Comments(3)

|

E-mail

|

Print

Former Republican attorney general candidate Martha Dean was called out by Democrats this morning for comments she made on her Facebook page giving some credence to conspiracy theorists who believe the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax.

On Monday Dean, who lost her bid for a statewide political seat in 2010 against state Attorney General George Jepsen, posted on her Facebook page Monday a link to a YouTube video claiming the massacre that took the lives of 20 young students and six educators on Dec. 14 was a hoax created by the Obama administration to further its gun control agenda.

While one of Dean’s followers commented that the group who made the video has “evidence”  former President George Bush mastermineded the 9-11 tragedy, Dean responded by saying, “you are right yet, still, even a broken clock is right twice a day. Being wrong once does not mean always wrong.”

Dean also stated on the social media web site that, “many, many, questions…. all we know is that so much of what happened — before and after the shooting — does not make sense.”

She adds,”people (without meaning any disrespect) are asking very good questions, but it is doubtful that we will ever get answers to these or the questions raised in the video in the original post above.”

Democratic State Party Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo calls on Republican leaders, including state Sen.  John McKinney who represents Newtown, to condemn Dean’s comments.

“Someone who purported to be qualifed to be the attorney for the state of Connecticut should know better,” DiNardo said in a statement released Thursday.

She added that another “non-apology” is’nt going to cut it this time, a reference to comments made  by Republican state Rep. DebraLee Hovey condeming former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords for her visit to Newtown last week.

“Stay out of my towns,” Hovey posted on her Facebook page at the time of the visit.

Hovey later issued a statement apologizing for the remarks, “if I offended anyone.”

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

Freshman congresswoman Elizabeth Esty, D-5, pledged Friday to seek “commonsense, federal gun safety policies” Friday after being named  a vice chairwoman of the  Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.

Esty, a Democrat from Chesire who was sworn into office Thursday, said she was honored to be named as part of the task force’s leadership team. There are a dozen vice chairmen of the group that are expected to be named today.

“As the representative for Newtown and as a mother, I feel a special responsibility to that community and to the parents who have suffered such unimaginable horror,” said Esty, who met with first-responders and others effected by the Sandy Hook shooting shortly after the Dec. 14 massacre.

“People’s lives – our children’s lives are at stake. The status quo is unacceptable and action is long overdue,” she said.

The task force is expected to hold a number of hearings in the coming weeks with “experts designed to identify the best policies to reduce and prevent gun violence.”

A set of policy proposals from the task force is expected in early February.

Comments(3)

|

E-mail

|

Print

At least two people were allegedly turned away from the polling site at the War Memorial in Danbury Tuesday, according to  Ingrid Alvarez-DiMarzo, director of the Danbury Hispanic Center, after asking for help in Spanish.

Alvarez-DiMarzo said two people had complained that after checking in and receiving t heir ballots, they asked an election official for some help, only to be told to go home and come back with someone who speaks English.

Alvarez- iMarzo said she also tried to ask a voting official at the War Memorial for help, in Spanish, and was told “You should speak English.”

“If you are a citizen and a registered voter whether or not you speak English shouldn’t matter,” Alvarez-DiMarzo said. “What really upset me is that none of the other election workers at the table seemed to care about what this woman had just said.”

To make matters worse, Alvarez-DiMarzo said she had made a offer earlier this week to a city voting official to provide bi-lingual volunteers to provide assistance at polling locations. It was an offer that she said was denied.

Republican Registrar of Voters Mary Ann Doran said they do have some Spanish speaking poll workers who are distributed at various locations throughout the city.

Doran said that while Alvarez-DiMarzo had offered volunteers who could assist with voter registration efforts, she doesn’t recall an offer to help at the polls.

The only reason why people may have been turned away from a poll, she added, is if they weren’t registered to vote, in which case they are referred to City Hall where they can cast a ballot in the presidential election only.

Doran said she had a hard time believing that voters were turned away for not speaking English.

“That’s something that I would take very seriously,” she said.

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

There seems to be a lot of confusion at some of the polls today about voters who are being asked for a photo id before casting their ballots.

According to the Secretary of The State’s web site, identification is required, but it doesn’t necessarily need to include your photo. A variety of identification can work, including a utility bill, a checkbook or a credit card that shows your signature.

Here’s a link to the Secretary of The State’s web site that explains the requirements in greater detail.

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

While voting officials have reported a heavy turnout throughout Danbury this morning, the numbers continue to trail the turn out from the historic 2008 presidential election.

Mary Ann Doran, the Republican Registrar of Voters, said about 42 percent, or 14,887 voters turned out in the city as of 2 p.m., that trails 2008 when about 47 percent of voters had visited the polls as of 2 p.m.

“It’s not as busy as it was four years ago,” she said. “We’ve been trailing the 2008 election by about four or five percentage points for most of the day.”

Democratic Town Committee chairman Joseph DaSilva Jr. speculated that more people hit the polls early four years ago out of fears that voters would be greeted by long lines at the polls.

“I suspect we’ll probably have about the same turn out that we did four years ago,” he said.

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

Danbury Democratic Town Committee chairman Joseph DaSilva Jr. said some of the “games McMahon is clearly playing in other urban areas” have not as yet been evident in the state’s seventh largest city.

DaSilva said there have been several reports of McMahon supporters wearing purple shirts similar to those worn by members of the Service Employees International Union that state “I support Obama & McMahon November 6.”

“McMahon is obviously throwing her party’s presidential candidate under the bus,” DaSilva said. “There may not be an ‘I’ in team, but there is a ‘me.’”

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

Congressional candidate Elizabeth Esty was out early at the polls this morning working hard for every vote. The 5th district candidate said she started her morning visiting several polling sites in Waterbury before visiting Danbury.

Esty is locked in a tight battle for the seat with state Sen. Andrew Roraback of Goshen.

While at the Mill Ridge school in Danbury, Esty spoke with city resident Mark Zimmerman, who asked the candidate about a video clip in an attack ad that showed Esty telling Chesire residents that if they don’t like the taxes they could move to another town.

“If you give me a good answer I’ll vote for you,” he said.

Esty told the voter that she was a concerned mother at the time who was “passionately” defending the school budget.

“I was a hot under the collar mom,” she said, adding that the clip had been taken out of context. “It was a pretty heated meeting.”

Esty added that she’s been asked a lot about the clip on the campaign trail.

Zimmerman, a cl&p worker who went to vote after completing a 19 hour shift, said he was “on the fence” about voting for her, but cast his ballot for Esty because he liked her answer.

“it was a reasonable answer,” he said. “At least she was being honest about it.”

Esty said she was encouraged by the early turnout at the polls .

“I feel good about how things are going,” she told The News-Times. “I’m getting a lot of thumbs up.”

it was a cold morning at Mill Ridge Tuesday, but more than 800 people had cast their ballots as of 8 a.m.

Comments

|

E-mail

|

Print

While all eyes will be on the battle for the White House Tuesday,  voters will also have a lot of say about the balance of power in the Greater Danbury area with an open congressional seat and several open seats for the state legislature.
For the first time in more than two decades the 5th Congressional District is without an incumbent as U.S Rep. Chris Murphy has put his name in the hat for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by U.S Sen. Joseph Lieberman.
The open congressional seat has attracted more than $16 million in spending by both the campaigns and outside groups hoping to influence the election, making it one of the most expensive races in the state’s history and the fourth most expensive congressional race this year in the United States.
State Sen. Andrew Roraback of Goshen, a Republican and former state Rep. Elizabeth Esty, a Democrat from Chesire, have been locked in a tight battle in recent months for the congressional seat.
Murphy of course has also been in a heated battle of his own for open U.S. Senate seat with former wrestling executive Linda McMahon, who has spent millions of her own fortunes in the hopes of representing  the state’s residents in Washington D.C.
There are also several hotly contested state legislative seats in the area including the 24th district state Senate seat. State Sen. Michael McLachlan is hoping for a third term while former state Rep. Jason Bartlett is hoping to oust the lawmaker in the hopes of returning to Hartford. The district represents Danbury, Sherman, New Fairfield and parts of Bethel.
State Rep. Joseph Taborsak’s departure from politics meanwhile has left an open seat in the 109th state house district that represents Danbury.
Two relative political newcomers, David Arconti Jr., a Democrat who ran unsuccessful for a City Council seat last year, and Republican Andrew Wetmore who currently serves on the council. have been battling it out for the opportunity to represent voters of the 24th district.