:

You can read coverage of the caucus from the New Canaan Advertiser,  New Canaan Patch, and the Daily New Canaan.

Essay 1

The truth is I like the principles of the Democratic Party as much as I dislike the principals of the other team. But at its heart, I choose to be a Democrat because I am a big tent person and the Democrats are a big tent party. The big tent approach avoids single-issue litmus tests and ideological rigidity. It is an approach that invites and advocates open-minded discussion and solutions-oriented compromise. And while there is a dangerous level of hubris in all party politics, the other guys have more.

Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable. ~~ J. K. Galbraith

I am a Democrat because I believe we hold common beliefs in personal freedoms, social and civil justice, privacy, security and economic opportunity. In short, Democrats believe in inclusion and equality. WE believe that people with a broad variety of political approaches and viewpoints can unite within a single party to advance shared core issues even if they disagree in other areas.

Where I am on the fringe

I believe that each person has the right to live his life in any way he chooses so long as does not intrude the rights of others. However, to show my Libertarian roots, I believe that same goes for protecting the right to make stupid decisions. I don’t think we should have mandates for wearing automobile seat-belts, eating polyunsaturated fats, smoking in the privacy of our home or buying mandated medical insurance. If my personal choices do not impact others – they should not be in the purview of government oversight.

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety ~~ Benjamin Franklin

We need to protect the right to make stupid decisions no different than we protect our civil rights. It seems odd to rally for less government interventionism – the Bill of Rights, same sex marriage, pro-choice and habeas corpus for unlawful combatants- but invite more interventionism into personal choices. More government in the name of Paternalism is just smudge away from civil liberty interventionism.

So as you can see, the real reason I choose to be a Democrat is because they allow and respect differences of opinion – even the political fringe like me.

Essay 2

I am a Democrat because I do not believe in a laissez-faire government.  I think FDR was right to implement the New Deal but I didn’t agree with his attempt to pack the Supreme Court (he failed).  Do I think we need to reform Medicare and Medicaid? Of course, who doesn’t in today’s world of rising health care costs?  But do I support eliminating these programs which current Republican“reform” proposals would do? No, I do not. Cuts yes, slashing, no.

I believe that our government should provide basic services to help our society grow economically and to help ensure that all our citizens have access to services that enable them to participate productively in our society. I think our government has a responsibility to be humane and to protect us from the selfish interests of the market by instituting regulations and policies that safeguard our welfare and future. The market has rarely been proven to self-regulate itself. This means I support the Clean Air Act, financial reform of our banking institutions, the Environmental Protection Agency (which by the way was established by a conservative Republican, former President Richard Nixon) and National Public Radio. For this reason, I pay taxes willingly. I support a fair progressive income tax, a social security tax, the principle of a national health insurance plan that will provide basic healthcare services for all our citizens and mandate that all citizens participate, no matter the condition of their health. No one should have a free lunch to our emergency rooms when they suddenly become sick, which is the system we have now.

I think that those who have succeeded, whether a business or an individual should contribute more in taxes than those who earn less, because they can. This is only patriotic as it demonstrates support for the government which enables them to participate and operate as freely as ours does. I support an immigration policy that recognizes that our country is a country built on the backs of immigrants, some of whom came here willingly and some who were brought here for economic reasons. We need to reform our immigration policy to reflect conditions today. We should not be penalizing children who were brought here with their parents and want to contribute to our society by getting a college education, a job and paying taxes to our government.

For a long time there was very little difference between a fiscally conservative Democratic and a moderate Republican. This is why it was so easy for some Democrats to become a turncoat and join the other side or vice versa. Moderate Republicans shared a conservative interest in the social contract of government while remaining fiscally conservative on how the government spent our tax dollars. George Bush Sr. was a moderate Republican as was the late New York Senator Jacob Javits and Governor Nelson Rockefeller. Fiscally conservative Democrats shared a Republican sentiment which favored reining in the costs of services but not their complete elimination.

Today our government is being held hostage by extremists within the Republican Party who hamstring our politicians with pledges that prevent our representatives from having honest and open discussions regarding policy differences. Today’s Republican Party is dominated by ideologues who appeal to the basest human instincts: fear mongering, greed, and religious zealousness. A few are outspoken libertarians who reject government oversight completely. We can laugh at running a red light at 3 AM when there is no traffic or racing at 100 miles per hour in the desert as examples of a government over reaching into our lives until it is our son or daughter coming home from a party that is hit by that car running the light or our health costs skyrocket because someone’s car veered out of control, turned over and crippled the driver. Make no mistake, libertarians like Rand Paul and Eric Cantor are advocating the end of Medicare, Social Security, income taxes and all government regulatory institutions.

I am a Democrat because I know that our society has advanced when both government and business have worked in concert to promote R&D, implement large public infrastructure projects such as the TVA or the Hoover Dam, and provided incentives for new industries to emerge.

I am a Democrat because I believe the government can help put the country to work by legislating policies that encourage the development of new industries. I reject the voodoo of trickle-down economics that has been revived by Republican extremists after being refuted by economists on both sides of the political aisles. Even David Stockman, the architect of this erroneous theory has spoken out against its resurrection. I support ending the Bush tax cuts.

It is time moderate Republicans change sides and join forces with the fiscally conservative Democrats to move our country forward and not backward. What happened to our admiration for those who knew how to forge a good compromise? I am also a Democrat because I believe good government is built by those who collaborate in good faith and are willing to forge compromises.

Essay 3

I was going to start this essay by extolling the myriad historic achievements of the Democratic Party but decided to forego what would be a very long litany of worthwhile (and self-congratulatory) accomplishments that, while making all of us feel very proud, wouldn’t speak to why – today – the Democratic Party deserves our support and the support of unaffiliated voters and clear thinking Republicans.

It’s 2011, the 223^rd year we’ve had a constitution and the more than 300 million of us who call ourselves Americans are facing some real challenges. Our national coffers are emptying with alarming speed, our political discourse often borders on either the absurd or the hateful, Washington seems frozen in partisan gridlock, and “We the people” seem ever more divided. How can we break out of this morass and best address the challenges we face? With 300 million voices you can bet that there are at least 500 million opinions.

Democrats acknowledge that to govern in a republic with 300 million voices requires an ability to compromise and cooperate, to recognize that competing points of view are not “evil” and to seek and build common ground. To agree that – to paraphrase what one of my fellow essayists wrote in these columns a few months ago “It was a good meeting – everyone went home a little unhappy” is a pretty good working definition of governing successfully.

The past history and current legislative behavior of the two dominant national political parties could not paint a more stark contrast with regard to their ability to compromise and cooperate. Democrats have been willing to admit the need to rethink some of our most cherished accomplishments, to listen to other view points and often incorporate them into proposals even at the risk that many of our party’s staunchest supporters “went home a little (or a lot) unhappy.” The Republicans seem to spend their time chanting in unison “no compromise” and to have confused cooperation with retreat. It seems to me that they believe “having no loaf is better than having half a loaf” and this thinking is proving disastrous for our country.

I claim no special virtue for us Democrats being better at the art of governing than the Republicans – we just have more practice at it than they do. The fact of the matter is that since the early 1970’s we have built a party that is extremely diverse across almost every conceivable socio-economic demographic. This has given us plenty of experience in arguing, yelling, cooperating and compromise – precisely the attributes that any effective government of 300 million voices needs to have. The Republicans in contrast have hewed to an ever more rigid series of political litmus tests that potential party champions must pass. The days of the “Rockefeller Republican” have, sadly, long departed and our country is the poorer for the absence of those voices.

I am a Democrat for a host of reasons – philosophical, historical, and practical. I admit that there is much in our party that I find annoying, irrelevant, or just plain wrong but at its core the Democratic Party since the days of FDR best reflects who, as a country, we are and what we, as a people, stand for.

VOTE DEMOCRATIC!

With over 25 years of professional experience in investments, technology, financial management and governance of pension funds and endowments, it has been my privilege to serve the Town of New Canaan in many facets of finance, budgeting and the implementation of best practices.

I have served as a member of New Canaan’s Board of Finance, chaired the Town’s Best Practices in Municipal Budgeting Task Force, represented the Town in collective bargaining negotiations, and I am a member of the Senior Healthcare and Housing Policy Development Team. My record demonstrates my ability to work, successfully and collaboratively, with New Canaan’s elected and appointed officials, employees, external constituents – such as pension fund advisors, Town attorneys, auditors – and our citizens. Accordingly, I believe that I can offer a new and effective approach to the position of New Canaan Town Treasurer.

New Canaan’s most recent issues – including the Lakeview Avenue bridge arbitration, municipal bonding authority, oversight of legal bills and budgets – illustrate the need for accountability, responsibility, better processes and communication, and underscore the need for a new approach to the role of Town Treasurer.

The Town Treasurer – an elected position mandated by Connecticut State statute – has general oversight responsibilities of Town receipts and expenses – which include payments “on the order of the proper authority”. This means that before funds are disbursed from New Canaan’s bank account, there must be clear evidence that such payments have been properly authorized.

Specific recordkeeping duties of the Town Treasurer include maintaining a record of cash receipts and disbursements, reflecting the purpose and required authorization, if any. Such information must always be open to the inspection of any taxpayer and be presented annually in a town meeting. (See State of Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 94 Town Treasurers, Section 7-80.)  The Town Treasurer also serves as the ex officio treasurer of the Town’s trust funds, such as the pension fund. In addition, all Town bond issues require the Town Treasurer’s signature.

There are many examples of Connecticut municipalities – such as Darien, Ridgefield, Wilton – in which the elected position of Town Treasurer is an active – not honorary – role. Treasurers from these towns also serve as trustees, overseeing the money management and investments of cash balances, maintaining them at safe operating minimums and investing funds to maximize income while preserving the safety of the assets of the town.

In New Canaan, V. Donald Hersam – the publisher of the New Canaan Advertiser – serves as the Town Treasurer, a position he has held since 1965. Today, the responsibilities of the Town Treasurer are largely conducted by the Chief Financial Officer, a Town employee. Recordkeeping and reporting of the Town’s receipts and expenses are not readily open to inspection and have not been presented in any Town meeting – as prescribed under Connecticut State Statutes.

If elected to be New Canaan’s newest Town Treasurer in more than 45 years, I pledge to be an active steward of our Town’s revenues and expenses; to ensure that payments are made under proper authority; to provide prudent management oversight to the Town’s cash balances and pension fund; to verify the legality and sign all municipal bonding; and, to maintain records and provide transparency for all financial matters under the jurisdiction of the Town Treasurer.

Bringing a new approach of accountability, responsibility and transparency to the role of Town Treasurer – I seek to serve the needs of all of New Canaan. I very kindly appreciate input from across New Canaan and would be truly honored to earn your vote on November 8th.