John DeStefano for Connecticut Governor - In Your Community

West Hartford - Welcome to the team!

2006-03-01T08:44:13Z

Last night in West Hartford we welcomed to Team DeStefano: West Hartford Mayor Scott Slifka, State Sen. Jonathan Harris, Deputy Mayor Art Spada, Town Council members Carolyn Thornberry, Shari Cantor, and Maureen Kelly McClay, Town Chair Maureen Magnan and Democratic Town Committee District Chairs: Sheila McKay, Ray O’Toole, Robert Hurvitz, Barbara Sylvester, and Rochelle Homelson.

It is very exciting to have Mayor Slifka on board as he is the HIGHEST municipal vote getter in the state of Connecticut. And under the leadership of Town Chair Maureen Magnan, West Hartford has been one of the best performing towns in the state on election day.

At the rally last night Senator Harris spoke about his experiences serving with Mayor DeStefano on the Blue Ribbon Commission on Property Tax Reform and Smart Growth. He spoke of the Mayor's leadership in uniting small towns and big cities, business and labor to reach a consensus. Sen. Harris also spoke of John’s ability to tackle the issue not only from 30,000 feet but to really put his hands around the miniscule details of such a complex issue. We are proud to have them on the team!

What is your dream?

2006-01-18T03:17:21Z

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.

Weekend in Fairfield County

2005-12-05T06:37:32Z

Last night, Mayor DeStefano addressed a group of Fairfield County supporters at a fundraiser for his campaign. The Mayor heard some of the same concerns last night that he’s been hearing all across the state: transportation woes, concerns about Connecticut’s loss of jobs. It was exciting to see folks in Fairfield County rallying behind these same issues and signing up to help the Mayor’s campaign . With former Congressman Gejdenson’s endorsement from Eastern CT last week, and a show of support in Fairfield County this week, we’re watching with excitement the building of a statewide network of supporters united behind Mayor DeStefano’s leadership.

This Week on the DeStefano Campaign

2005-11-21T12:37:42Z

“We gather together…” Thus starts one of my favorite Thanksgiving Day hymns. Thanksgiving is about much more than some parades, food, and football games. It is about gathering with friends and family to celebrate all that we have to be thankful for. It is about recounting the stories of hard work and victories that have brought us to where we are and our dreams for where we can go from here.

So, this week on the DeStefano campaign, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. We have lots to be thankful for. As an example, last Thursday, former Secretary of State Candidate Audrey Blondin endorsed Mayor DeStefano. She has done an incredible job criss crossing the state trying to get more people involved in the democratic process. She and her husband Matt often head down to Nicaragua to provide eye care to impoverish people. On Saturday she helped gathered people in Northwestern Connecticut together to talk with the Mayor about how we can do better in Connecticut.

At one gathering, I met Fran Besmer, town chair of Kent. Fran has adopted eight children and we talked about how Saturday was National Adoption Day. I am sure she will have quite the gathering for Thanksgiving Day.

So, as we prepare for this Thanksgiving Day, we should spend time to express our thanks to people like Audrey, Matt and Fran. We should spend time expressing our thanks to people that bring others together in an effort to help make our state, our country and our world a better place. Please join with us in our efforts to help make Connecticut better.

Project Hope, Opportunity Rocks, We’re all in this together

2005-10-19T03:29:37Z

Yesterday, Mayor DeStefano took time to walk with New Britain Mayoral candidate Jason Jakubowski and talk about “Project Hope”. Project Hope is an economic development plan which Jakubowski released a couple months ago. Mayor DeStefano consistently reaches out to people across the state to talk about economic development ideas as well as to support great candidates running for municipal office. He constantly is calling on all of us to work together to build a better Connecticut.

This evening, following the example of the Mayor, I will be attending John Edwards talk at Yale Law about Opportunity Rocks. I urge all of you to find ways to get out and help with local campaigns, as well as to take opportunities to get involved with projects like Opportunity Rocks.

We are at our best when we all work together. If you have ideas about other events we should all work together on, please add them as comments here or feel free to send them to me via email. aldon

Hablamos Español

2005-10-04T01:19:39Z

A government of the people, by the people and for the people shouldn’t discriminate against people who do not speak English as their primary language. Yesterday, the City of New Haven announced its 'Hablamos Español' Initiative to make city services more accessible to everyone in New Haven. The Latino community in New Haven grew more rapidly from 1990 to 2000 than any other group and in 2004 21.4% of New Haven residents were of Hispanic or Latino origin compared with only 9.4% the rest of Connecticut.

Just as Spanish-speaking residents need better access to city services, they also need more opportunities to have their say in electoral politics. One of Mayor DeStefano’s initiatives in New Haven that I am particularly impressed with is Democracy School. It would be great if there were enough interest to see a Democracy School in Spanish. Here at the campaign, you are invited to visit the Spanish section of our website. Perhaps we can even get some people who speak Spanish better than I do to write some Spanish blog entries here.

Mayor DeStefano always talks about the importance of all of us working together. America has been made strong by its cultural diversity and I look forward to rich dialog from all people in Connecticut about how we can work together to make Connecticut better. What are your ideas in broadening the dialog of how to make Connecticut better?

“Maybe, this is about us”

2005-09-23T01:34:54Z

So, I’m sitting in the car, having just gotten back from picking up a bagel and coffee from a local store. I have Connecticut Public Radio on and they start a segment about New Haven’s offer of housing victims of Hurricane Katrina. They talk about the concern that offering housing to victims of Hurricane Katrina would take away from the efforts to provide housing to the homeless in New Haven.

I listen to each side present their talking points. I’ve heard them before. Much of the housing is expected to come from the private sector, etc. But then, I hear the clip from Mayor DeStefano. “Maybe, this is really about us.”

Yes, when you get to position statements, I find that Mayor DeStefano’s team puts together position statements that more closely reflect my own views than anyone else running for Governor. His vision and record are strong reasons why he is leading in fundraising and leading in support from unions and political leaders.

But those too, are some of the same old talking points. The bigger reason that I support Mayor DeStefano is because it really is “about us”. This “about us” mentality does come through in some of the other campaign slogans. We need to “expect more”; not only of our leaders but of each of us. “We are at our best when we are working together”. These aren’t just catch phrases, this is an attitude that pervades the campaign.

Working Together in Shelton

2005-09-20T02:22:04Z

Last night’s Shelton Democratic Town Committee meeting provided a reminder of what is right with politics in Connecticut. It is easy to lose sight of this as we read about politicians resigning due to ethics scandals, committees failing to complete their work on finding ways to reform campaign finance laws, and the daily grind of dealing with jerks and trolls online.

I regularly ask people to come to town committee meetings as a chance to hear Mayor DeStefano speak. I also hope that they will come, and get more involved in local politics. Yesterday, an old friend from a neighboring town showed up at the DTC meeting. People asked who she was and we both spoke for a moment about the importance of getting new people involved.

The meeting started with a brief discussion of the municipal campaigns. There were the standard discussions about fundraising. For example, they are having a Lobster Bake on October 1st from 2 to 5. For more details, please click here or contact Margaret Coughlin at 929 7962. There will also be a fundraiser for Mike Pacowta who is running for Mayor. Contact Mike at mepcpa for more information.

Helping at home

2005-09-06T12:52:05Z

TrueBlue has been asking what are we going to be doing here in Connecticut to help victims of Katrina. Mayor DeStefano posted this entry encouraging everyone to contribute, and Shonu posted this entryon places to contribute. I also heard a some great comments by Harry Connick, Jr. about contributing to H Website Vooweb.com provides the biggest collection of professional Web 2.0 Templates. Web 2.0 Templates - its a website templates which made by world-class designers. Buy our Web 2.0 Templates | A family cooking recipes with hundreds of healthy, whole-food cooking recipes for the home cook. Healthy Food cooking Recipes For Your Entire Family

Paid for by DeStefano for Connecticut, Gaylord Bourne, Treasurer.
© Copyright 2005, DeStefano for Connecticut. All rights reserved.

Site by EchoDitto. time for the Gulf Coast to recover from Hurricane Katrina. People will need new houses and places to stay for an extended period. With this in mind, I was very happy to see this report that New Haven has opened the doors of the city to 100 families displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina will affect all of us for quite a while. We need to return to the shared sacrifice that helped build our country and we need leaders like Mayor DeStefano to help set the example.

Hurricane Katrina

2005-08-31T02:14:18Z

One of the quotes from Mayor DeStefano’s campaign that I have always appreciated is ‘We are at our best when we are working together’. Mayor DeStefano has done a great job in getting people to recognize their common interest and work together.

Yet it isn’t only common self interest that inspires us to work together. We should all also be driven by a desire to work for the common good and help people in their times of great need.

It is in this spirit that I encourage all of you to consider what you can do help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The Bristol Press reports that 23 volunteers and workers from Connecticut, including seven from Farmington have already been deployed to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The Day provides this information about getting trained to help:

“The southeastern Connecticut chapter of the Red Cross will conduct training sessions for new volunteers all day Friday and Saturday at its offices at 150 Eugene O'Neill Drive, New London. Teams will leave for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Monday and Tuesday. To register, call 447-3248.”

Whether you can help as a volunteer or a donor, please contact The Red Cross to do what you can to help.

An Avon Interview

2005-08-30T10:16:15Z

Every time we go to a town committee I think of it as a “job interview” for governor; but I was surprised when the mayor started his speech that way. He said that yesterday was not his first “job interview” in Avon but really his second – having interviewed for the job of assistant town manager over twenty years ago.

Like any interview the “candidate” spoke of why he wants the job. In this case, John spoke of the problems in Connecticut, and how as governor he would work with Connecticut residents to build the economy, improve transportation, work to strengthen the educational system and reform the tax structure to encourage business and protect families. Then the town committee was able to ask questions of the “candidate” – how exactly do you fix the tax structure, what can we do to fix the traffic situation on Route 44, how do you beat a sitting republican with such a high approval rating.

While we won’t know for a while if John lands the job – I do know that he did a good job in Avon. Every voter in Connecticut is part of this interview process – while not everyone will get a chance to meet the candidates it is important to be engaged in the discussion. What other questions do you want to see answered? What "qualifies" a canidate to be governor?

Mike's New Home

2005-12-28T08:18:56Z

One of the issues that Mayor DeStefano often mentions is the difficulty young people have buying their first home in Connecticut. This is an issue that I can directly relate to as a 24 year old living in Norwalk.

I have recently gotten engaged and have begun looking around for a home. The problem is, it's nearly impossible to find a house in Norwalk that a pair of 24 year olds can afford. So that leaves us with 2 options: Continue renting, making it harder to save up for a down payment or moving elsewhere. This is a problem that people my age face all across the state. Several friends of mine have moved out of Connecticut for the simple fact that they don't want to live in their parents' basements until they're 30. Norwalk has virtually lost its middle class as a result. We have the upper class that can afford to purchase $500,000 homes.

SOTS Candidate Forum

2005-05-26T10:27:31Z

Mayor DeStefano chats at the SOTS Candidate Forum

Last evening New Haven played host to the Democratic candidates running
for Secretary of the State. Each candidate was afforded ten minutes to
address the audience and give his or her biography and plans if
elected. There are six candidates currently running, and all were in
attendance except the two who are members of the General Assembly.Those two, Evelyn Mantilla and Andrew Fleischmann, were in session up in Hartford. Present were candidates Audrey Blondin, Robert Landino, John Nussbaum and Norma Rodriguez-Reyes.

Connecticut Hispanic Democratic Caucus

2005-05-07T07:09:48Z

This morning, the Mayor provided the welcoming comments to the first annual meeting of the Connecticut Hispanic Democratic Caucus at the John Martinez School in New Haven. There were many notable Hispanic political leaders there including Mayor Eddie Perez of Hartford, Yolanda Castillo and America Santiago, who were elected chair and vice chair of the caucus as well as numerous State Reps, Alderman, and the Bridgeport Registrar of Voters.

Feeding two hundred

2005-04-28T08:01:51Z

Next to the Norwalk River, right before it passes under a busy bridge on I-95 sits the St. Ann’s club. The last Wednesday of every month about 200 men from this Italian fraternal association gather for dinner. Outside, they smoke and talk on their cellphones. Inside they have their drinks and slap each other on the backs.