Watercolor not
the League logo
CLICK ON BALLOT NOV. 6,
2012 TO ENLARGE - Charter Revision Question
passes, 3039-996!
Enlarged,
on the left below: District ONE (28th State
Senate); enlarged, on the right
below: District
TWO (26th State Senate)
Voting
2012: In Connecticut (and elsewhere in U.S.A.) -
Weston results here.
Not
a great turnout, but it was a tough week or so leading
up to Election Day (thanks a lot, Hurricane Sandy)...
Merrill upbeat for Tuesday's
election, but 100 polling places remain without power
CT MIRROR
Keith M. Phaneuf
October 31, 2012
Secretary of the State Denise W. Merrill was optimistic
Wednesday about the prospect of an orderly Election Day
next Tuesday, though she warned that her office continues
to monitor nearly 100 polling places -- and possibly more
-- that remain out of power.
Connecticut's chief elections official also said that
despite the massive flood damage along the shoreline and
the widespread power outages, none of Connecticut's
communities have sought to relocate polling places.
"The election will go on," Merrill told Capitol reporters
during a midday news conference, adding that municipal
officials showed in recent meetings they are ready to
press on with Tuesday's vote.
"They seem to be carrying on," she said. "Most of the town
halls are up and running."
Merrill noted that a nor'easter featuring massive winds
and up to 2 feet of snow throughout much of Connecticut
hit the state last year on Oct. 29 -- the same date Sandy
arrived this year. "It feels like we had sort of a dress
rehearsal," she said.
State law doesn't have any provision for postponing the
election, and Merrill noted that all election machines are
capable of functioning on battery power.
There are 773 polling places statewide spread across the
state's 169 cities and towns.
[Please read the rest of this article in the archives at the CT MIRROR website]
CHANNEL 79, 8PM EVERY NIGHT
UNTIL NOV. 6 (LIVE PROGRAMS PREEMPT BROADCAST)
READ WESTON FORUM STORY HERE
WATCH ONLINE:
Weston LWV Oct. 13, 2012 debate, 135th Legislative District...
1 hour 35
minutes 4 seconds.Best viewed with Internet Explorer, which will
automatically open Windows Media
Player and start playback without waiting for the download to
complete.
135th
District Debate Oct. 13, 2012, Weston Library - picture story with all the
questions here.
The League of
Women Voters of Weston was proud of how our volunteer
question screeners, our volunteer timers, the
wonderful seasonal arrangements and suppport services
(food etc., signs, THANK YOU FORUM and Roy, who set
up). It all came off spectacularly...and
especially, thanks to the two gentlemen who carried
the day, answering the dozen questions thrown at them!
----------------------
BREAKING NEWS: ON
CABLEVISION - New Canaan LWV to host Senatorial Debate
for the 26th and 36th
separate
from House rep debates - MONDAY, OCT. 22 at 7pm in New
Canaan Town Hall (about to be renovated)
-
Westport LWV 26th District debate story from the Westport
NEWS
here.
ON TOWN TV CHANNEL 79 EVERY NIGHT AT 8PM
Only
to be pre-empted by live event broadcasts!!! This is
the equivalent of a big vote of approval by our Government
Access Channel 79 folks!
WATCH THE LWV OF
WESTON OCT. 13, 2012 DEBATE IN THE 135TH LEGISLATIVE
DISTRICT:
For cable and
dsl users:
For dial-up
modem users:
1 hour 35
minutes 4 seconds.Best viewed with Internet Explorer, which will
automatically open Windows Media Player and start playback without
waiting for the download to complete.
How would you have answered these questions? Stay
tuned for the video, to be online here soon, but also watch for
the FORUM and Daily Weston reports!
LEAGUE
OF
WOMEN VOTERS OF WESTON CANDIDATE DEBATE, 135TH HOUSE DISTRICT
LWV
of
Weston welcome the public from three towns that make up the
135th CT House District - Weston, Easton and Redding - to the
Weston Library Community Room (Stanley Bleifeld sculpture
graces the doorway). Candidate
for
CT Senate (26th District) asked to be on the panel as
well, having originally been invited. It was explained
by the debate moderator from LWVCT that on advice from the
IRS, regarding using education fund money in empty chair
debate situations, a League's tax exempt status would be
compromised.
The debate then began. Our "picture story"
below...
The Weston FORUM Editor covered this event and is
coordinating with the Redding PILOT.
QUESTION ONE
Of all the
various answers to the question of "why serve at this time?" which
is the ONE you think is the point of inflection - the very
starting point - to an economic recovery for CT?
QUESTION TWO
Please give
one or more specific instances of how you will "work across
the aisle."
QUESTIONS
THREE AND FOUR ON TAXES: Preamble - When the Governor was
elected, he raised our taxes by $1.8 Billion and said he was going
to cut government spending $1.2 Billion mainly by reducing the
work force. This was not something we wanted to hear but
apparently necessary to help address our disastrous fiscal
condition. Wne the dust settled our taxes did go up by the
$1.8 Billion and we had to deal with the unions that ensured no
layoffs for four years and for that received $400 million less in
government reductions, wiping out the rainy day fund he had...
#3 - Do you see the deal the Governor made with the unions as fair
to the taxpayers and if so, or if not, why?
#4 - Do you see any additional tax increases, fees etc. over the
next two years to make up for this budget shortfall?
QUESTION
FIVE
This morning, the higher education leadship in Connecticut
resigned because of unauthorized raises. What should the
Legislature do to stop this from happening again?
QUESTION SIX
How would you vote on Towns' writing their own laws regarding
pesticide use and clean well water?
QUESTION
SEVEN
ALEC
(American Legislative Exchange Council) corporate lobbyists write
state laws for state legislators including Florida's "stand your
ground law." How do special interests influence the Legislature
and
how will you deal with ALEC in CT?
QUESTION
EIGHT
There is ongoing debate about changes to the Education Cost
Sharing Formula and need for special education, and these are
items the next Legislature will have to act upon. Where do
you think it will or should go - and will your 3 towns be affected
negatively?
QUESTION NINE
Governor Malloy and the Legislature pared down the number of State
of CT agencies. There is undeniable evidence that this
Administration favors regionalizing government activities.
Do you think giving taxing powers to regional agencies will be the
next step? Should it?
QUESTION TEN
What is your position on the death penalty?
QUESTION ELEVEN
Representing Weston, Easton and Redding, do you expect to be
listened to by the majority of legislators who come from outside
Fairfield County? If yes, why?
QUESTION
TWELVE
What can the
Legislature do to limit the state's unfunded mandates that are a
burden to towns and school districts?
AND THEN IT
WAS OVER - AFTER A BIT MORE THAN 90 MINUTES
Shaban
and
Karvelis go toe to toe in 135th district debate
Weston FORUM
Kim Donnelly
17 Oct 2012
Two of the three candidates vying for the 135th District seat in
the Connecticut Legislature answered questions from an audience of
about 65 people last Saturday morning at the Weston Public
Library.
Rep. John Shaban, the Republican who currently holds the seat
representing Weston, Easton, and a portion of Redding, and his
challenger, Democrat Leon Karvelis, participated in the debate
sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Weston. Green Party
candidate Gabriel Rossi will be on the ballot Nov. 6, but declined
the invitation to the debate.
The gentlemen, both from Redding, were civil and complimentary of
each other’s motives and service to the community, but they were
also not shy about making clear their difference in approach to
the role of government, the environment, how best to jump start
the state’s economy, taxes, special interest groups, and
bipartisanship.
The economy
The debate began, and often circled back to, the economy.
[Please read the rest of this article in the archives at the Weston FORUM website]
Breaking News from CTNEWSJUNKIE
Republican Party on
LINE 'A' again...LAWSUIT AGAINST SECRETARY OF THE STATE
SUCCEEDS
GOP to have top line because their candidate had the
highest number of votes in 2010 Gubernatorial
Election. Democrats
on line 'B' this year -read
decision here.
Court
rules Republicans will go on top of ballots in Nov. 6 election
Weston FORUM
By Kimberly Donnelly on September 27, 2012
In the race for Connecticut’s open state and Congressional
seats, the Republicans will be on top — at least on top of the
ballot.
The state Supreme Court issued a decision on Wednesday, Sept.
26, that requires the Republican Party’s candidates for office
in the Nov. 6 election be placed on the first line of the
ballots.
State law gives the top line of the ballot to the party of the
winner of the most recent gubernatorial race. Because that
winner was Democrat Dannel Malloy, Secretary of the State Denise
Merrill had planned to list Democrats first on the ballots.
[Please read the rest of this article in the archives at the Weston FORUM website]
No Decision Yet In Ballot
Case, Voter Rolls Swell
CTNEWSJUNKIE
by Christine Stuart | Sep 25, 2012 10:59am
It looks as if another day will pass without a decision on
the Republican Party’s lawsuit against the Secretary of
the State’s office. There are no advance release decisions
scheduled to be released by the Supreme Court Tuesday.
But even without a decision on which party should get top
billing the election process is proceeding. Last
week, blank ballots were sent to the military and overseas
voters with a list of candidates attached. The candidates
were listed alphabetically on a separate sheet of paper
and voters were asked to fill in the candidates’ name next
to the office.
Almost two weeks ago the Supreme Court heard arguments
about which party should receive the top ballot line. The
Republican Party believes they should remain on the top
line because their gubernatorial candidate in 2010
received more votes than Gov. Dannel P. Malloy did on the
Democratic Party line. He won with the support of votes
from the Working Families Party line, which cross-endorsed
his candidacy.
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill’s office has argued
Democrats should receive the top line because their
candidate received the most votes, even though he didn’t
do so on just one party’s line. Republicans believe they
should receive the top line because their party received
the most votes on a single line in 2010. The Supreme
Court asked the parties last week for more information
about whether the Republican Party had exhausted all of
its administrative remedies before bringing the complaint
to court.
[Please read the rest of this article in the archives at the CTNEWSJUNKIE website]
Click
here to check your voter registration.
CT
26th
District LWV Legislative Debate (Sept. 28, 2012):
Boucher, Curry
WATCH IT NOW: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a96F0jiGgrE&feature=youtu.be
Weston LWV to Co-Sponsor Westport
debate on October 15th in Westport Town Hall.
26th Senate District: Curry and Boucher tackle topics at
forum in Ridgefield
Weston FORUM
By Macklin Reid on October 5, 2012
Finances and taxes, education and transportation were
among the topics discussed by Republican State Senator
Toni Boucher and Democrat Carolanne Curry, her challenger
to represent the 26th District towns of Ridgefield,
Redding, Wilton, Weston, Westport, New Canaan and Bethel.
Ms. Boucher, in her fourth year in the state senate after
12 years representing Wilton in the State House of
Representatives, and Ms. Curry, a Wesporter active in
Democratic politics since Ella Grasso ran for governor in
1974, met at a League of Women Voters forum — not a full
blown debate — at Founders Hall, the senior citizens
center in Ridgefield.
Fiscal situation
The candidates were first asked to analyze the state’s
fiscal situation, and say what they favored to improve it.
“Barron’s just proclaimed Connecticut the most fiscally
mis-managed state in the country,” Ms. Boucher said.
State spending is “7.2% more in the last two years despite
the fiscal downturn,” she said.
Gov. Dannel Malloy and his Democratic allies in the
legislature gave the state “the largest retroactive tax
increase in its history,” she said. “This has jobs and
people fleeing the state, and its unsustainable.”
Ms. Boucher supported a “no tax-increase alternative”
budget put forward by Republicans in the legislature.
Ms. Curry spoke of the state’s fiscal problems as derived
from the national economic problems as opposed to the
decisions of the current Democratic administration.
“This fiscal mess is a mess you see across 50 states,” she
said. “This did not happen this year,” she added.
“There were years prior to this governor where there were
opportunities to revise the budget… We have a couple of
opportunities to address where corporate businesses pay
out taxes.”
[Please read the rest of this article in the archives at the Weston FORUM website]
A report on
Ridgefield LWV 26th District Debate...September
28, 2012: (l) Toni Boucher, (r) Carolanne
Curry.
Candidates promise no new
taxes
Robert Miller, Danbury News-Times
Updated 11:38 p.m., Friday, September 28, 2012
RIDGEFIELD -- No one took an official pledge.
But the four candidates at a debate at Founders Hall here
Friday all agreed on one issue: They're against any new
taxes in the state in the coming year.
"Jobs and people are fleeing the state,'' state Sen. Toni
Boucher, R-Wilton, said at the debate, sponsored by the
Ridgefield League of Women Voters, pointing out that
Barron's Magazine has recently ranked the state the worst
in the country in terms of state finances.
And, Boucher said, the state's policies are also hard of
people with fixed incomes, a message aimed at the members
of Founder's Hall, the town's senior center.
"I don't have to tell you this is a difficult place for
retirees,'' she said.
Boucher, a two-term incumbent, and her Democratic
opponent, Carolanne Curry of Westport, were agreeable
opponents at the debate, as were state Rep. John Frey,
R-Ridgefield and Jeff Bonistall, the Democratic opponent,
of Ridgefield.
State Rep. Jan Giegler, R-Danbury, spoke after the debate
concluded. She is running unopposed.
[Please read the rest of this article in the archives at the Danbury NEWS-TIMES website]
G R E A
T A I R - C ON D I T I O N I N G
August 14, 2012 U.S. Senate Primaries:
TOTAL TURNOUT, WESTON - 924 (Total Democrats:
2130. Total Republicans: 1930).
RESULTS FOR OPEN U.S. SENATE SEAT:
STATEWIDE, LINDA MCMAHON (R) v. CHRIS MURPHY (D)
McMahon
263 - Shays 338. Total Republican turnout -
601 (31%)
Murphy 281
- Bysiewicz 43. Total Democrat turnout - 324
(15%)
*unofficial count
Democrat
(some
drop outs already) and Republican
The Weston ballot Nov. 6 will include Charter
Revision...BUT HOW?
LWVCT PRIMARY DEBATE FOR
U.S. SENATE OVER - REPORT HERE
EXTRA, EXTRA, EXTRA -
Unaffiliated? Want to register in a Party to vote in
Primary? Click here for
more. Vote in the Democrat or Republican U.S. Senate
Primaries, held in AIR
CONDITIONED Weston Intermediate School ("WIS").
VOTER REGISTRATION IN AIR-CONDITIONED
COMFORT...OVER NOW
FOR NEW
VOTERS AND UNAFFILIATED VOTERS ONLY JULY 31, 2-4PM
Town Hall
(l) and path from the parking lot that leads to...air-conditioned
voter registration.
-----------------
Murphy, Bysiewicz back stiffer gun control
Brian
Lockhart,
CT POST
Updated 08:45 p.m., Sunday, July 22, 2012
BRIDGEPORT -- The two Democrats vying for their party's
U.S. Senate nomination spent the first minutes of Sunday's
debate at the Klein Memorial Auditorium discussing this
weekend's shooting deaths in Bridgeport.
U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, the endorsed candidate, is being
challenged in an August 14 primary by ex-Secretary of the
State Susan Bysiewicz.
Introducing himself to the audience and viewers who can
watch a taping on Cablevision, Murphy noted it was a
strange week for such a face-off, sympathizing with
victims of the massacre in Colorado at the premiere of the
latest Batman film and also of recent violence here in
Bridgeport.
Keijahnae "Nu Nu" Robinson, 15, was pronounced dead at
Bridgeport Hospital Saturday evening, less than a day
after gunmen sprayed the Brooks Street porch she was on
with bullets, striking her in the head and wounding her
two friends.
Just two hours before she was shot, Mi Lin Zhao, the
30-year-old owner of the New Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant
on Wood Avenue, was killed while fending off armed robbers
on his way home.
The first debate question focused on high unemployment,
while the second pivoted to whether the candidates support
additional gun control legislation.
Again Bridgeport's violent weekend was mentioned.
[Please read the rest of this article in the archives at the CT POST website]
LWVCT DEBATE: Democrat
Primary for U.S. Senate here.
Sunday, July 22nd at 2:30 p.m., in the Klein
Memorial Auditorium, 910 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport
No similar LWVCT Republican Debate accepted at this point.
LWVUS link: http://vote411.org/
Republican Presidential Primary Tues., April 24 sample ballot
REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL
PRIMARY, APRIL 24, 2012
Results in Weston of
Republican Presidential Primary:
Mitt Romney 250
Newt Gingrich 20
Ron Paul 17
Rick Santorum 4
Uncommitted 6
26th Senate District -
Reapportionment - 2012 over, here.
2012 Weston streets by name and
district plus map.
