Opinion
New Britain Progressive Opinion Page
On this page, you will find Op-Ed pieces, news analysis and other opinion in which the authors seek to inform on topics of interest to the New Britain community. If you would like to send commentary for consideration, please email it to newbritainprogressive@gmail.com.
Op-Ed: A Need to Advance Good Government in City Hall
By Ald. Aram Ayalon A series of recent decisions by the mayor and the Republican-led majority of the New Britain City Council, point to the lack of good government practices. For example, mayor Stewart decided to put aside a well-qualified and community-supported deputy chief of Police Murphy and appoint a less experienced and less qualified […]
No Labels?
The New Britain Progressive, a publication of the New Britain Independent Newspaper, Inc. is free to read and community supported. http://newbritainprogressive.com Please feel free to help the New Britain Progressive with a donation and you are invited to purchase advertisements in the New Britain Progressive. Click here to sign up for the e-mail edition of […]
State School Aid to New Britain Up 56% Since 2012; Grant Will Reach $115.5 Million By 2025
“Flat Funding” Claim By Mayor Stewart Is Contradicted By The Actual Numbers By John McNamara The new state budget adopted last month brought increases in Educational Cost Sharing (ECS) funds to the New Britain School District over the next two years. The $11.9 million increase approved by the legislature and Governor will bring the total […]
Alderman Ayalon Counters Mayor’s State of The City Address
Ward 3 Democrat Cites Administration’s “Extreme Partisanship”, Increasing Debt Service And Gentrification Moves By John McNamara NEW BRITAIN – Alderman Aram Ayalon (D-3) , the Common Council Minority Leader, responded to Mayor Erin Stewart’s widely publicized State of The City address delivered on March 8th at the only scheduled regular council meeting last month. City […]
Matt Ritter’s Batterson Park Redux
State Park Status Can Bring Abandoned Recreation Area On Farmington-New Britain Line Back To Life By John McNamara Will Batterson Park, the abandoned recreation area and pond shared by New Britain and Farmington and owned by the City of Hartford, become Connecticut’s 91st state park? Last week State House Speaker Matt Ritter of Hartford picked up the […]
Legislators Get ‘Rennied’ for Bill On Mandatory Voting
Universal Voting Will Get A Hearing At General Assembly’s GAE Committee by John McNamara Courant Columnist Kevin Rennie has skewered the co-sponsors of a bill that would “institute mandatory voting” to “incentivise civic engagement” not once but twice this month. Raising Rennie’s ire is legislation that would require voters to cast a ballot or provide […]
Martin Luther King and the Economic and Social Bill of Rights
This weekend, our nation, state and communities celebrate and remember the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his accomplishments.
Les is More: It’s The New Year – New Organizational Structure
Les is MoreBy Leslie Jacobs Everything requires energy/motivation to do something you really don’t want to do. This includes losing weight, mastering yoga or getting organized. But everyone can do it, if they have the right plan. Here is one plan. Mark a month or more out on your calendar and then book online a […]
DeFronzo on City Charter Referendum: “No Thank You”
A modest estimate for a COO, office staff required to carry out his/her functions, equipment, travel cost and associated expenditures will easily exceed half a million dollars annually.Voters should know that.
Berlin Legislator Goes Low With “Pro Criminal Democrats” Rhetoric
By John McNamara BERLIN – State Rep. Donna Veach (R-30), a first-term Republican state representative representing Berlin and Southington, is calling Democrats “pro-criminal” on a campaign billboard. Rep. Veach, however, received a rebuke from constituents at a candidate forum held at the Berlin Senior Center last week when she again attacked Democrats and, by implication, […]
Indy Party nominee for governor runs on elimination of business property and car taxes
Third Party Candidates Don’t Succeed But Their “Solid Ideas” May Eventually Win The Day By Mike McGarry Most third parties have their day in the sun, but then the sun sets. We remember old friend, the late Oz Griebel, for his upstart Griebel-Frank Party in 2018 that is now part of the Forward Party that […]
State League of Women Voters: Setting the Record Straight on Debates
It wasn’t that long ago, that … candidates eagerly awaited being invited to a League of Women Voters of Connecticut debate.
Why Trump’s Party Rallies In New Britain
Mayor Stewart’s former campaign HQ is one of 20 “RNC Community Centers” in the nation where “Stop The Steal” workshops are occurring By John McNamara Ronna McDaniel, the national Republican Party’s Chairperson and Donald Trump sycophant, made her way to New Britain this week to blast not one Democrat but all Democrats as favoring “greed, communism, and […]
Green Party Governor Candidate: Ballot Access Should Be Expanded
By Michelle Louise Bicking Equitable ballot access has long been a thorn in Connecticut’s side for decades. Despite the facade of deep blue progressive politicking and people-centered campaigns, Connecticut has the third most stringent ballot access laws anywhere in the country. “Stringent” is defined here as the least amount of time to petition for ballot […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
New Britain NAACP Supports Remote Public Participation
The NAACP New Britain Branch would like to lend our support for the proposed resolution … to bring back remote public speaking…
Behind Mayor Stewart’s War On Supt. Sarra and the BOE
The vandalism and trouble that occurred at New Britain High School in September needlessly escalated the rift between Mayor Erin Stewart and New Britain School District leaders.
The Return of Tim Stewart: Ex-Mayor Chairs SBC As $50M School Project Begins
By John McNamara Former Mayor Tim Stewart is the new Chairperson of the School Building Committee, gaining reappointment by his daughter, Mayor Erin Stewart, just as the seven-member committee moves forward with expenditures on the $50 million major renovation at the Chamberlain Elementary School on the city’s East Side. The former four-term Mayor resigned from the […]