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Expect More

Posted by Aldon Hynes on April 20, 2005 - 8:51am.

Every election cycle, someone asks the backward looking question, “are you better off now than you were four years ago?” As people graduate from school or interview for new jobs, inevitably someone asks the question, “What do you want to be doing five years from now?”

Today, I am starting my new job as Blogmaster for the DeStefano campaign. If you asked me five years ago what I would be doing today, I would have never imagined that I would be blogging for a gubernatorial campaign, yet here I am.

Years ago, Robert Kennedy, paraphrasing George Bernard Shaw said, "There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?"

When I was considering this position, I had breakfast with Mayor DeStefano. I was struck by how willing he is to dream of things that never were and how much he really does, ‘Expect More’. He talked about using this blog as a way to more fully engage people in the process of electing a new governor and of keeping them involved in governance after he is elected.

I want to be involved in a campaign that helps everyday people find a stronger voice in government. I know that Mayor DeStefano expects more of himself as a leader. I’ve been warned that he expects more of his staff, and I understand how he expects more of all of us as a community. I will do all that I can to live up to these expectations, and I hope that you will too.

So, what are your hopes and dreams for Connecticut with John DeStefano as Governor? What are you going to do to help us reach these hopes and dreams? Please, join us in our conversation.

Comments

Hi Aldon!

Welcome aboard! I just gave my $50 May contribution 10 days early in honor of your appointment.

Things I'd hope you might write about:
Mayor's Night In
Mayor's Night Out
John's relationship with Yale
The success of community policing
Improvements to New Haven's parks
How IKEA came to town
The need for Regional cooperation

If John gets elected Governor, I'd like to see universal health care, better highways, a healthy regional airport for Southern CT, same day voter registration,....

Posted by TrueBlue on April 20, 2005 - 10:46am.

Smart choice Mr. Mayor,

I've known Aldon a while now.You couldn't have picked a better blogmaster.
Aldons willingness to listen to all views and accept those in contrast with his as honest disagreement and vluable will bring much to this place.

Good luck to both Aldon and this blog.I may not always be the most rah-rah blogger here but the fact that someone with Aldons integrity was chose to run this blog is very encouraging.

Let the debate begin!

Posted by kingfish on April 20, 2005 - 11:09am.

I know Aldon will be a huge asset to this campaign - let's all help make the dream come true! Congrats to John for hiring such a great writer.

Posted by Kim Hynes on April 20, 2005 - 11:43am.

The choice of Aldon speaks well of the DeStefano campaign.

Aldon's a real "class act."

Posted by Kelly Monaghan on April 20, 2005 - 2:04pm.

I'd like to see a Connecticut that understands the difference between Democrats and Republicans. So many people I talked with in CT are Dems who vote Republican and then say "Oh, I vote for the person, not the party." I get their point, but they need to realize that when it comes time to make the hard choices, Republicans will still be voting down the party line--irresponsible tax cuts, less school funding, and restriction of our civil rights. It's one thing to act bipartisan when you're in the middle of a blue state. It's quite another when you're in DC and have Bill Frist or Tom DeLay breathing down your neck.

Posted by Emily on April 20, 2005 - 2:58pm.

Congratulations Aldon! I hope you bring the same energy for democracy and progressive change as so many of the Mayor's key people. Here are three themes that I would like to see the DeStefano campaign, and in particular the blog, help emphasize:

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1. ORGANIZING. Part of the reason Democrats have such a mediocre performance in Connecticut and find themselves out of power in so many places is because they have forgotten how to organize. Use the blog to teach us how the DeStefano campaign is going to develop a novel approach to organize stronger neighborhood level party organization, as well as how it is going to push the broad social justice advoacy community (from labor, to environment, to good government, and human rights) to see their fate interwoven into the Democratic Party. We need to move beyond a progressive network that coordinates press releases and campaign contributions. We need to share responsibility for leadership development, agenda setting, and public persuasion. If the conservatives can use politics to mesh the coalition, so should we.

2. MORALITY. We need to take back the language of morality. We should be outraged that we spend more time protecting the wealth of the dead than making sure we end poverty amongst the working. Predatory credit and poor healthcare destroys marriages; gay marriage doesn't. Teach us how the DeStefano campaign is going to recast the debate on these issues so that progressives can use it to nourish their own tactics.

3. NEW IDEAS. The campaign and this blog should illuminate how new policies can help win over skeptical voters and create a permanent progressive majority in Connecticut. What kind of policies? Let's create a "baby bond" for every kid born in Connecticut that sets aside a small amount of money at birth that can gain compound interest and generate real wealth by the time the kid is in his 20s. If they can do it in the U.K. we can do it in the CT. Let' have a publicly-funded venture capital fund for renewable energy. Let's create the best transporation and smart growth investment strategy in the nation. And let's adopt a democratically-funded campaign finance system. All of these are policies that can bridge rich and poor, business and the environment, and transcend status quo divisions.

I know that that is a lot of aspirations, but I am confident that if you all work hard, you will pull it off.

Posted by JGA on April 20, 2005 - 5:02pm.

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