With the Sept. 11 Democratic mayoral primary coming up fast, let's leave this thread open for discussion about whether nominee Ellen Zoppo or challenger Art Ward will win -- and why.
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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
53 comments:
I think Couture will win, no I mean Kosta will win, no wait, I mean Art Ward will win.
If Ward really wanted to win the Democratic primary he would have assembled a team and spent the money necessary to win a close race. I think he knows he can't win it so he's saving his funds and energy for the general election in November. That's where he has a good shot at winning because his true constituency (Republicans) can vote for him.
Lets be real. The race is between Art Ward and Ellen Zoppo. Art's true consituenacy is the Veterans not the Republicans.
The race is close and it will be decided by whomever gets thier vote out and both camps have people on thier teams who know how to get the vote out.
The question that needs to be answered is How angry will Eleen be if she loses and how do the Dem Council candidates work with Art when they can't stand him?
There's a more immediate question: if Ward loses the primary and runs in November as an independent, what will the Democratic Party do about it? Lieberman got away with it because the Dems need his vote in the Senate; will they let Ward? And does Ward's union endorsement apply to November?
Ward's true constituency are Republicans? What are you smoking? Ward is and always has been Mr. Democrat. Zoppo is just more attractive to some people in the Dem Party.
Lieberman got away with what? I'm sorry with Chris Dodd endorsing Ned Lamont, Lieberman got nothing from many Democrats. Most all Democrat elected officials endorsed the Democrat candidate Ned Lamont. Most of the Democrats are anti-Iraq. They would gladly have seen Lieberman not run as an Independent.
The Democrat Party can do nothing if Ward loses and runs as an independent. What do you think they can do, call the police (stolen election)?
All this "fighting" among the Dems will end if Ward wins the primary. Even Zoppo will endorse the party victor.
Ward however will run as an independent. A three way race will be very interesting. Johnson will have a good shot in a three way race if he runs a good campaign.
Let's hope Ellen wins the primary and there is a three way race.
Who cares who wins the primary? The majority will be able to vote in Novemeber and that is what counts. Only Dems. can vote in the primary, which excludes many Rep., Ind. & UA. I feel Zoppo's reputation is going to come back and bite her in the butt. You can't treat people like you are above them, bad mouth them, build walls in communication and expect the majority to embrace it. Ward would make a fair, honest and effect leader.
The previous comment illustrates why it is important to register with a party affiliation. Since only party members get to vote in primaries, you are cutting yourself off from an important part of the process if you register as unaffiliated.
People seem to think that they are obligated to attend party meetings or even vote for their chosen party's candidates if they register with a party. While that may be what happens for some, it is not required.
If someone wants to "game" the process, it is even possible to change your registration from unaffiliated in order to vote in a primary, then switch back to unaffiliated later.
Finally, if people want a say in the Presidential candidates who are selected they must register with a party in order to vote in Conn.'s presidential primary next year.
How did Ellen get the Dems' endorsement in the first place? Did she script that meeting, too?
As far as Ward non-supporters on the Council not working with him if he wins, isn't that irrelevant? They are supposed to work together like mature adults, not spoiled children on a playground (like what we're seeing now). Remember the business mantra, there is no "I" in "TEAM"? Oh, I forgot -- all but one of the current Councilpersons works for the government and not a real business.
Funny how you give a sermon about spoiled Council members needing to be mature in order to work with a Mayor Ward, yet it is Councilman Ward who has stubbornly refused to work with Mayor Stortz from day 1.
ward has stood for principal, openmindedness and moral responsibility, not "scripted", dictated legfislation - take the blinders off and get a clear vision for the future
Funny how Ward was okay with "scripted" meetings before he started feuding with Ellen.
"scripting" isn't the problem, "exclusion" and the, stated, "leak prevention" are the problems.
when is FOI going to act on this anyhow?
When are they (the Democrats) going to ask Allen Marko to be quiet?
Now he's telling people how to "game" the system? People have the right to be unaffiliated. Obviously the one he's responding to doesn't care who wins the primary (probably because Ellen may win it).
Look at Ned Lamont. A lot of good the primary did for him.. HA HA HA!!
Sticks and stones may break my bones but the immature ravings of an anoni - mouse will never hurt me.
might backfire on marko if unaffiliateds switch to democrat to vote for art
Why glorify it with a response then Allen? "Sticks and stones", is referring to what, Lamont? I guess we hit a nerve there huh?
Your argument (to anyone with any knowledge or experience) regarding the primary is simply wrong-headed. Why call people names and whine when someone (me) simply knows you're wrong? Primaries, whether it's Democrat or Republican historically have always a low turn-out. The person you're lecturing (again wrong-headedly) about voting, "gaming", participating in or whatever is correct. The primary is not a general election.
Again how dare you tell someone to change parties just to vote in the primary. You're way out of line (as usual). I can't believe the leaders of the Bristol Democrats would want someone who represents one of their candidates speaking in such a way. Your name calling also shows your true colors.
Marko is a nobody trying to act like he's a somebody. Just ignore him.
Ellen got the endorsement from the DTC because they put 2 people on that she knew would vote for her, the other 2 they had resign - talk about "gaming" the process!
Another Ward supporter who can't do basic math. Those 2 people who resigned at the DTC had no impact on the result. Zoppo beat Ward 40-18 or something like that.
"...or something like that"
I must have missed the class where they came up with that answer in "basic math".
Guess what genius? The vote In the DTC meant nothing. Everyone knew Ward would primary anyway. They were just afraid the uber-b____ would try and ruin their lives if they didn't vote for her. Plus if she was the favorite and they were public employees, wanna-be-public-employees or the "fab five" they were looking out for themselves.
Actaully I hope Ellen wins the election in November. It'll be interesting to watch the circus and chaos she creates. Maybe she'll appoint Marko as her corp. council?
Ah come on Steve...no guts to put my earlier post on...Ward gave us the $5.2 Million mall fiasco with Ellen's support...Ward hangs out in the bars...has one DWI to his credit...both have conflicts of interest and MUST not negotiate for the City between with the police and there are some who feel either can negotiate for the City for with any labor group because members of their immediate familys are cops.
We need a clean sweep...get rid of all the @#$%^'s
Come on Steve..have some courage here, show your impartiality!!(you can delete that if you want)!
one doesn't have to be a math major to see that this was a prime example as to how ellen will use, manipulate and try to dominate every facet of any situation - but only for her own sole benefit.
Wow - Who thought you would get bashed for encouraging participation in the elective process. I called it "gaming the system" but it really is playing by the rules. An unaffiliated voter can declare a party preference and vote in a primary up until the day before. Its the law! If that voter has some morbid fear of being registered with a party, he or she can then switch back to unaffiliated. Pardon me for explaining Connecticut election laws.
FYI - I can't edit comments so if you write something that I know is factually inaccurate, I have to delete the comment. I can't just edit it (well, to be strictly correct, I can't edit it without going through a whole lot more trouble than it's worth). So if you want to mention Art Ward's DWI in your comments, please make clear it happened in 1997. It wasn't "a little while back" or even "several years ago."
And I won't publish slurs against Ellen Zoppo that relate to her family, who all seem pretty nice to me, unless you can make it pretty darn clear there's a legitimate public policy issue at stake.
I hate having to delete so much. Let's think about what you're writing, folks!
Steve, since you have published background material about Ellen and the script stuff, you should also publish background material about Ward's DWI, where Kosta was his attorney and tried to get him off on a legal technicality by saying the officer was wrong to arrest him. Instead of taking responsibility like a man for what he did, Ward tried to blame the police officer for doing his job. Those are facts. Yeah Ward made a mistake, he's human, but how he handled himself after that with the legal shenanigans is the disturbing part.
Ward has the right to "hang out in bars" if he wants. I don't think it's a normal practice for him at this time. The fact is that he OWNED a bar called the A-Ward Cafe on Park Street not too long ago. But everyone (who's been coherant longer than 10 or so years) knows that.
To be honest I think it's terrible how two people with such close ties to city unions may have so much power in contract negotiations. What I do know as well is that Ellen and councilman-cop Levigne were the first people publicly to press for the city to purchase the mall. Don't forget before she was elected she pressed for the purchse of 51 High Street to bail her daddy out of some debt. She also was a big proponent of the Robert's Property rip-off. So what's in store next?
I may or may not delve deeply enough into the backgrounds of both candidates to warrant a public airing of that old DWI charge. It was thoroughly reported at the time (Ward would say overreported!) so it's not like it was a secret.
The simply reality is that I'm not sure I'll have the time or space to do justice to either candidate's personal story.
STEVE,
I believe the whole issue of who is best for Bristol was answered in Saturday's Press about added Public Safety in the Northwest section of town. There have been 2 or 3 studies dating back to Mayor Stortz's first term as Mayor that suggested we need added protection and the only thing that has changed is the population in this area has tripled.It seems clear that the people of Bristol deserve someone who has their best interest at heart & not someone who will dictate what they want. Congrads to Frank for seeing that this is in the best interest of the people of Bristol.
Ellen was not even on the council when the property on High
street was purchased. So I guess mud does not have to be factual.
The property on High Street was purchased by the city in 2000 for $288,500 from Ellen Zoppo's father. At the time, the city expected to spend another $350,000 to renovate the historic Federal Hill home and a newer wing for use by the youth services department. Zoppo was not on the City Council at the time of the purchase, which was pushed by former Mayor Frank Nicastro.
Renovating the building wound up costing about $1 million, but renovation decisions were made after the city bought the building.
I never saw any indication -- and I looked -- that city officials had any idea the price tag for the entire project would soar so high.
The purchase was unanimously approved by the Finance Board and generally got strong support from everyone who expressed an opinion.
I don't believe the property was bought to bail out the Zoppo family.
The Zoppo family owed back taxes on that building - so who absorbed that? The taxpayers!
Steve - the concept of this thread was a good one. Too bad so many people can't seem to stick with the rules.
I think that Art Ward will win the primary. These are my reasons:
Ellen does not believe that the public should be more involved in any decision making processes. That is going to hurt her. They may not say it out loud, but many people don't like someone telling them that they basically don't have a say in any decisions that are being made in a town that they live in and that their taxes support.
Ellen does not support another firehouse for a rapidly growing section of our town. She believes that we have a good relationship with Wolcott and Terryville and that's good enough. The people that live in that area don't want to have to count on another town, especially volunteer towns that will have a delayed response. She's proposed millions of dollars worth of "pretty" projects to the finance board but doesn't want to spend any money on ensuring the safety of the people in the Witches Rock area?
K-8 is not a popular concept amoung the majority of parents and future parents. Yet she doesn't support that voting population being involved in the decision.
She stands by her meeting preparation, which is fine, but she doesn't acknowledge the email that accompanied it. THAT was the problem, not the written preparation itself. She refuses to recognize, mention or reference the email. It doesn't sit well with people that she is ignoring it like we will forget about it.
Art has said just the opposite of all of these things. Voters like that.
I could give you more reasons but it takes up too much room. You get my point.
That back taxes were owed is, truly, not relevant as long as taxpayers paid the proper price for the property. The back taxes would have been paid on any sale, not just one to the city.
But even beyond that, I've never quite understand why people get so worked up over unpaid tax bills on property that's still got real value. Those who owe are paying 18 percent annual interest on the back tax bills. Really, the city can't do better than having owners fail to pay taxes unless they own something that can't be sold for more than the back tax bill.
The taxpayers took a hit because the taxes were never paid, it came off the price of the building when the city bought it. Still, if one owes taxes they should pay. Afterall, being allowed to stay on a deliquent tax lists for over 12 years does not serve the taxpayers who are paying. City should forclose on those properties then sell them off.
the city of bristol needs fresh leadership with fresh ideas....time to get rid of the old "boy" network, and elect someone with the vision and courage to get things done !!!
vote ellen zoppo for mayor !!!!
-billy from bristol
The taxpayers did not take a hit in the purchase of the High Street building.
If the city had bought a different building with the same value that had no back taxes owed, it would have paid the same amount.
The only way the city loses is if the back taxes pile up to the point where what is owed is more than the property's market value. That usually only happens when a site is so contaminated that it can't be sold. Then the government becomes kind of the owner of last resort, and taxes are the least of the city's problem with the property.
I do think people should pay their taxes on time, because it's best for them and it's good for all of us to have that predictability.
But taxpayers really do benefit when someone doesn't pay because we're essentially earning 18 percent a year on the unpaid amount, which is a pretty strong incentive to stay current. Anyone who falls behind is doing it because they don't have a choice.
I agree with Billy that we need a change, but I don't agree that the change we need is someone that openly admits that the public should have little or no involvement in decisions that are made that affect the community directly.
She doesn't want the voters to have a say in anything except that she should be Mayor.
I don't think that Ellen realize how many people she has exised from supporting her within the past few months.
Southeast section of Bristol doesn't like that she doesn't consider their safety a priority and leaves it to a "good relationship" with two neighboring towns.
Insulting Jay and Carol Meisinger for the FOI complaint they filed - they both have large and very influential families and are much brighter than Ellen gives them credit for. Wasn't a smart move on Ellen's part.
All the parents that are not in favor of the K-8 system and that are still upset about the way the public hearing was arranged and Ellen's dismissal of their concerns and views.
The citizens that want a referrendum policy in place that doesn't involve obtaining signatures.
Chippens Hill families (and there are many) that don't want a mega school or a massive recreation center on the Roberts Property.
The perception that she's whining about missing signs. Did it really need an official police report and headline news?
She's turning voters away on her own and doesn't seem to realize it but is quick to blame everyone else for the obvious decrease in voters that are willing to pull her lever behind the curtain.
Maybe her supporters should stop coddling her and praising her and start telling her the truth about her self-sabatoge. It isn't going to fair well for those that are running for council seats if they continue to tout how great they think she is.
Billy (wolfe) from Bristol - get over your "boy" network - Ellen was a part of the "network" she wanted to buy the, as a matter of fact, she was the one who pushed for its purchase.
Steve,
You said you weren't going to get into Ellen's family owing back taxes and you did.
You said you were going to resurrect Art Ward's DUI, and now you say you'll do it "if you have time." What kind of favor does Art owe you??
Just goes to show how slanted this blog is.
Excuse me?
I did post a few times that Ward had a DUI in 1997. I've said nothing about Zoppo back taxes other than to point out they were irrelevant in 2000 -- and still are today, assuming they still exist. Those back taxes were never owed by Ellen Zoppo so they are not a legitimate issue as far as I'm concerned.
Ward's DUI is in a different league, but it's old.
Steve, Art Ward's DUI is not old. Yeah, it happened in 97, but it's not like it was a youthful indiscretion from his college days. He was a grown adult with grown kids and was an elected official when it happened. And it's not just that he had been arrested for DUI. It's how he tried to get out of it by playing legal games by blaming the police officer for just doing his job.
Seems pretty relevant to me and many others I'm sure.
Yes, it was 10 years ago. That's either a long time ago or not, depending on your vantage point. But the key thing is that it was reported in great depth at the time & voters proceeded to reelect Ward that very same year by a wide margin. We elected a president who had a DWI in his background.
I think we can all agree - as I'm sure Ward would -- that driving drunk is a bad idea. But what's it worth now? A screaming front page headline? A little story inside the paper? A mention in a long story about Ward's life?
I'd say the latter, but given the realities of writing a couple stories daily, I'm not likely to get that done in the time I have.
Bringing up Art Ward's DUI is a reminder not that he made a mistake but that in the moment of truth, rather than take responsibility for what he did from the beginning, Ward first tried to sneak out through legal maneuvering that tried to pin the blame on a young police officer just doing his job.
To me that indicates a character flaw and not the so-called leadership Ward's supporters like to claim he exemplifies. It also suggests the arrogance of power. All of that is very relevant to a mayoral contest.
Just because the arrest got covered back in 1997 doesn't mean everyone knows or remembers it, many current residents did not live here or didn't follow the news back then, especially since there was no widespread internet like now. The younger generation certainly wouldn't remember the story. The Press has an obligation to provide relevant background on political candidates so people can make an informed choice, and this is certainly a relevant story.
maybe the zealot should take a look at their contributions to the bristol community over their lifetime; maybe even stop hiding behind "anonymous" and let us know how humanistic that their life has been - no sins; forgiveness is a virtue, not a choice. Gauranteed that some dark moments exist in this biased individual's past.
Elected officials should be held to a higher standard than the average citizen. We placed our confidence in them to do what is right for our City. Their personal lives become public because they are public figures. Art was arrested for DUI while he was in office. We can forgive that. What we look on with distaste was the way he tried to throw his weight around to manipulate the officer arresting him. Definite abuse of power while serving as an elected official. If Ellen had done that while she was in office, it would have been front page headlines today, both in the Press, on this blog, and probably in the Press poll. Because it's Art Ward, and this blog is essentially a promotion of Art Ward, we will never see the story here. Unbiased reporting at its best.
madd - again you have it all wrond and its only YOUR views. Kosta tried to use a legal hole, but Wards said NO. He would do what was coming to him because Art knew he messed up. Really get your facts straight before spilling your venom. If you want you can get a copy of the police report and it will inform you of the truth, something you obviously know nothing about.
K.C.
I'm amused at how many notes I get accusing me of being biased for Ward or backing Zoppo unfairly.
C'mon, folks, I'm not taking sides. I have known both of these candidates for many years and generally gotten along with each of them (though I've also had disagreements with each of them at times). I don't live in Bristol anymore so I won't be voting in this primary. I don't have to make a choice, even in private -- and I won't.
Steve I don't think you are being bias at all. I think that your postings have been very fair and equal with regard to different people's opinions. You obviously have more flexibility with your messages and postings on this blog than you do in the formal paper.
I think you are doing a good job giving us a chance to find information that is relevant to this election season and voicing our opinons. You should get more money from the press for doing this because it is obviously taking up alot of your time.
Simply put, Thank you.
The good people of Bristol will decide!
Zoppo's deceit, lies and manipulation...now that's a definite abuse of power. Elected officials should be held to a higher standard.
As I recall about Ward's DUI, his lawyer Kosta tried to use the legal loophole but it didn't work, not because Art Ward said no, but because the judge wasn't buying it.
Steve, you can clear this up by pulling out the article and letting everyone see what really happened.
Zoppo's dismissal of the Scripting incidents just doesn't cut it. She says it was merely "meeting preparation". Really?? Maybe if she only did it for herself I could buy it but doing for everyone (almost) else is manipulation. If it is just preparation why exclude Art Ward? Is she afraid of him? And why order the other participants to pick up the copies so there would be no leaks? Simple meeting preparation doesn't need secrecy. And instructing the Mayor to practice in front of a mirror? Wow!!! Who has been running this town? It you want open government and honesty, Art Ward is the way to go.
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