New Britain Council Urges Bush, Congress To Get Out Of Iraq
In a party-line vote of 13 to 2 on April 23rd, the New Britain Common Council adopted a resolution that urges the President and Congress to end the war in Iraq and re-direct federal spending to domestic needs. The only two Republicans on the Council heeded the wishes of Mayor Timothy Stewart and voted against the measure that had unanimous Democratic support.
The resolution, proposed by first-term Alderwoman At Large Eva Magnuszewski (photo), "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." The statement, similar to those adopted by the New Haven and Hartford city councils, honors the service of U.S. military men and women who continue to be in harm's way five years after Pres. Bush declared the mission was "accomplished." As local officials seek to balance a tight municipal budget and mitigate the impact of property revaluation, the resolution cited the billions in costs for the war and the difference that some of those dollars would make domestically. The daily financial burden of Iraq of more than $330 million ($2 billion per week) far exceeds the $220 million city budget of New Britain for a year. Magnuszewski said New Britain was the 285th local government in the country to oppose the Bush Iraq policy.
City Dems Prepare For May Conventions, Endorsement Meeting
New Britain Democrats will participate in May conventions to nominate state legislators and the 5th District Congressman. The Democratic Town Committee will also meet to endorse state representative candidates with districts that are within city boundaries. Endorsements for Justices of the Peace ans the party's Registrar of Voters will round out party the endorsement process at the local level.
The schedule:
May 10: The Democratic State Convention will be held to endorse Democratic National Committee members and to consider changes to party rules. The convention will be held at Central Connecticut State University
In a party-line vote of 13 to 2 on April 23rd, the New Britain Common Council adopted a resolution that urges the President and Congress to end the war in Iraq and re-direct federal spending to domestic needs. The only two Republicans on the Council heeded the wishes of Mayor Timothy Stewart and voted against the measure that had unanimous Democratic support.
The resolution, proposed by first-term Alderwoman At Large Eva Magnuszewski (photo), "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." The statement, similar to those adopted by the New Haven and Hartford city councils, honors the service of U.S. military men and women who continue to be in harm's way five years after Pres. Bush declared the mission was "accomplished." As local officials seek to balance a tight municipal budget and mitigate the impact of property revaluation, the resolution cited the billions in costs for the war and the difference that some of those dollars would make domestically. The daily financial burden of Iraq of more than $330 million ($2 billion per week) far exceeds the $220 million city budget of New Britain for a year. Magnuszewski said New Britain was the 285th local government in the country to oppose the Bush Iraq policy.
City Dems Prepare For May Conventions, Endorsement Meeting
New Britain Democrats will participate in May conventions to nominate state legislators and the 5th District Congressman. The Democratic Town Committee will also meet to endorse state representative candidates with districts that are within city boundaries. Endorsements for Justices of the Peace ans the party's Registrar of Voters will round out party the endorsement process at the local level.
The schedule:
May 10: The Democratic State Convention will be held to endorse Democratic National Committee members and to consider changes to party rules. The convention will be held at Central Connecticut State University
May 12: The 5th Congressional Convention will be held (U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy) at Crosby High School in Waterbury.
May 19: The 6th State Senate Convention will be held (State Senator Don DeFronzo) for delegates from Berlin, Farmington and New Britain.
May 20: State Representative conventions from multi-town districts will be held. For New Britain this includes the 22nd District (Voting District 15 only—State Rep. Betty Boukus) and the 24th District (Newington and New Britain – State Rep. Tim O’Brien)
May 20-27: The Democratic Town Committee will meet between May 20th and May 27th for endorsement of single town State Representative (the 25th district represented by State Rep. John Geragosian and the 26th represented by State Rep. Peter Tercyak); Registrar of Voters and Justice of the Peace.
Delegate slates for New Britain may be found at http://www.newbritaindemocrat.net/
Delegate slates for New Britain may be found at http://www.newbritaindemocrat.net/
President Bush's visit to Connecticut and the 5th Congressional District on Friday raised as much as $700K, according to press reports . Much of the money is supposed to benefit the presumptive opponent of first-term U.S. Rep Chris Murphy, State Senator David Cappiello.
Bush used a Hartford speech on malaria-fighting efforts to underwrite an obviously partisan journey to the Kent home of Nixon administration Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger. Invitees came at $1,000 per person and got a photo with the President for $10,000.In a bizarre twist to the trip shared with a group of 5th CD Democrats this weekend, the White House called Cong. Murphy's office last Tuesday to invite him to accompany the President on Air Force One on his way to the Northwest Hills to shake the GOP money tree for Murphy's opponent. No word yet on whether Murphy's office staff has stopped laughing yet. New England's only GOP member of Congress, Chris Shays, took the free ride.
While Cappiello needed the kind of cash that a sitting President could bring him, many Democrats and unaffiliated voters will be asking just what part of Bush's policies does Cappiello plan to run on. There was no evidence that Cappiello engaged in any photo ops with Bush. Nary a word on the Cappiello website.
Chances are the Republican challenger will do his best to ignore George Bush completely the rest of the way. It appears his strategy is to run a stealth campaign of quietly backing the Bush agenda and painting himself a Nancy Johnson moderate. To know the real David Cappiello, however, all voters will have to do his follow the money trail back to the White House.
The largess given to Cappiello is the best tip off yet of what he stands for and how he will vote: for wasteful war without security, for deficits, for the continuing economic slide of working and middle income people as the rich guys with the long driveways who live next to Henry Kissinger get a tax break.
