spazeboy

The above video was recently uploaded to YouTube and received some attention from NBC30:

The mayor said the call is 2 years old and made during a time when much of Connecticut was underwater, including parts of New Britain. But the conversation is receiving new attention, especially the parts that are laced with profanity and threats.

“There’s an *beep* firefighter out there. I’m ready to go out there and choke this guy. Because, you know, he’s got them riled up like it’s my fault it’s rained eight days in a row,” the mayor continues.

NBC 30 asked Stewart about his comments.

Stewart: “I didn’t say that.” NBC 30: “You didn’t make any threats?” Stewart: “Never ever, ever. So that was fabricated.”

But the recording goes on, and the name-calling continues.

“She’s screaming at me, ‘Want to get votes? Get your *beep*out here.’ And I’m like you *beep*,” the mayor said.

“In crisis situations, people say a lot of things and we regret what we say from time to time, but I didn’t use it in a way that was harmful to anyone in anyway,” Stewart said.

Look. The problem isn’t that the mayor has a potty mouth. I swear all the fucking time. The problem is that Mayor Stewart is using derogatory language to describe his constituents. On tape!

Even if the tape is two years old, he should have known that the conversation he was having with a dispatcher was being recorded. If he didn’t know, then is he really wise enough to be in charge of New Britain?

Assuming that he isn’t so naive as to believe that his conversation with a dispatcher wasn’t being recorded, isn’t it fair to raise questions as to what kinds of things that Mayor Stewart might be saying when he isn’t being recorded? Isn’t it fair to wonder whether Mayor Stewart is really cut out for this job, with all of its ups and downs?

Even though the constituent calls he complains about were coming in at 3am, that’s hardly justification for his remarks. If only being Mayor of New Britain were but a nine-to-five job. I imagine that running a city or town is tough work, and mostly thankless, yet there are still many people willing to do the job.

Mayor Tim Stewart, as revealed by his own actions, is not one of them. He’s said that he won’t run again in 2009 because being mayor isn’t worth the trouble. It’s not supposed to be all sunshine and rainbows anyway. So why not let someone else take a stab at running New Britain? Jim Wyskiewicz is up to it.

I just received a press release from the Working Families Party of CT regarding the Democrats they’ve endorsed for next month’s municipal election in New Britain. Here’s an excerpt:

“I’m proud to be endorsed by the Working Families Party,” said Phil Sherwood, Democratic candidate for Common Council in the 4th district. “Working Families doesn’t see politics as left versus right, but as top versus bottom. I’m proud to say that I’m committed to fighting for New Britain’s working families.”
[...]
In addition to Phil Sherwood in the 4th district, the WFP is also endorsing Democrats Mike Trueworthy, Eva Magnuszewski, and Paula Mele for at large seats on the Council, Democrat Greg Gerratana in the 1st district, and Democrat Aram Ayalon for Board of Education.

Congratulations all around to these six fine New Britain Democrats. New Britain voters can cast their vote for any of these candidates on either the Democratic Party line (Row B) or the Working Families Party line (I regret that I do not know the row…), and it will count toward that candidate’s total.

Here are some relevant links for some of the candidates listed above:
Phil Sherwood at the New Britain DTC Candidates Forum 6/28
Mike Trueworthy at the New Britain DTC Candidates Forum 6/28
Paula Mele at the New Britain DTC Candidates Forum 6/28 — Paula Mele Official Website
Eva Magnuszewski at the New Britain DTC Candidates Forum 6/28
Greg Gerratana at the New Britain DTC Candidates Forum 6/28

I regret that I either don’t have or neglected to post Aram Ayalon’s speech from the 6/28 candidates forum.

Hmm:

But in a moment of candor Monday night in his office, Stewart said that while he is looking forward to serving in a third term, this may very well be his last time he will run for mayor, because he is tired of the troubles that come with the position.
He said the Democrats have hit a new low, and he can’t stand to see good public policy sabotaged “just because someone is trying to create an issue.”
“I have no plans to run again for mayor after this election,” he said.

_{From the New Britain Herald. Emphasis added.}
Yes, it must be a huge pain in the ass to be Mayor of New Britain, what with people out there disagreeing with you and all. Why not consider someone who is willing to put up with all the “trouble” of running a city?

Just a quick post with some of the latest goings-on.

• I heard that Jim Wyskiewicz’ website has added functionality enabling you to electronically request delivery of a lawn sign or offer to host a house party for Jim. Guess what else? There’s a debate set for Oct. 16, a date on which I just so happen to be on break from Wes, and therefore plan to attend.
• Ned Lamont is gonna be at CCSU this afternoon:
  

  Central Connecticut State University will be hosting a forum at 4pm on Wednesday, September 26 to discuss: The War, The Surge, and Staying the Course in Iraq. The panel includes Brigadier General John Johns (Ret.) and Brookings Scholar Michael O’Hanlon. The forum will be moderated by former Democratic candidate for Senate Ned Lamont.
  [...]
  Where:
  1615 Stanley Street
  New Britain, CT
  06050
  When: 04:00 PM - 05:15 PM

  Kirby and I once interviewed Brigadier General John H. Johns, but the video was canned by YouTube along with my old account. Perhaps I can get it back online soon.

• CT Bob is kicking ass with his home-built teleprompter:
  

  While recently shooting a bunch of PSA-style videos of Democratic candidates, I was faced with the problem of getting them to look natural while reading their prepared statements. Cue cards didn’t look natural, so I decided to build a teleprompter so they could maintain “eye contact” with the camera.
  

I’ve written previously about Jim Wyskiewicz, the New Britain Democratic candidate for Mayor, and the local firefighters:

Getting the firefighters to vote for Wyskiewicz was going to be pretty easy considering Stewart’s dismal treatment of them–but if the firefighters stand with and work for Wyskiewicz, Stewart may live to regret it.

Well, now the firefighters have endorsed Jim’s candidacy. I received a press release announcing the endorsement:

NEW BRITAIN – Incumbent mayor Timmy Stewart served as a Fire Inspector within the exceptionally tight-knit New Britain Fire Department for 18 years.

This week, the firefighters union voted overwhelmingly to endorse…his opponent: Jim Wyskiewicz (D).

The announcement has surprised few familiar with the history of interactions between the controversial mayor and his city’s award-winning fire department.

Towards the end of the release, Jim ties Mayor Stewart’s handling of the NBFD in with other hot-button local issues and lays them at the feet of Stewart:

“The men and women of our outstanding fire department deserve objective fairness and respect. As Mayor, I will ensure that any and all political considerations are eradicated from the process of promotions and hiring and I will reserve for the NBFD a permanent seat at our table. Our citizens deserve nothing less.” He added, “Areas of public safety are not playgrounds for politics.”

“Unfortunately, like the Tilcon Deal, our New Britain High School accreditation, and the Pinnacle Heights development, the NBFD situation has served only to expose the tragic impact of a closed-doors mayoral administration upon our City,” Wyskiewicz stated.

CT Local Politics maintains a state elections wiki and is seeking survey input from municipal candidates all over the Connecticut. The greater the participation, the greater this resource will be, so I hope that any New Britain candidates reading will take the time to respond. Here’s the brief survey:

If you are a candidate or are a part of a slate of candidates, all you have to do is answer the four questions and email them to me at chris@ctlocalpolitics.net. You can also post the responses to the survey in the comments section of this post.

Here’s the quick, simple survey:

Name(s):
Party:
Office(s) sought:
Town:

1. What do you think are the most important issues facing your town?

2. If elected, what would be your highest priorities for the next 2 years?

3. How is your approach to town government different from your opponent(s)?

4. Why do you want to be elected to town government?

So far no responses from New Britain (if any) have been posted to the wiki.

Here are a couple of reasons I think that participation is important:

1. It’s searchable! — I’ve posted some candidate videos, but unfortunately you can’t search the video to find out where someone stands on a particular issue. The reality is that most voters won’t get a chance to watch all the videos.
2. It’s a competitive advantage! — OK, it may not be a competitive advantage per se if your opponent fills out the survey as well, but do you want to be the candidate who’s positions aren’t in the CT Elections Wiki? For voters who seek information, you want them to be able to find it. This is how blogs can help your local candidacy!

So I urge any/all Democratic candidates in New Britain to participate. I’ll feature survey responses here as well.