Homepage for the Manchester, CT Democratic Town Committee

After an uninspired, listless campaign, the Manchester Republicans have finally showed some life with their own version of an October surprise, calling for a “Jobs Redevelopment Plan”. Now as a Democrat, I am in favor of jobs and thought this was exciting news. Perhaps the local GOP, seeing how well the practice of civility in government has worked under the Democratic majority since 2009, was calling for their national Republican leadership of Boehner, Cantor and McConnell to stop being obstructionists and to get behind the president’s job plan, so Americans can get back to work. Or perhaps they were latching onto Governor Malloy’s jobs bill which was passed with nearly total bipartisan support by the special session of the Legislature on Wednesday.

Silly me! Rather than being an authentic Jobs Redevelopment Plan, the local Republicans, led by their chairman Matt Galligan and Director Cheri Pelletier, are playing politics with the Broad Street redevelopment.
The Manchester Patch reports that the local Republicans are calling for:

1. The creation of a new Economic Development Agency appointed by the Board of Directors. Did I read this right? The Republicans are calling for more government in the form of another agency? What is wrong with the work that the existing Redevelopment Agency is doing? Are Galligan and Pelletier claiming that the RDA isn’t directing its efforts toward economic growth? The RDA is composed of a group of bipartisan volunteers of Manchester’s best and brightest citizens. Because of the leadership of Democrat Tim Devanney and Republican Bob Schneider, within six months the old buildings will be gone and the back area of the Parkade and Broad Street area will look nothing like it does today. Unlike the Republican candidates and their party chair, the Democrats and most Manchester citizens appreciate and support the work of the RDA. We do not need another agency with an undefined purpose to clog the progress being made on the Broad Street area.

2. “The implementation of the “Republican Agenda of 2007,” when the party last controlled the Board of Directors…..” Did I read that right? Implementation of the “Republican Agenda of 2007? Have they forgotten the nasty partisan horror show Manchester lived through when the Republicans were in the majority from 2007-2009? The voters had buyers’ regret with the 2007 Republican agenda and restored a Democratic majority in 2009. Need I say more about the 2007 agenda? And why doesn’t the GOP of 2011 have its own ideas? Manchester needs leaders who are focused on the future, not lightweights living off the past glory of others.

3. “A requirement that the Business Advocate also present a monthly in-person report to the Board of Directors on efforts to attract new businesses to town.” And the GOP is calling for even more government bureaucracy? Who will pay for it? What kind of staff and support will this Business Advocate have? Do the Republicans have a clear idea of how this Business Advocate will work? On the one hand they say this Business Advocate will report directly to the General Manager. Then they call for the Business Advocate to report directly to the Board of Directors at each monthly meeting. This is wrong and probably illegal. Under our Charter, only the General Manager reports to the Board of Directors. The Republicans are creating chaos by playing by their own rules and undercutting the Manager’s authority by disregarding our Charter.

4. “A requirement that a new Economic Revitalization Plan be submitted to the Board of Directors by March 13, 2012.” What was wrong with the old one? What did the RDA do wrong? Why didn’t Pelletier, Tweedie and Brenner speak up before if the Plan was broken? Can they credibly call themselves leaders?

5. “A partnership between Manchester High School, Howell Cheney Technical High School, Manchester Community College and the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce to create job shadows, internships, apprenticeships and job-training programs in town. ” So am I to understand that the GOP candidates are proposing a new mission for MHS? How will they pay for this? Have they reached out to the Board of Education which administers the high school? What are their intentions for the education budget this year? What educational programs will be cut to pay for this partnership? Who have they talked to at Cheney Tech, MCC and the Chamber to gauge their thoughts on this partnership? Are they aware the Board of Directors has no authority over MHS, Cheney Tech, MCC and the Chamber? Had they been willing to do the heavy lifting necessary to bring this together, the partnership might have merit. Instead, the GOP candidates have engaged in cheap political grandstanding a few weeks before the election and poisoned the well.

6. And the pursuit of a “public/private partnership” to develop an athletic complex and recreational facilities at the town-owned Broad Street Parkade property that would include an indoor running track, a hockey rink and a pool and exercise areas. Oh my. Those poor Republicans! They can’t even keep the main points in their own plan straight! In their fourth point they call for an economic revitalization plan to be submitted by March 13, 2012. Why? What’s the point? It sounds like they have channeled their inner “George W. ‘I am the Decider!’ Bush” and have already decided an athletic complex will go in the Parkade. And this athletic complex will be paid for totally by private developers. Wow! Just like that! But the devil is in the details. In this national economy there is little economic growth. Why would some developer come here at this site for this specific activity? If they came in this economic environment, it would be because of the promise of tax breaks! The Republican candidates don’t want to tell you that dirty little secret. Is that fair to the Manchester taxpayers who don’t get such breaks? And why don’t the Republicans tell you how many jobs this athletic complex would generate? Would most of these jobs be minimum wage? And how many athletic complexes do you see that include an indoor running track AND a swimming pool AND a hockey rink AND an exercise area? Do the Republicans have any idea how much this would cost to operate? I think these points are worthy of a townwide discussion before we blindly follow the Republicans on this one.

I am not going to finish by whining and saying the Manchester Republicans are engaging in cheap theatrics by politicizing the Broad Street Redevelopment. Of course they are! Any informed Manchester resident can see that. And being the Chairman of the Manchester Democratic Party, I obviously love politics, so who am I to complain? I consider Matt Galligan, the Chairman of the Manchester Republicans a friend and respect him, although I do laugh to myself when he complains that the political leadership in Manchester suffers from “malaise”. Is he talking about Mayor Spadaccini?

In normal times it is good for the political parties to throw ideas out there to get the discussion going that is necessary for progress, even though the rhetoric gets to be silly.

But we need to be serious. We are living in the worst economic times since the Great Depression and we need to continue the civility and the spirit of working together for Manchester that has characterized the last two years of the Board of Directors. Both the Democratic and Republican board members deserve our gratitude for working together and the progress we have made on the Parkade.

The first step toward economic progress and jobs is for mature, stable political leadership! We have that now and need to continue it.

I am apprehensive about continuing our progress when I see the ill-considered “Jobs Development Plan” thrown out by the Republican candidates. I do not like the good members of the RDA being thrown under the bus for political expediency. The Republican Director candidates have shown they are not ready to lead Manchester in the next two years. This was reinforced to me while watching the candidates’ debate. Republican candidate Kim Mencarini said she wanted to move away from Manchester only six months ago but her husband wouldn’t let her. What kind of commitment to Manchester is that? Now she wants to lead us on the Board of Directors and maybe even become mayor?

But it gets better. The Patch reported that “Republican challenger William Johnson [advocated] that the Guardian Angels, a neighborhood protection group, be approached and asked to operate in Manchester.” Would a potential developer like the kind the GOP hopes to attract, want to invest in a town where one of its candidates advocates calling in the Guardian Angels? Is this the kind of leadership Manchester needs?
I teach social studies and I know the economy is cyclical and history teaches us that it will get better. With strong Democratic leadership, Manchester will capitalize on the national recovery if we continue with a Democratic majority.

Vote Line A – Democratic on November 8!

Meet the Democratic Candidates for the 2011 Manchester Municipal Election.

Working together, your Democratic Team has put Manchester on the right track.

Listening to voters, the Manchester Democrats have ensured our town is on a Fiscally Responsible path providing the Leadership that our town deserves.

The Manchester Democratic Town Committee is seeking candidates to fill openings in elected and appointed offices for the 2011 municipal election. Manchester voters interested in seeking a position on the Board of Directors or Board of Education should send a resumé and letter of interest to Democratic Town Committee Chairman Mike Pohl at mikepohl1000@aol.com. Interviews for vacancies will be conducted by the Nominating Committee in late May and June. Deadline for expressing interest in elected office is June 1st.

Manchester voters, regardless of political party affiliation, interested in getting involved in town government by serving on a board or commission should review the various boards and commissions at:
http://www.townofmanchester.org/BOD/documents/2011-0414CommitteeSheet.pdf

Please send a resumé and letter of interest to Chairman Pohl at the above email or feel free to call him at 860-983-4804 with any questions.

The 2010 Election was very successful for Democrats in Manchester and Connecticut. We successfully elected Jack Thompson, Jason Rojas, Steve Cassano and Geoff Luxenberg to the State Legislature. We also have a new Democratic Governor!

With the 2011 Election Cycle coming quickly we are holding a fundraiser Friday, February 18th at Manchester Country Club from 5 to 7pm. Tickets are $75.00 per person and include ample Hors Devours. Our Special Guest will be His Excellency Dannel P. Malloy, Governor of the State of Connecticut!

For more information, contact manchesterdtc@aol.com.

Congressman Chris Murphy will visit the Manchester Democratic Town Committee Meeting on Thursday, January 27th at 7pm to speak to the committee regarding his candidacy for United States Senator. The meeting will be at the Lincoln Center Hearing Room at 494 Main Street.

We are deeply honored that Manchester will be the first Democratic Town Committee in the state to hear from Congressman Murphy since he announced his candidacy last week.

We will also hear from the Boards of Directors and Education and from our Hartford Legislative Delegation.

We welcome all to our meeting on Thursday evening.