Republican Push Poll Called "Desperate" and "Misleading" By New Britain DTC

The Stewart for Mayor campaign, devoid of substantive ideas and relying on out of town interests such as Waterbury-based absentee landlord group, is headed for the gutter and negative campaigning, according the New Britain DTC as the campaign enters its final two weekends.

In this week's post at www.newbritaindemocrat.org reports are surfacing about push poll tactics on the part of the new Team Stewart:

Democratic Town Chairman John McNamara said today the Stewart for Mayor campaign has been conducting  an anonymous telephone poll to mislead voters and falsely link Democratic Mayor Tim O'Brien  to property tax hikes."Members of the Democratic Town Committee and other residents have informed our campaign that they were on the receiving end of a push poll conducted directly from Stewart for Mayor headquarters," said McNamara.  "Anonymous callers in the Stewart campaign are asking residents if they 'support Mayor O'Brien's tax increase' and who their preference is for mayor."
The DTC statement continued:
"The Republican push poll is another attempt by the Stewart campaign to distort the record on taxes and engage in negative campaigning as Election Day approaches. The Stewart campaign has been happy to peddle their water department lie and buddy up with outside corporate groups. Now they're disguising a call  as a supposedly unbiased survey. It  comes right out of the GOP's bag of dirty tricks to attack an opponent with misleading information.  It shows desperation and no respect for voters who deserve to know what campaign and political party is contacting them.
The Republican nominee and her cohorts keep complaining that everyone's taxes have gone up without providing any facts. Theirs is a campaign of innuendo and distortion because they have nothing to offer on issues that matter to voters.
It is a matter of record that 77% of single family homeowners are paying less in property taxes this year because of reassessments. The percentage exceeds 90" for two and three family residence. 

McNamara called on the Stewart campaign to cease the push poll and conduct their campaign activities with full disclosure. "Voters deserve better than to be on the receiving end of bogus political surveying by the Republican mayoral campaign."

The Big Lie On Taxes From Team Stewart and NB Republicans

Statements coming out of the mouths of Republicans in New Britain these days on property taxes are about as false and misleading as it gets. The phony refrains on taxes are a stretch even for the partisan sniping that is the New Britain Republican Party's stock in trade.

It's one thing to oppose first-term Mayor Tim O'Brien on fiscal priorities, but the GOP mayoral nominee and her cohorts are fabricating property tax increases where they do not exist.

"These tax hikes, spending hikes, and borrowing hikes will never end as long as this current mayor is in office," Erin Stewart told the New Britain Herald in a September 5th story not long after she supported spending hikes and borrowing hikes as a member of the Board of Education. Maybe she was for those new and much-needed school books before she was against them.

Republican Council candidate Carmelo Rodriguez, Jr., in the September 8th Herald, said Democrats on the Common Council "have lost credibility with the people because they say they did not raise taxes. But, the numbers reflect something different."

Mr. Rodriguez may begin to question his own credibility once he actually talks to most of his neighbors or bothers to look up the numbers that are a matter of public record.

Unfortunately, the new Team Stewart is sounding a lot like the old Team Stewart with a heavy dose of of tax-cut demagoguery and an aversion to the truth.

The campaign gambit is to falsely pin all the blame on O'Brien who took office in November 2011 facing structural deficits and an out of balance municipal budget.  It took O'Brien several months just to sort out a fiscal mess caused by his predecessor. 

Meanwhile, the new Team Stewart is laying 100 percent of the responsibility for  regressive, state-mandated auto taxes on the incumbent.  Funny how the state and not the local administration was blamed when a previous mayor named Tim occupied the corner office at City Hall.  And I thought elephants had good memories.

Current assessment data for New Britain documents just how false the Republican claims are on property taxes "going up"  in the aftermath of state-mandated revaluation.

The Assessor's Office and the revaluation firm retained by the city last year based assessments on the sales market values from October 2011 to October 2012 for the new values.  The burst of the housing bubble here and everywhere over the last five years can be seen in the numbers.

Across-the-board drops in assessments meant there was less value to tax and consequently tax bills decreased for every  property owner that declined in value by more than 17%.

Of more than 9,000 single-family homes in New Britain, there was an average decrease of $134; 6,972 homeowners (77%) are paying less on a mill rate of 44.12; 2,076 pay slightly more or about the same because their home values did not drop as much as others.

For two and three-family houses the property tax decreases are even more dramatic. Of 2,711 two-family residences 2,479 (91%) experienced lower tax bills; 232 did not. The average change is a decrease in taxes of $546.  Of  1,582 three-family dwellings 1,577 (99.6%) got lower tax bills and  15 paid more. On average three-family owners are paying $1,129 less.

The new property assessments confirm that  tax bills for single family, one-, two- and three-family residences decreased significantly.  Only the few properties with values decreasing less than 17 percent paid about the same or received small increases.

Politicians of all political stripes will face challenges in maintaining essential city services and being fiscally responsible over the next two years.  That's because the current property tax system as a means of paying for schools and city services is unsustainable.

Don't look for Team Stewart to acknowledge this reality. The intent is to dissemble and mislead on property taxes from now to November 5th.

SEE related February 6, 2013  post on Housing Bubble and Property Assessments

Remembering The March and Speech From the "Global Village"

The March for Jobs and Freedom culminating in the "Dream" speech that occurred 50 years ago today stirred the social consciences of many more than the 250,000 who were on the Washington mall that hot summer day in Washington, D.C.

All of us who are old enough have no business remembering where we were on that Wednesday afternoon so long ago.  But we do. "The new electronic interdependence recreates the world in the image of a global village," said a prophetic Marshall McLuhan in the 1960s at about the time there was a TV in virtually every living room

I was 13 about to enter 9th grade in Lynn, MA. The television was on in our Clarendon Avenue apartment and I knew the live network coverage in black and white was connecting  me to something big and historic.  Former President Bill Clinton, praising the marchers at todays' commemoration at the Lincoln Memorial, said he too joined the march through the medium as a 17 year old in Arkansas.

Said Clinton:

This march and that speech changed America. They opened minds, they melted hearts and they moved millions, including a 17-year-old boy watching alone in his home in Arkansas. (Applause.) It was an empowering moment, but also an empowered moment. As the great chronicler of those years, Taylor Branch, wrote: The movement here gained the force to open, quote, “the stubborn gates of freedom,” and out flowed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, immigration reform, Medicare, Medicaid, open housing.

King's speech and the march brought millions of people together in hope and possibility that August day.  And television elevated the event in the cause of social justice.

Less than three months after the March for Jobs and Freedom  I and many others would never forget where we were 50 years later.  We spent many more hours  in front of the  black and white TVs --- this time part of a global village connected in loss and sorrow over President Kennedy's  assassination.

Virtual Busway Tour Starting At New Britain Station

A special section in The Hartford Courant has an interactive tour of the the New Britain to Hartford rapid bus transit system a/k/a "CTfastrak"  as provided by the CT  Department of Transportation at its project website www.ctfastrak.com

The state Bond Commission this month allocated $500,000 for transit-oriented development in the downtown district. The busses of the long-awaited and much-debated busway are scheduled to start running in early 2015.

Access For All: New Britain Will Celebrate 23rd Anniversary of ADA Wednesday, July 24th

New Britain will observe the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — on Wednesday, July 24th,  with a “Walk and Roll” event around Walnut Hill Park beginning a 5:30 p.m.

The City, under the auspices of Mayor O’Brien and the Commission on Persons with Disabilities, is sponsoring the event that will include ice cream sundaes, tee-shirts and music at the band shell.

Persons who rely on wheel chairs and scooters to get around will participate to celebrate the  civil rights law that “prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity for persons with disabilities  in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation.”

www.cfgnb.org 

The ADA became law in July 1990 with adoption of legislation sponsored by Iowa Senator Tom Harkin.   In 2010, on the 20th anniversary of the ADA, Harkin said:

“The Americans with Disabilities Act — signed into law on July 26, 1990 — has been described as the Emancipation Proclamation for people with disabilities. It sets four goals for people with disabilities: equal opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency.  But at its heart, the ADA is simple. In the words of one activist, this landmark law is about securing for people with disabilities the most fundamental of rights: “the right to live in the world.” It ensures they can go places and do things that other Americans take for granted.  I will always remember a young Iowan named Danette Crawford. In 1990, she was just 14. She used a wheelchair and lived with great pain. But she campaigned hard for the ADA. When I told her that the ADA would mean better educational opportunities and prevent workplace discrimination, Danette said: “Those things are very important. But, you know, what I really want to do is just be able to go out and buy a pair of shoes like anybody else.”

The ADA will be an enduring part of Senator Harkin’s legacy. He will not be seeking re-election in 2014.

Dems Recommend Nicole Rodriguez For School Board Vacancy: City Council Will Fill Vacancy

DTC Recommends Nicole Rodriguez For BOE Vacancy

Nicole Rodriguez, a high school graduation specialist in the Hartford School system and parent, is the choice of the Democratic Town Committee to fill the seat left vacant by Dr. Nicole Sanders who recently resigned from the Board of Education.

Ms. Rodriguez, who holds a master’s degree in school counseling, volunteers as Alton F. Brooks Youth Basketball Commissioner and coach.  She also coaches for the CT Heat AAU Girls Basketball Club. She serves on the board of directors of the New Britain-Berlin YMCA and was a recipient of WMCA’s Ron Brooks Youth Development Award. 

Rodriguez was among five candidates seeking endorsement for three BOE seats up for election this year.  In seeking a board seat she told the DTC of her interest in being a member of the Board of Education:  I am a stakeholder, educator and I am committed to quality education. As a parent and educator I am concerned and determined that our children receive the best education possible. I have over 12 years’ experience as an educator. Many of them include working to reduce the dropout rate for at risk students.

If appointed by the New Britain Common Council, Rodriguez will serve for the remainder of a term that ends in 2015.  The appointment could come at the August meeting of the Common Council.

from www.newbritaindemocrat.org

Preserving The Hatch Building: Leaves & Pages Open House Fundraiser June 6th For Historical Society

Leaves and Pages, Dan and Arlene Palmer's downtown coffee shop and book store, will host a membership/fundraiser open house on Thursday, June 6th for the New Britain Historical Society from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.  Leaves and Pages is located at 59 W. Main St.

Wine, cheese, and hors d'oeuvres will be served, and registration is limited to those 21 and over. Proceeds will be put toward buying and refurbishing the iconic W.L. Hatch Insurance building on Washington Street near the Elks Hall and Washington diner.

The organization offers annual memberships at $25 for students, $30 for individuals and $40 for families. A charter lifetime membership is $1,000, with the person's name displayed inside the building. A benefactor lifetime membership is $5,000. The historical society can be reached at  860-249-3314 or  newbritainhistsoc@att.net.