Today, we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Any words I write, would not do justice to the life that he led. So, instead, let me ask that you take a little time out of your day to reflect on his famous I Have a Dream Speech, and if you feel inspired, share a few words here about your dreams of how we can work together to make Connecticut a better place for all people.

Many of us in the DeStefano campaign are big West Wing fans, and it is with great sadness that we note the passing of John Spencer who played the role of Leo McGarry.

Over the past few weeks, people in the national media have bewailed a ‘war on Christmas’ and I must admit, I too, am disappointed at the loss of ‘Christmas Spirit’ that is affecting our country. However, my views on what this loss means seems a little different than what some of the commentators are saying.

For me, the spirit of Christmas is about proclaiming peace on earth and good will to everyone. It is about loving our neighbors. It is about reaching out to people who are different from us.

Last night, I went to a holiday party of a group of Democratic activists. Some of them celebrate Hanukah, others Christmas, and still others probably only celebrate New Years. However, we all celebrate working together to help make our country better.

Celebrating working together to make Connecticut better is what the DeStefano campaign is all about. Please join with us. Go to the holiday parties of your local Democratic Committees. Please have some fun talking with others about how we can all work together to make Connecticut better and why Mayor DeStefano is the best person to lead that effort.

So, in the spirit of proclaiming goodwill to everyone, Happy Holidays.

It is Sunday morning and a light snow is falling. I worry about my heating bills and instead of turning up the heat, I put on a sweater. It reminds me of years ago when President Carter urged us conserve energy.

Years ago, the head of the executive branch of our country had resigned in disgrace. Jimmy Carter provided a sharp contrast to the politics of the day. He was a down to earth leader, hard working and smart but still personable, the sort of guy that you would want to sit down and have a good discussion about how we can get our country back on the right track.

Yesterday, there was a fundraiser for the 8th district Democrats. Mayor DeStefano was there, wearing a sweater and talking about issues that touched everyone’s lives. It made me think of Jimmy Carter and his defeat of Gerald Ford. Ford took over for a disgraced leader, but didn’t provide any great leadership or vision of his own.

So, politicians in blue blazers talking at us, we need a leader who will roll up his shirtsleeves and work together with us to help make our country better.

Are you ready to work with this type of leader? Please join us.

Today, Mayor DeStefano joined leaders in celebrating the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks historic bus ride. The New Haven Independent asks “If Parks were alive today and living in New Haven, would she ride a city bus?” Mayor DeStefano is quoted as saying that, "She probably wouldn't be able to afford to ride the bus".

Several months ago we had this post about the increases in bus fares in Connecticut as well as some of Mayor DeStefano’s innovative transportation ideas.

However, Rev. Emilio Hernandez said, “I think she would be driving the bus!” I think this captures one of the things that is important to me about this campaign. Yes, we can be talking about better transportation and cleaner air, but what we really need to be talking about is how we get people more involved in making their communities and their state better.

If we want just photo-ops, we can stick with Rell. If we want help build a better Connecticut, we need to join John DeStefano. We need to roll up our sleeves and work with people like Rev. Hernandez and Dottie Green to launch a new civil rights movement in Rosa Parks memory.

During the special election of Senator Gomes, Molly Lindsey showed up at the Stratford headquarters to help phone bank. She was a new member of the DeStefano campaign. Over the past few weeks, I’ve gotten to know Molly a lot better. For example, she first met Mayor DeStefano when they spent hours canvassing for Kerry in the rain in Allentown, PA. She is quick to note that the county the canvassed in ended up going for Kerry.

Officially, she is something like Deputy Press Secretary. More importantly, she is going to start posting frequently on the blog, as well as helping with policy and press release sections. I’m very excited about this, because recently, it has felt like my voice has been too dominant on the blog, and I have longed to see beefier policy and press release sections.

As another quick side note, she speaks Mandarin, so perhaps we can get some multilingual posts up yet.

I hope everyone welcomes Molly to the blog. I really look forward to working with her on the blog.

I apologize for this long and rambling blog post. There is a lot going on that needs to be addressed.

Some of you may have heard various rumors about my role within the DeStefano campaign being redefined. A lively discussion about this emerged last night on Connecticut Local Politics. I don’t have a lot more to say on the topic other than that I hope this blog continues to grow and be a vibrant community. As I noted there, “This whole thing feels rather awkward to me. My job for the DeStefano campaign has been to try and draw attention to the Mayor’s Gubernatorial bid. I would prefer not to be the focus of attention.”

For those who have been following the special election in Farmington, Democrat Robert Huelin won by 91 votes. Kudos go to everyone who worked so hard on the special election. It reflects Mayor DeStefano’s line about us being at our best when we are all working together.

If you live in Farmington’s first district, please get out and vote today. This is a special run off election after the previous election was a tie. Yesterday, DeStefano supporters went out to drop literature in the first district and hopefully people are up there today helping get out the vote.

The other big news of the day is that the State Legislature is expected to vote on a campaign finance reform bill tomorrow. Mayor DeStefano has lobbied for campaign finance reform and I hope you will to. Contact your legislators as well as Governor Rell to urge them to pass and sign this bill.

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If any of you still hold to the myth that your vote doesn’t count, take a look at what has happened in Farmington. After a recount of ballots, it was determined that there was a tie in the first district town council race, which each candidate getting 1242 votes each. So, tomorrow, there will be a special election between the two candidates to determine the winner. Both sides are working hard on the special election, so it isn’t just your vote that matters, but also what you can do to help get out the vote. If you can help, please contact Chrissy at chrissy.

There are other ways that each one of us can help one another. I hope most of us had a great Thanksgiving. However, we need to remember that there are people that struggle daily to get food. The Connecticut Food Bank “provides food and other resources to more than 650 food assistance programs such as soup kitchens, shelters, food pantries, and adult and child day care centers”. Please do what you can to help.

This evening, I received some pictures of the Meet and Greet in Winchester, CT last weekend. You can browse them here.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.