Does New Britain need a chief operating officer and a full time mayor?
Misleading Referendum Proposes High Level Patronage Job To Manage Municipal Government by John McNamara NEW BRITAIN – Creating a new chief operating officer to manage the municipality and making town clerk and tax collector jobs appointed instead of elected offices are big and very different questions for a referendum vote in November.Voters, however, won’t have […]
Attorney Geragosian Remembered As Passionate Defender, Advocate For Social Justice
For Geragosian, alongside his wife, Realtor Harriet Geragosian, social and economic justice have lasted a life time.
NB Mayoral Aide’s Campaign For Secretary of The State Under Scrutiny By Election Commission
Republican Brock Weber Withdraws From SOTS Contest Amid Inquiry On Contributions By John McNamara The campaign of Republican Brock Weber, one of three Republicans seeking the nomination for Secretary of the State in the August 9th Primary, is being investigated by the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) for alleged violations of campaign finance law. Weber, […]
COO Patronage Job, End To Elections Of Clerk and Tax Collector Are On The Nov. 8 Ballot
Fuzzy Charter Question Will Keep Many Voters in the Dark by John McNamara New Britain voters will be deciding much more than who should be the Governor and making their picks for other elective offices on November 8th. City charter revisions will, if approved, make the biggest changes in a generation as to how Connecticut’s […]
Early Voting Referendum Is A Priority for New Britain Area League of Women Voters
An Agenda For Citizen Involvement in 2022 Discussed at July 11th Annual Meeting By John McNamara NEW BRITAIN – The New Britain Area League of Women Voters (LWV) held its 49th annual meeting on July 11th and made passage of a referendum allowing early voting in CT a focus of voter education activities. The November […]
Another Restructuring Adds Millions In Debt To New Britain’s Finances
Fitch “does not consider this to be a prudent management practice during a period of recovery.” By John McNamara In a perfunctory special meeting on June 1st the Common Council unanimously adopted a municipal budget for the year that starts July 1st. The $251,046,177 million budget for the new fiscal year is “controlled, calculated and […]
City Council Resolution Calls For Common Sense Gun Control Laws After Buffalo and Uvalde
NEW BRITAIN – An anti-gun violence resolution co-sponsored by Robert Smedley (R-4) and Aram Ayalon (D-3) is on the New Britain Common Council agenda at its Wednesday June 8th meeting in the aftermath of attacks by lone gunmen at a Buffalo, NY supermarket and Uvalde TX elementary school in May that killed 31. The resolution […]
Incumbents Demicco, Slap Endorsed By Farmington Democrats
Plainville’s Democratic Chair Runs For Open 22nd House District FARMINGTON – Legislative races for candidates to represent Farmington and Plainville in the General Assembly have been set with party endorsements during May in the 5th State Senate and 21st and 22nd State Representative districts. House District 21 Deputy Majority Leader Mike Demicco (D-21), first elected […]
NB Dems Endorse Incumbents For State Representative; GOP Picks Challengers
Campaign 2022: Election Day Is November 8th Democratic Party endorsements for newly-drawn State Assembly Districts in New Britain were made at a Town Committee meeting at City Hall May 19th completing a slate of endorsed candidates for the November election. State Representatives Manny Sanchez (D-24), Bobby Sanchez (D-25) and Peter Tercyak (D-26) received unanimous support […]
DTC Condemns Buffalo Attack, Race-Baiting Politicians and Gun Violence
By John McNamara New Britain – In the aftermath of the racially motivated killings at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo May 14th, the New Britain Democratic Town Committee (NBDTC) Thursday adopted a resolution calling for local action and condemning “white supremacy” that “remains a prevalent and dangerous reality in the United State today.” Last Saturday […]
Probate Judge Contest Is A Rematch Of 2021 Special Election: Republican Carrier vs. Democrat Rivera
By John McNamara Attorney and former Common Council Leader William Rivera won the Democratic Party’s endorsement for Judge of Probate last week setting up a rematch of last year’s special election won by Attorney Michael Carrier. Convention delegates from Berlin and New Britain nominated Rivera without opposition. In accepting the endorsement Rivera acknowledged Carrier, who […]
State Auditor Geragosian Of New Britain To Lead National Association
State Auditor John Geragosian, a former New Britain state representative from the 25th Assembly District, is the incoming President of the National State Auditors Association (NSAA), an affiliate of the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers (NASACT). Geragosian, currently serving on the group’s executive committee, will be elected to the post in June. […]
Party Endorsements To Be Made For Congress, Legislators and Probate Judge
Lamont, Bysiewicz and Constitutional Officers Endorsed at Saturday’s Democratic Convention Delegates to party conventions will endorse candidates for U.S. Congress, the State Legislature and Judge of Probate May 9-12 following statewide endorsements at major party conventions this past weekend. U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes (D-5) is expected to be endorsed by acclamation on Monday, May 9th, […]
Council Committee Nixes Registrars’ Plan To Reduce Polling Places
Deadline Is May 11th To Finalize Voting Locations By John McNamara A plan by both Democratic and Republican Registrars of Voters to reduce the city’s Election Day polling places from 17 to 12 was unanimously tabled by the Common Council’s Committee on Finance, Administration and Law on May 4th less than a week before the […]
Dems Hear Candidates For Secretary of the State, Treasurer at Library Forum
New Britain Sending 35 Delegates To State Convention Democratic candidates for Secretary of the State (SOTS) and Treasurer shared their qualifications and views at a Democratic Town Committee pre-convention forum held at the New Britain Public Library on Saturday, one week before the state convention. On the Democratic side the SOTS contest involves four legislators […]
Remembering MLK And His Last Day
Saturday Program and Wreath Laying On 54th Anniversary Of Assassination On Saturday, April 2nd the City will observe the anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr with a 10 a.m. program at Smalley Elementary School that will be followed by a wreath laying at MLK Park hosted by the Mary McLeod Bethune Club […]
YMCA Gets $1 Million For Energy Upgrades At Downtown Facility
New Britain – The city’s legislative delegation praised state Bond Commission approval this week of over $1 million for improvements to the New Britain-Berlin YMCA’s facility on High Street. The planned energy efficient window replacement and air conditioning upgrades would support health safety, the ability for youth and adults to utilize the facility, and cost-savings […]
Campaign cash soared in ’21 municipal election but voter turnout declined
By John McNamara “Money is the mother’s milk of politics” goes the observation first coined in the 1960s that applies to almost every state and federal election cycle as all kinds of committees and special interests raise billions in reported and anonymous donations. That old saying about money in politics applies less frequently to local elections where […]
“Morning Without Child Care” Rally Set for Tuesday in New Britain
Coalition Says State Needs $700 Million To Address A “Crisis” Advocates of affordable child care are organizing a “Morning without child care” rally on Tuesday March 15th at child care centers across the state, including a New Britain rally at the Human Resources Agency (HRA) on Clinton Street. Coalition leaders, who include New Britain Board […]
Council Resolution Proposed To Support Ukraine
Local Responses Grow To War, Humanitarian Crisis By John McNamara A resolution affirming Ukraine’s “independence and territorial integrity” will be considered by the New Britain Common Council at its March 9th meeting. Alderman Aram Ayalon (D-3), consulting with members of the city’s Ukrainian and Polish communities, is submitting a resolution as war and a humanitarian […]