Has there been an escalation in the tort museum’s flag war?
The flag war is not over yet – or is it?
Three weeks ago, Michael Connole complained to the Winsted Board of Selectmen, particularly Selectman Candace Bouchard, about his little American grave marker flags that he attached with yellow duct tape to the flagpole in front of the American Museum of Tort Law. They keep getting taken down.
Well, museum director Melissa Bird had the flagpole taken down about two weeks ago. Problem solved, right?
Yes … and no.
As of Friday, there was a garden stake in the ground along the curb, but in front of the museum with a grave marker flag taped to it.
To be continued?
– Kurt Moffett
Stamford, Glastonbury, Deep River, Mansfield take the ‘Cup’
Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas presented trophies to the local election officials in four Connecticut towns that distinguished themselves as the winners of the 2022 Democracy Cup.
The award is bestowed on municipalities with the highest voter turnout in the most-recent even-numbered election year with four categories based on town size – small, mid-sized, large, and city.
Under Democracy Cup criteria, cities and towns with fewer than 10,000 people compete in the “small” category; cities and towns with between 10,000 and 30,000 people are in the “mid-sized” category; cities and towns with between 30,000 and 65,000 people are in the “large” category. Cities and towns with more than 65,000 people are in the “city” category.
This year’s small town winner is Deep River, the mid-sized town winner is Mansfield, the large town winner is Glastonbury, and the city winner is Stamford.
“I spend much of the time every day thinking about how to foster turnout. And the answer is complex. A lot of attention is given to policy, but it takes more than that to convince people to go out and cast a ballot,” Thomas said. “It takes the hard work and care of election administrators who simply have to make things work – from working through a global pandemic to ensuring that lists are maintained and that voters are educated about how to cast a ballot.”
In the 2022 general election, total statewide turnout was 57.62% with 1,297,811 out of 2,252,216 registered voters casting a ballot. Turnout among the four winning towns: 85.81% in Deep River, 71.90% in Mansfield; 66.82 % in Glastonbury and 51.53 % in Stamford.
– Paul Hughes
Seymour, Watertown legislators
are honored for health efforts
The Connecticut Association for Healthcare at Home has named state Sen. Eric C. Berthel, R-Watertown, its 2023 Legislator of the Year for his strong advocacy to pass legislation eliminating Medicaid rate differentials between adult and pediatric complex care nursing patients.
The Connecticut Association of Marriage and Family Therapy has named state Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria, R-Seymour, a “Mental Health Champion” for her work to improve mental health among Connecticut residents during the 2023 legislative session.
– Paul Hughes
Mayoral candidates exchange views, some being unprintable
Four sparring mayoral candidates for the city of Waterbury for the most part enjoyed a lively debate Oct. 26 at UConn Waterbury, with plenty of play between them. After Democrat Paul K. Pernerewski Jr. answered a question about crime, for example, petitioning candidate Karen Jackson said to him, “That was good.”
“Were you surprised?” Pernerewski asked. “Yes!” Jackson said.
While Republican Dawn Maiorano brought the loudest cheering section, the audience had applause for nearly every candidate’s answer. As the night wore on, Jackson, a former councilwoman in Bridgeport and the most unconventional of the four, offered two clear moments that prove she is not your typical politician. At one point, she chastised the audience for a lack of involvement and participation in city government. Jackson said she has been to meetings and it’s her, the board holding the meeting, and nobody else. Elected officials act however they want when the public is not present and engaged, she said. “You have no one to blame but yourselves,” she said, if the people who are elected Nov. 7 don’t deliver.
Jackson also brought the room to a stunned silence when, after asking if she could be frank, she used crude terms to describe people currently in office in City Hall. The most shocked faces could have been a toss up between voters in the audience, or Pernerewski, the most establishment candidate, as president of the Board of Aldermen, on the ballot.
– Anne Karolyi
