The Democratic City Council hopefuls who aligned themselves solidly with mayor nominee Ellen Zoppo were having a tough time Tuesday.
After Zoppo's concession, two of them - Bruce Lydem and Cliff Block - were too upset to comment at all.
Craig Minor and Frank Nicastro, both incumbents, managed to do better.
"Bristol has spoken," Minor said. He said that if Democrats could work with Republican Mayor William Stortz, they can certainly work with Art Ward, the party's new mayoral standard bearer.
Nicastro hailed Zoppo's gracious concession speech.
"Her speech said it all. That was a mayor talking," Nicastro said.
But, he said, the Democrats will pull together behind Ward and keep the mayor's office.
Later in the evening, the Democratic council hopeful all showed up at Ward's victory party, where 1st District council candidate Rich Kilby had been all along.
Ward has "been great for me for 14 years," Kilby said, so he stuck by him while the other council contenders sided with Zoppo.
Nicastro told Ward, "You have my support, 150 percent."
"Congratulations," incumbent Kevin McCauley told Ward.
Lydem said that Ward "defined grass roots" with his win.
"You buying drinks?" was Block's comment to Ward, with whom he ran in 2005, when Republican Mike Rimcoski topped Block's total to capture the district's second seat.
Ward said he's sure the men can sit down together at a round table and "move this city forward" without rancor.
He said people elect a mayor and council "to do a job" and that's what the Democrats will do.
"Collectively, that's what I and the next City Council are going to deliver for the next two years," Ward said. "I don't think there should be any difficulty."
"We're Democrats," Nicastro said. "Art Ward is the winner of the primary. Now we, that's all of of us, need to deliver."
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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
After Zoppo's concession, two of them - Bruce Lydem and Cliff Block - were too upset to comment at all.
Craig Minor and Frank Nicastro, both incumbents, managed to do better.
"Bristol has spoken," Minor said. He said that if Democrats could work with Republican Mayor William Stortz, they can certainly work with Art Ward, the party's new mayoral standard bearer.
Nicastro hailed Zoppo's gracious concession speech.
"Her speech said it all. That was a mayor talking," Nicastro said.
But, he said, the Democrats will pull together behind Ward and keep the mayor's office.
Later in the evening, the Democratic council hopeful all showed up at Ward's victory party, where 1st District council candidate Rich Kilby had been all along.
Ward has "been great for me for 14 years," Kilby said, so he stuck by him while the other council contenders sided with Zoppo.
Nicastro told Ward, "You have my support, 150 percent."
"Congratulations," incumbent Kevin McCauley told Ward.
Lydem said that Ward "defined grass roots" with his win.
"You buying drinks?" was Block's comment to Ward, with whom he ran in 2005, when Republican Mike Rimcoski topped Block's total to capture the district's second seat.
Ward said he's sure the men can sit down together at a round table and "move this city forward" without rancor.
He said people elect a mayor and council "to do a job" and that's what the Democrats will do.
"Collectively, that's what I and the next City Council are going to deliver for the next two years," Ward said. "I don't think there should be any difficulty."
"We're Democrats," Nicastro said. "Art Ward is the winner of the primary. Now we, that's all of of us, need to deliver."
*******
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
22 comments:
You know its too bad Nicastro counldn't give Ward 100% for the past 2 years! Minor and McCauley will now kiss Ward's butt - how funny it took Ward to win for them to all realize Ward's potential.
I am so happy Zoppo is out all together now real positive govt. will happen!!
Minor needs to take a hike. He truly believes that he knows what is better for this City than the actual voters.
It's going to be best for everyone if McCauley and Minor and Nicastro all go to. Now they are just trying to save their butts since their queen lost. No one is buying it. Especially from Frank.
I don’t believe that Minor and McCauley will kiss Ward’s butt. They are Ellen’s puppets and will continue to serve as her voice and political instrument on the Council. No matter who the new Mayor might be, Ellen will attempt to control and manage issues thru her two ‘subjects’. Regardless of the reasons why the Democrat citizens of Bristol voted against her – the message was clear – ‘we don’t want her’. One would have to conclude that that would apply, for the same reasons, to anyone who supported her style of politics and her position on issues. I therefore hope that come Nov. the citizens will vote to ‘leave no puppet behind’.
Does it really matter. There's a reason almost all of the people in Bristol are old nobocdy wants to stick around on that sinking ship. This former Bristolite for one can't wait to sit back and laugh as the city falls into even worse disrepair. You idiots truly deserve it.
Glad you're gone,whoever you are(couldn't help but notice you failed to sign your comment).Some of us have enough courage to sign our names to comments,which is why I place NO VALUE whatsoever on yours.
Glad to hear that you're a "former Bristolite." We "idiots" will be just fine now, thanks!
I believe you are wrong that Minor, McCauley & Nicastro won't work with Art. I believe they will and that was shown by the fact they showed up at Nuchi's last night and are working to mend fences. It's a shame that some people don't believe this. Let's give them a chance to prove their loyalty to the party & Art instead of casting them aside. It's what they have done for the city that should take center stage here.
Craig Minor wasn't mending fences when he made his comment to the press that the voters should have chosen the person with experience, skills and intelligence, but they didn't. That's not mending fences. That's throwing more rocks.
It was insulting to Art and to the voters in this city.
Minor and McCauley, the spineless jellyfish that they are, will conform to whatever shape is required for them to survive.
Is that what Bristol wants; spineless council members without an original thought. I do not think so.
OUT WITH THE OLD CREW bring in fresh ideas.
As long as McCauley and Minor remain on the council, Zoppo will have her voice/scripts read through them. The fact that they were so close to Ellen, defended her, and attacked Ward with uncalled for remarks - proves they cannot be trusted. Give a rattlesnake a chance and it will strike you! They both need to go this November, possibliy Nicastro too. He can have his voice in Hartford, but not on the council.
As for Minor saying insults, whatever comes out of his mouth lately has proven his mindset & foresight are clouded.
clean sweep
If you think the "divisiveness" is going to persist, you don't know politics. All that stuff is just the way the primary game is played - hardball. It wasn't personal and Art knows it. He won and the Democrats on the council will rally behind him, you'll see.
Tim, you and others of your ilk are the reason why people leave town. Bristol is not a growing city. It is a city in decline. Why? Because of lousy and sometimes corrupt leadership and a close-minded populace that is not the least bit welcoming to newcomers. There are some great people in Bristol, but they aren't running the show at City Hall or at the chamber, which is just another arm of city government. Many residents just treat Bristol as a bedroom community, a place to live when they work elsewhere and don't get very involved in the town. They would also be the ones who don't vote, either.
The truth is, Ellen looked better from a distance. She's better educated than Art, hard working, seems proficient, though nothing fabulous. But up close, you see the ugly, vindictive and backstabbing side of her, and you realize she's not a real leader at all. Then you're stuck with Art, who is a nice guy, but not exactly CEO material, either. What's left? Ken Johnson is unimpressive and untested in government. At least Art sort of knows the ropes. And, as condescending and backhanded as it was, Craig Minor's comment about Art being as good a mayor as Bristol's ever had is probably true. If he keeps Donna Achilli away. If she's back, or Kosta's back, all bets are off. He didn't have the sense to keep her away on primary night, that's for sure.
Too bad Bristol so rarely has a great choice on the ballot. The good people of Bristol deserve better.
Yes. There is no way Donna Achilli or Kosta or any of those people will be sidelined. They are going to hold Artie's hand all the way.
Ken Johnson maybe untested in government, but isn;t that what Bristol needs? A fresh face and a fresh voice?
Donna Achille back in the Mayor's Office (Ugh)
Art ward is smart enough not to return Kosta.
Donna will not be working for Art - he already knows that is out. As for Kosta, hell no!
FROM DONNA ACHILLI
My high school daughter hit the nail on the head today when she read this thread. "OMG Mom, this IS just like high school. It's turned into a grown up My Space."
I can't take any credit for Art winning the primary. My role was very small compared to the many other people that worked very hard to make sure that Art's message was delivered to the voters. His working camp consisted of many people that are far more saavy and skilled than I am when it comes to campaigns and politics. All I did was put his message on a website.
I am very proud to be an Art Ward supporter. I believe that he is representing what the voters want which is very simple. You have a voice, you will be listened to, and you will be counted. This is your community - not the politicians.
I realize that not everyone likes me, which I'm perfectly fine with. But if you are going to publicly criticize me at least have the common decency to do it openly to my face.
And as I have said before, I have no interest in returning to City Hall. Art has never discussed it with me and I have no reason to believe that he would. I enjoyed my two years there and no matter what anyone says, I know that I worked very hard and made a difference in quite a few situations, but it isn't where I want to be anymore. I've moved on from City Hall. So we can stop that rumor right now.
Mary Suchopar, the present Mayor's secretary, is a wonderful lady and I'm told a very capable administrative assistent. I hope that Mayor Art keeps her on board. I believe she would be loyal to whomever she were to work for. I'm a die hard Dem, but there really is no need to play games with this position like Stortz and Couture did. P.S. She also has a great view of the Centre Mall. LOL.
At least I stick around and try,in a proactive way, to effect some change.Throwing up your hands and turning your back on the community was not an option I would have chosen.I grew up in Bristol and contrary to your opinion, I believe it can have a good future.I might also add that I have gone to many events where people from out of town/state are assembled and make a point to meet and greet as many as I can,for the SOLE purpose of making them feel welcome here.Before you ask,the Little League Eastern Regional Tournament would be a prime example.What proactive measures did you take(if any) while you were here?Noticed you STILL didn't sign your comment!
Wow ... and I thought the venom was finally dried up. Boy, was I wrong! Most of you are clueless! It's obvious the Republicans would love to see Minor, McCauley and Nicastro ousted, but that would be a big mistake. These guys know their stuff, and if you happened to look at their records over the last two years, you'll see they've done things for Bristol instead of sitting back and sulking because the mayor was a Republican. Working together with a Republican mayor showed to me that they can cross party lines when they have to to make things work for this city. As others have said, look at their voting records and you will see they do not vote all the same. They vote their consciences. I believe if you see how Mr. Rimcoski voted, you will see he voted yes along with Ms. Zoppo more times than you realize so watch what you say. The facts are there for all to see.
NOT AGAIN - NOT the good ol' boy network...like it has been for oh so many years in Bristol. Sounds to me like the Democratic Candidates are all about where the next drink is coming (BP articles) from....instead of what to do about REAL issues in the city. We need to change the status quo that has been our reality for so long. I do not know Ken Johnson, but I have talked to him....and he seems like a breath of fresh air compared to the stink that has been floating around city hall the last few years. WE NEED A CHANGE and the good ol' boy network is NOT the answer......
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