March 24, 2008

Wright enters 77th District race

Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his well-known father, Christopher Wright declared this week that he plans to seek election to northeast Bristol’s 77th state House district.
Wright, 35, said he wants to represent the area in Hartford so he can “fight for cleaner air and cleaner water, better schools and better healthcare for all our citizens so that we can continue the promise made by those who came before us to leave our children a state better, stronger, cleaner and healthier than the one we live in today.”
Wright, one of former state Sen. Gardner Wright’s children, is eyeing the seat currently held by state Rep. Ron Burns, a first-term Republican who snatched the district from Democratic hands two years ago.
Burns, who knocked out longtime incumbent Roger Michele, has not said whether he’ll seek re-election in the heavily Democratic district.
It is unclear whether any other Democrats may vie for the right to seek Burns’ seat. At this point, Wright said, he doesn’t know of any other contenders.
Wright said he’s jumping into the race because he’s concerned that government is doing too little to balance its books, protect the environment and ensure affordable, quality healthcare for everyone.
He said Republicans have failed ordinary Americans because the GOP has “cut tax rates for only the very wealthiest in our society, ballooned our public debt to levels that not even Ronald Reagan or the first George Bush could not have imagined and have left working Americans with incomes that are, at best, stagnant and in all too many cases shrinking when compared to the rate of inflation.”
Wright said the state needs to preserve “the last remaining remnants of open space” that it has. “We lecture other countries about the destruction of their forests, yet we plow over ours to build bigger and bigger McMansions,” he said. “What kind a legacy is this leaving for our children?”
He called for environmental policies “which encourage the reclamation and reuse of brownfields instead of the destruction of green fields” as well as policies fuel efficient vehicles, cleaner emissions and sustainable economic growth.
Wright said healthcare needs more attention, too.
“The fact that 10 percent of the population in the state which calls itself the insurance capital of the world goes without health insurance in unacceptable,” he said.
Gardner Wright, who serves as one of the city’s downtown commissioners, is a former city councilor, state House member, congressional candidate, city Democratic leader and chairman of the state Commission on Hospitals and Health Care. He represented the 77th District in the 1970s and early 1980s, until he gave up the seat in an unsuccessful bid to win an open congressional slot.
“One thing my father told me was ‘Son, all you have in life is your name, so never do anything to harm it,’” Christopher Wright said.
“Of course, he also once told me ‘Son, don’t be humble, you’re not that great,’” the son added.
“It must be that which gives me the gumption to stand in front” of the town committee to “tell you why you should help elect me Bristol’s next state representative,” Wright said.
Wright grew up in the district, attending Mountain View, Ivy Drive and Northeast Middle schools before graduating from St. Paul Catholic High School. He earned a degree in economics from Central Connecticut State University in 1991.
After college, he earned a paralegal certificate and attended a seminary for a time before putting in eight years with the Federal Deposit Insurance Company. He currently works in registration for St. Francis Hospital.

Speech given Monday night by Christopher Wright, a Democrat who announced his intention to seek election to the 77th House seat currently held by state Rep. Ron Burns, a Bristol Republican:

Good Evening. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Christopher Wright and I am standing before you today to announce my candidacy for State Representative from the 77th district. As many of you know, I have a long personal history with the 77th. Growing up, I attended Mountain View, Ivy Drive and Northeast before graduating from St. Paul. In 1991 I graduated from Central Connecticut with a degree in Economics and later earned a certificate in paralegal studies from Hartford College for Women and attended seminary for a time. For eight years I worked for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, helping to clean up the havoc reaped on our banks and savings and loans by the Reaganomics of the 1980’s. Currently, I work in registration at St Francis Hospital, and I see firsthand the struggles people in Connecticut have finding affordable health insurance for themselves and for their children.
I come from a very working class background. All four of my grandparents worked in factories around town; New Departure, Ingram’s, Bristol Brass and GE. A union man, my grandfather Wright would go out on strike three times, something which my grandmother was never happy about. But they understood the importance of fighting for working families, a philosophy which I intended to bring with me to Hartford. My parents both grew up in town, my father on Davis Drive and Union Street and my mother in a house on Tulip Street which her family owned for forty five years. They were each the first members of their families to attend college and instilled a belief in the importance of education and a strong work ethic into their children. One thing my father told me was “Son, all you have in life is your name, so never do anything to harm it.” Of course, he also once told me “son, don’t be humble, you’re not that great.” It must be that which gives me the gumption to stand in front of you and tell you why you should help elect me Bristol’s next State Representative.
I seek this office for one reason, because I am concerned with the world that we are leaving for our children. I look at our economy and I am concerned. After a period of economic growth in the 90’s which saw the incomes of most average Americans rise at the same time our federal debt was being paid down, we have since 2001 seen a Republican administration and Republican Congress pursue economic policies which have cut tax rates for only the very wealthiest in our society, ballooned our public debt to levels that not even Ronald Reagan or the first George Bush could not have imagined and have left working Americans with incomes that are, at best, stagnant and in all too many cases shrinking when compared to the rate of inflation. The results of these borrow and spend policies of the Republicans are all too clear; rising levels of credit card debt and home foreclosures, an American dollar which is now worth less than the Canadian dollar and an overwhelming national debt that our children’s children will be paying off. And what is the Republican’s response to this crisis? The same old tired cry of Ronald Reagan, that we need to cut the taxes of the richest Americans even more and hope that somehow, someway, some of that wealth will trickle down to the rest of us. Well, my friends, I don’t need to tell you that the only “benefits” that have been coming our way are lower wages, more debt and fewer well-paying jobs. But this hasn’t been a trickle, it’s been a downpour.
What we need to do is to follow the example of President Clinton and the Democrats who, in 1993, set fiscal and tax policies that lowered tax rates for most Americans yet still managed to bring in more money and allowed the government, in the years that followed, to balance the budget and even begin to pay down on the national debt, while at the same time providing our country with an unprecedented eight straight years of economic growth. We need to recognize that economies grow from the ground up and pursue fiscal policies that benefit the vast majority of Americans who happen not to be wealthy and we need to stop being the state with the highest per capita debt in the nation. There is a not-so-old saying that states “We used to do things for posterity. Now we do things for ourselves and bill posterity.” I ask you, what kind of a legacy are we leaving for our children?
With an eye to the future, I look at our environment and I am concerned. Connecticut is a small state with limited land and I believe that we need to be asking ourselves “How do we protect the last remaining remnants of open space that we have?” The naturalist John Muir once wrote “The forests of America, however slighted by man, must have been a great delight to God, for they were the best ever planted.” What has become of those forests? We lecture other countries about the destruction of their forests, yet we plow over ours to build bigger and bigger McMansions. What kind a legacy is this leaving for our children? Do we really want future generations growing up in a state without forests or meadows and almost devoid of wildlife? What we need to do is start living by the Native American belief that we do not inherit the land from our parents but borrow it from our children. We need to pursue policies which encourage the reclamation and reuse of brown fields instead of the destruction of green fields. We need to institute tax policies that promote the use of the most fuel efficient vehicles by the public and by the state. We need to accelerate the replacement of greenhouse gas emitting energy plants with cleaner technologies. We need to encourage economic growth in our state that is both sustainable and beneficial to all of our citizens. It is only by instituting these policies now that we can provide our children with a world that is, we hope, cleaner than the one we have today.
I look at my nephews, and I am concerned about the state of our educational system. The boys, who have received most of their schooling during the “no child left behind” era, complain about all the time they spend preparing for tests. In today’s fast-paced computer-driven world, we need an educational system that emphasizes quick thinking and nimble mindedness over rote memorization. We need to make sure that our teachers are provided with the materials and support that they require to bring our children up to their full potential because have no doubt; without a highly educated population America’s position as the world’s greatest superpower will be in jeopardy. Is a legacy of crushing debt, a Grand Canyon like chasm between the rich and the rest of society and a public school system that struggles to educate its charges really what we want to leave to future generations? America is about equality and opportunity; about all of its citizens being given an equal chance to succeed or fail based on their own skills and their own merit. That process begins in the public schools.
My last, though certainly not least, concern that I want to bring before you tonight is healthcare. That fact that ten percent of the population in the state which calls itself the insurance capitol of the world goes without health insurance in unacceptable. I see these people every day when they come into the emergency room with complaints that should be taken care of in a doctor’s office. But since these people have no insurance, they have no access to a private physician and they wind up in the ER, often waiting hours on end to see a doctor. Many of these people are the working poor, people with full time or several part time jobs. The problem they face is that fewer and fewer employers today provide healthcare benefits and those that do charge their employees ever increasing premiums and copays. And the workers who receive no benefits are not eligible for state assistance because they doing what they are suppose to be doing and going out and earning a living. In fact, the gulf between the insured and the uninsured is growing so wide that a patient I was recently registering told me of a trip she made to an emergency room in another state where the two groups were actually placed in separate waiting rooms. Is this really the legacy that we want to leave to our children? It is time for us to take a stand and insist that access to affordable health care is something that all Americans should have, regardless of income or occupation. And the best part is that this should bring about a reduction in healthcare costs because people who receive regular medical care are less likely to develop serious, costly illnesses; costs which today hospitals are forced to transfer to patients who are insured just so that they can keep their doors open.
My friends, we can do better. Send me to Hartford and I promise that I will do all in my power to work for the betterment of everyone in our city and in our state. I will fight for cleaner air and cleaner water, better schools and better healthcare for all our citizens so that we can continue the promise made by those who came before us; to leave our children a state better, stronger, cleaner and healthier than the one we live in today. Thank you.

*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

50 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dems: Please let this be your candidate!

Burns: Where do I mail the check for you?

Anonymous said...

this guys says "President Clinton and the Democrats who, in 1993, set fiscal and tax policies that lowered tax rates for most"

This is a false statement. Clinton proposed the largest tax hike in the history of the US.

The only economic success Clinton had was after the GOP controlled Congress was elected.

Anonymous said...

He's talking about national issues when he is running for state office.

What about the 3 strikes bill that the Democrats wouldn't allow out of committee?

What about Connecticut job loss under Democrat congressional leadership?

What about traffic congestion on Route 6?

Anonymous said...

Hey there Mr. Wrong: Clinton balanced the budget because of Newt Gingrich and the Republicans. The economy boomed in the 90s (in the sun-belt, not in the northeast or the rust belt by the way) because of policies started under Ronald Reagan that lowered taxes and reduced regulation on business.
Did you forget that Ted Kennedy co-sponsered "No Child Left Behind"?

Another point is that this "candidate's" essay is an untrue hack-piece derived from some ultra-liberal politcal hog-wash.

Anonymous said...

"America is about equality and opportunity; about all of its citizens being given an equal chance to succeed or fail based on their own skills and their own merit. That process begins in the public schools"

-This guy sounds like he's very left-leaning. This sounds right out of the Communist Manifesto" by Marx.

It's amazing that Bristol spawns people like this. Is it it that bad here? I mean compare Bristol to 19th century London where Marx developed his theories. I really don't see a lot of simularities except in the rhetoric of Marx and people like this guy.

Have you ever heard of the protestant work ethic? That's where people work hard and try to live a humble good life, with out looking to the government to take from others what they can't earn themselves.

Anonymous said...

Go ahead naysayer republicans and protect your own. After you are all perfect aren't you ?

Anonymous said...

Like I said before " Nobody died when Clinton lied"

Anonymous said...

and voters wonder why it is so hard to get people involved in the political process - wright probably isn't the most politically astute candidate that we've seen but at least he is willing to step up and volunteer to be a part of the scene, where the hell are all of you political pundits when the system calls?
IDIOTS

Anonymous said...

He's looking at the big picture because it's relevant to the position that the State of CT is in right now. He's obviously intelligent and knowledgable in the issues that we as citizens are faced with right now.

I'm glad that there is a democrat out there that is smart enough to give the republicans a challenge instead of a free ride. The voting population deserves to have a choice when the election comes around.

I'm looking forward to hearing more from this guy.

Odin said...

Chris: Thank you for having the courage to do this. And pay no attention to the rantings of these gutless "never-were" types.

Anonymous said...

Hey there smart a*@#%6:52 am if you republicans did everything like you say what the hell are you complaining about all the time ??

Anonymous said...

"It's amazing that Bristol spawns people like this. Is it it that bad here? I mean compare Bristol to 19th century London where Marx developed his theories."

Yes, it is that bad.

Anonymous said...

If Gardner Wright wasn't this guy's father, he would be totally laughed at as a candidate.

"fixing the mess at the FDIC" or whatever he said?? Is this guy serious? What was he really doing at the FDIC, money counter? receptionist? janitor? If he was so important to be "fixing the mess at the FDIC" he should be working on Wall Street or something like that instead of registering people at a hospital. no offense to Wright, but he needs to cut the crap and be honest.

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:49-
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." In case you didn't know that is the first line of the declaration of independence. That lines speaks of equality and opportunity. You absolutely have every right to disagree with Chris. But you're statement does not logically follow the paragraph you excerpted and to be quite honest it makes me sick to have to listen to people use the same insults over and over again because they can't come up with an intelligent argument. ie- he's marxist for democrats or he's for the very wealthy for republicans just to name a few. I implore you- people like Ann Coulter and Michael Moore are doing everything they can to turn our political system into a big joke. Don't help them.

Anonymous said...

If it's that bad .....How many times do you have to be told ? LEAVE

Anonymous said...

March 25, 2008 12:43 PM:

You're absolutely "wright". Look on the bright side, the Dems wouldn't be running this CLOWN if he wasn't related to Gardner Wright.

"Yes, it is that bad. March 25, 2008 12:04 PM":

I asked the question in jest. If you really think anywhere in the US today is as bad as 19th century England for the "working class" you are a naive, spoiled, ignorant, and a disgraceful fool. You don't deserve to be a citizen of this country for making that statement.

Anonymous said...

Go ahead naysayer republicans and protect your own. After you are all perfect aren't you ?
March 25, 2008 7:13 AM

-Who ever you are, you should not be expressing your nonsensical opinion. You have no point. All you are is a party-loyalist and a pathetic hack to the up-most extent.

Anonymous said...

March 25, 2008 12:44 PM:

"...pursuit of Happiness"

I guess you missed the "pursuit" part. You liberal, neo-socialists think the government owes you not only a living but happiness as well.

Anonymous said...

WRIGHT IS WRONG

Anonymous said...

no offense to Wright, but he needs to cut the crap and be honest.

You could never find a more honest person than Chris. I realize that is rare in politics, but he is the real deal and you have no idea what you are talking about.

Anonymous said...

"fight for cleaner air and cleaner water"

Is this idiot for the Aquafer Protection Act that the DEP tried to ram down our throats and that would have decimated job growth IN HIS DISTRICT?

March 25, 2008 12:43 PM:
Absolutely!

Anonymous said...

Wow - looks like the republicans are nervous that they might actually have to do a little work this campaign season.

Anonymous said...

Anon 1:18:
There you go again. I didn't miss the pursuit part. Tha paragraph used in the original comment was: "America is about equality and opportunity; about all of its citizens being given an equal chance to succeed or fail based on their own skills and their own merit. That process begins in the public schools" He clearly states people should be allowed the chance to succeed or fail or their own merits. If you are working to get something on your own merits that sounds like pursuit to me. As for the inference that I feel that somehow everything in life is owed to me. You couldn't be more wrong. I am a part time student in higher education and have a full time job. I have my own apartment and pay my own bills NOTHING has been handed to me. Ive busted my hump for everything I got even after certain teachers in the Bristol school system told me I wouldn't amount to anything. The only support I have ever asked for and received was from my family. So don't insult me just because you can't find anything inteligent to say.

Odin said...

12:43 pm: I assume you're referring to the new law that protects our drinking water, which Rowland's crony at DEP emasculated so that every existing factory or gas station in the Aquifer Protection Zone was grandfathered. It was passed and is now the law in Bristol. Go back to sleep.

Anonymous said...

This guy wont last to Nov! Holy Crap the Dems are handing it to Burns! LOL!

Anonymous said...

March 25, 2008 2:05 PM:

No actually I wasn't that interested until I read Wright's left wing diatribe about Reagan etc. Actually I might have even voted for him if the mood caught me right...but not after reading his "thoughts".

Odin:

Wow you're right out of Moveon.org, Slate or some other lefty state of mind. Go get some acid and go listen to music on some farm somewhere where you won't try and screw up our economy with your liberal neo-hippie dillusions. Of course no one listens to children like you anyway.

No, the Aquifer Protection Act would have been a draconian, overly intrusive, non-productive, unnecessary piece of bureaucratic BS that every business organization (including the Bristol Chamber) and almost every politician with a brain in the region opposed.

Anonymous said...

I am a part time student in higher education and have a full time job. I have my own apartment and pay my own bills NOTHING has been handed to me. Ive busted my hump for everything I got even after certain teachers in the Bristol school system told me I wouldn't amount to anything.

And by the amount of posting you have done today I can see that you are working hard and/or studying hard today.

Give it a rest. You are fighting a losing battle all because Chris Wright has shown his ambition by announcing his intention to run. You are obviously intimidated by his intelligence or jealous of his courage.

Anonymous said...

To 3:10 What makes a person care what a flunky like you does. There must be a lot of people that disagree with you and your friends. There aren't too many of you that have been elected. And I wouldn't count on too many ofthem left the next election. I guess people like you will never get it. Most people aren't paying any attention to YOUR selfish ,faceless , unfounded thoughts.
The agenda isn't about what you want it's about what the people want.

Anonymous said...

To 1:15 from 7:13 ....You gotta be kidding ? Read some of your own trash. Not too many people think much of it and it's probably a good thing . So keep patting yourself on your back nobody cares but you and your so-called friends.

Odin said...

Read it and weep, Ann Coulter-breath:

THE LEGISLATIVE REGULATIONS REVIEW COMMITTEE RECENTLY ACCEPTED THE CT DEP'S PROPOSED AQUIFER PROTECTION AREA LAND USE REGULATIONS giving public drinking water wells basic, long-awaited protections from industrial and commercial pollution

On Tuesday, January, 27th, 2004, the legislative Regulations Review Committee unanimously voted for Aquifer Protection Area Land Use Regulations that will protect more than 650,000 people who are served by 122 existing public water supply well fields.

The regulations significantly lower the threat of contamination posed by toxic materials used in commercial and industrial businesses, like dry cleaners, gas stations and metal plating and finishing plants.

The Connecticut General Assembly passed the Aquifer Protection Act 14 years ago, but aquifer protection regulations were only formalized in January of 2004.
One out of five Connecticut citizens drink water from public drinking water wells that serve more than 1,000 people. The Aquifer Protection Area Program now protects these water supply areas that make up about two percent of Connecticut landmass, by, among other things, establishing protective boundaries and identifying regulated activities.

The regulations will help protect our largest public drinking water supply wells and help ensure a safe drinking water supply for hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents.

“Today’s vote is the direct result of a vigorous grassroots campaign mounted by Connecticut Fund for the Environment, Rivers Alliance, and other organizations, mobilizing the determination of a broad spectrum of stakeholders from water companies to environmentalists to contact members of the Regulations Review Committee, who recognized how important and overdue these regulations were,” said CFE Outreach Director Dan Lorimier.

Public well aquifer recharge areas make up about two percent of Connecticut’s land – but provide drinking water to hundreds of thousands of residents. In 1999, the Department of Public Health found that over the past 20 years sixty-one public water wells, providing drinking water to more than 312,000 people, had been contaminated with toxic chemicals. At least six public drinking water wells had become so contaminated they had to be closed.

For a copy of the regulations as passed today, visit http://www.dep.state.ct.us/wtr/aquiferprotection/index.htm

Anonymous said...

March 25, 2008 2:09 PM;

I'm sure this fellow is a nice guy. But his statement is stupid. He is running for State Rep. His father should have briefed him on how to do an opening press release. Maybe he did and his father is as off-balance as he is?

I find Chris' statements infuriating. I'm sorry you don't understand my feelings and that you don't understand how I see the parallel between his statements and the left.

The point is his statements were unnecessary and innappropriate. And now he has mobilized the base of his oppostion.

Good luck.

Anonymous said...

March 25, 2008 8:08 PM:

Luckily this draconian law doesn't effect me personally. But Al Gore breath, it might effect you when your taxes go up.

BTW the DEP has been doing more than enough to protect our drinking water before this law was being enforced (if it really ever is).

Actually businesses in Mr. Wright's district and in Plainville are the ones effcted the most.

Oh well Al Gore breath. Yuk, Coulter tastes much better.

Anonymous said...

March 25, 2008 2:09 PM;

I feel your pain. But don't twist words from the Declaration od Independence or the US Constitution or take them out of context to promote the candidacy of some local-yokel...please.

Thanks

Anonymous said...

You don't have to like his statements but you don't have to be a typical wise guy either. And you don't have to read them either. We have to put up with your negatism !

Anonymous said...

Good luck to Chris. He doesn't support my views but that's the beauty of our form of government.

Chris showed a lot of courage putting his views out there for public critique.

Let the people speak with their votes!

Anonymous said...

Where is Ron Burns?

Anonymous said...

thank God for Ron Burns.

Anonymous said...

The man has put his name on the line.
He has given you his views, his position.

Agree with him, or don't agree with him, but give him credit for being interested and forthright (no pun intended).

As a Republican in this district My views are somewhat different, but as a Republican, I have to ask "Where is Burns?

And where does he stand?

Anonymous said...

March 26, 2008 2:00 PM:

You're no Republican

Anonymous said...

The first poster said it all.......................

Dems: Please let this be your candidate!

Burns: Where do I mail the check for you?

Everyone knows Ron is not a party follower. He will be in office for many years...and maybe someday get rid of good ol' Tommy boy.. Everyone knows he's the man that can do it........

Anonymous said...

Representative Christopher Wright....

Be afraid...be very afraid.

This guy believes that government should fix and support everything and everyone.

Anonymous said...

At least he has shown that he has more courage than you faceless whiners. He put his name an all his thoughts out there for you to whine about. He whethers I like him or not has shown he has more class than you whining phonies. He's not a coward like you .

Anonymous said...

Well if your so desperate to get rid of Tom why don't you have Burns run ? Afraid you might lose him too?

Anonymous said...

Maybe this will get Burnsy to finally make a decision.

Anonymous said...

March 27, 2008 4:35 PM:

What are you talking about? Has Ron Burns been absent or has he been abstaining from voting at the General Assembly?

The answer is no. He's been there and he's been casting votes as is his job. He has also co-sponsered legislation. But who cares? I just want him to vote NO on everything the stupid Democrats and the stupid Goevernor propose.

Anonymous said...

That's right 12:33 vote against everything and stay useless like you. Why have someone like you whiners that do nothing? Just agains everything the democrats do ? Same old useless cry babies.

Anonymous said...

Hey 11:33 how come that only matters when it comes to you republicans. Why don't you list all the legislators attendence? Afraid of the real truth ?

Anonymous said...

I'm talking about Burnsey runnning or not.

Is he or isn't he???

Anonymous said...

Ask him !

Anonymous said...

Lets hope that Dean Kilbourne runs.

He could beat them both, and do a better job than either.