spazeboy

I am pleased to announce that I took a job as Online Organizer with Connecticut Citizen Action Group. I have been hired to bolster the organization’s online presence and outreach.

As such, blogging here will probably slow down a bit more. Expect to see more posts on subjects that I won’t be writing about for CCAG, like How-To Videoblog. Of course, regardless of the topic, the blogging that I do here will not necessarily represent or reflect the opinions of my employer.

The bottom line is that this blog is my personal website, and any statements or posts made to it are my own. Any preferences expressed for candidates (past, present or future) are my preferences and should not be attributed to CCAG. Any candidate advocacy expressed here will be done on my own time and without using any CCAG resources.

It was a dark and stormy night, but that didn’t stop the community members from coming out to the 100th House District convention in Middlefield Tuesday, where Democrats selected Matt Lesser to run against Republican Raymond Kalinowski.

I know Lesser from his long record of involvement in local politics and as a student at Wesleyan University — things that you can read about in Lesser’s extensive and impressive bio. All I know about Kalinowski is that he is serving his 3rd term in the 100th District, and based on what I saw in Middlefield last night, it will probably be his last.

Challengers to incumbents always face an uphill climb, but after attending the convention in Middlefield last night, I have compiled a list of the several reasons why I think Lesser is going to win:

• Turnout in November
  Turnout for Democrats in the November election will be huge thanks to candidates like Barack Obama and Ned Lamont encouraging so many new voters to register. As Lesser pointed out last night, of all the districts currently represented by Republicans, the 100th boasts the greatest number of Democrats.
• Turnout last night
  There were no shortage of reasons for people to skip last night’s convention: the weather was miserable; the nomination was uncontested; there was an important education budget/funding meeting going on in one of the district’s towns at the same time. Yet every seat at the modest convention was filled.
• Support

  Lesser has built an impressive coalition of supporters that is both wide and deep. This is evidenced not only by turnout at the convention, but by the fact that his nomination by Christine Bourne (of Middletown) was seconded three times — the first two by Ona McLaughlin and Mary Johnson (of Durham and Middlefield, respectively) and the third being offered extemporaneously by Middletown DTC Chairman Dan Russo.

  State Senator Thomas Gaffey also came out to support Lesser’s campaign, remarking that it will be nice to have a Democrat in Hartford to help him deliver for their overlapping districts. As if that weren’t enough to demonstrate the breadth and depth of support for Lesser’s candidacy, former 100th District Representative and present Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz attended the convention to endorse Lesser.

• Public Financing
  Connecticut has new public financing laws that overwhelmingly level the playing field for challengers. Once a candidate meets a fundraising threshold of $5000 from 150 district residents, public financing kicks in a sizable grant. Lesser has already qualified for public financing, which means he can spend more time knocking on doors in the district than he will have to spend raising money. When you can spend more time listening to voters than asking them to open their wallets, you’re going to win.

I shot three videos at last night’s convention, which are included below. If you’d like to learn more about Matt Lesser’s campaign, be sure to visit his website at www.mattlesser.com.

Susan Bysiewicz

Matt Lesser Acceptance Speech

Matt Lesser Interview

I would apologize about the noisy background in this video, but it’s evidence that this convention was buzzing.

There is some good news on the marriage equality front today: The California Supreme Court has ruled in favor of full marriage equality. Connecticut currently has a separate but unequal civil union status for same-sex couples that gives them some of the legal protections provided by the state government, but not over a thousand legal protections at the federal level.

Today’s good news did not go unnoticed by Love Makes a Family, which is working toward marriage equality in Connecticut. Love Makes a Family director Anne Stanback issued a statement today:

Today’s win energizes our work in Connecticut more than ever. We await a decision in our own marriage case, Kerrigan and Mock v. the Connecticut Department of Public Health. And our advocacy, lobbying, and educational efforts continue intensely around the state-this weekend alone, we will co-sponsor a faith forum on marriage equality in Danbury, and our organizers will be collecting signed postcards to legislators in West Hartford, Brookfield, New Britain, and Danbury.

California’s highest court did its job today and ensured all Californians are treated equally under the law. We look forward to the day when we can say the same for Connecticut, and, with your help, we will break down the door of marriage discrimination in this state. And that day is coming very soon.

The Connecticut Supreme Court heard arguments in the Kerrigan case last year and has yet to rule. The court does not have a timeline in which it must rule, and although a decision is expected soon, it could occur with less than one day’s notice.

But Love Makes a Family is planning for that as yet unknown day anyway. They’re calling it Decision Day and in light of the California decision it may in fact be coming very soon. If you want to get an e-mail as soon as Love Makes a Family learns of a decision forthcoming, and participate in the rally (and if the decision is favorable, the party!) later that day, be sure and sign up for their Decision Day mailing list.

Yesterday at midnight marked the end of the 2008 General Assembly session (the “short session”) and one of the bills that passed the Senate but did not even have a chance in the House was the Paid Sick Days Bill. Christine Stuart reports at CT News Junkie:

A bill that would allow workers to accumulate one hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours worked died Wednesday night.

The Paid Sick Days bill passed the senate, but was stalled for the second year in a row on the House calendar. Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, who championed the bill, said its defeat was making her sick.

“It’s dead,” she said as the clock approached midnight. “Next year.”

The fact that the General Assembly turns into a pumpkin at midnight, on a day known well in advance to all involved, every goddamn year is a problem. It’s a problem because good legislation like the Paid Sick Days bill gets left aside, as if waiting another year is just a minor inconvenience for people like Suely (in the above video). The Paid Sick Days bill was especially important at a time like this, because it’s already costly enough to live — high gas prices raising the price of a great many of life’s necessities, not to mention gas for commuting to work — without being able to afford to take one day off if you’re sick. Now more than ever, working sick is going to be a necessity because if you couldn’t afford to take a day off before, you sure as hell can’t now.

I know that this shit happens every year in Connecticut. But the fact that good bills being killed by the clock is an annual event doesn’t make it any less disappointing. I also know that the General Assembly is made up almost entirely of people who really care about Connecticut and the people of their district. So why are so many important bills left until the last minute?

Because it’s an effective way to kill bills like this without getting your hands dirty. Especially in an election year.

Two time challenger to Chris Shays in Connecticut’s 4th Congressional District, Diane Farrell, endorsed Jim Himes yesterday. Enthusiastically:

Farrell described Himes as a man “with his finger on the pulse of the needs of families” who “understands the needs of the district.” Noting Himes’ involvement at the local level, as well as his support of her own runs for congress, Farrell praised Himes’ “important work for families in this area.”

Farrell added, “Jim Himes will be a superb member of Congress. I enthusiastically stand in support of Jim.”

_{Unrelated Pharrell video. Enjoy!}

I learned via a diary by EquationDoc over at MLN that the New Britain Common Council voted 13-2 on a resolution condemning the War in Iraq:

WHEREAS, The New Britain Common Council expresses its deep opposition to the Bush Administration’s continuation of the war in Iraq after its mendacious and deceptive methods of garnering initial support; and

WHEREAS, the City of New Britain relies heavily on Federal money to provide services to its residents; and

WHEREAS, The United States Congress has appropriated over $400 billion to fund military operations and Iraqi reconstruction, while a steady decline in Federal Housing and Urban Development grants has been experienced since 2002, the year before the war began.

The resolution was drafted by Eva Magnuszewski, one of the newly elected New Britain alderman in last year’s election. Rick Guinness reports on this week’s common council meeting for the NB Herald:

Magnuszewski’s resolution — amended to cast equal blame on President Bush and Congress for starting and funding the war — estimated the city’s portion of paying for the war at $204 million. “All politics is local,” Magnuszewski said, quoting former U.S. Speaker of the House Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill. “The war is unraveling — in money, international relations and human lives.”

Hat tip to EquationDoc for posting about this at MLN, which called my attention to it.