tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811616037332448221.post1960400489108086944..comments2023-06-30T07:39:20.662-04:00Comments on BRISTOLTODAY.COM: Former Mayor Stretch Norton left a legacySteve Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06316108296993240817noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811616037332448221.post-41590825300901653102009-04-06T08:23:00.000-04:002009-04-06T08:23:00.000-04:00Wisely said 3:25.Wisely said 3:25.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811616037332448221.post-59851064126175112202009-04-05T15:25:00.000-04:002009-04-05T15:25:00.000-04:00Isn't it ironic that so many mayors get castigated...Isn't it ironic that so many mayors get castigated while in office, and for some time afterwards, when in reality,each did accomplish something that only gets recognized after they are gone.<BR/>Maybe we ought to try to be a little more objective and appreciate those that have and do serve.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811616037332448221.post-82960241209303968302009-04-04T21:32:00.000-04:002009-04-04T21:32:00.000-04:00He and his lovely wife still made it to some of th...He and his lovely wife still made it to some of the Historical Society events and when I joined, I was so pleased to meet him and hear his stories. He was a treasure and I am sure my fellow members of the Historical Society will miss his involvement and stories.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811616037332448221.post-48843639416639824632009-04-04T21:26:00.000-04:002009-04-04T21:26:00.000-04:00Concerned Conservative - is it too hard to just re...Concerned Conservative - is it too hard to just respect the contributions of such a dedicated Bristolite, without exceptions?<BR/> I hope that you will realize that YOU have the responsibility of ensuring that Mayor Norton's efforts were not in vain and that you can give the same comfort to the community that he and his family did.<BR/>Idealism is one thing, reality is the truth.straight tongue, not forkednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811616037332448221.post-17299281693411236532009-04-04T11:52:00.000-04:002009-04-04T11:52:00.000-04:00I'll let the rest of you debate the politics.I wil...I'll let the rest of you debate the politics.I will simply say it was an honor to know him.He would always make time to discuss ANYTHING BRISTOL with anyone.A true gentleman whose integrity was his legacy.He will be missed but never forgotten.Tim Gamachenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811616037332448221.post-29783433892865172612009-04-04T11:27:00.000-04:002009-04-04T11:27:00.000-04:00Bristol lost a great man, someone who did a whole ...Bristol lost a great man, someone who did a whole lot for the city. He will certainly be missed. May he rest in peace.cseguinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811616037332448221.post-37376424597751321432009-04-04T11:24:00.000-04:002009-04-04T11:24:00.000-04:00I must say Steve that your write-ups on Stretch he...I must say Steve that your write-ups on Stretch here are very nice. Aside from a couple of trival things that I disagree with you on, it's great.<BR/><BR/>I'm not aware of what Stretch's views on the Viet Nam War was 41 years ago, but to insinuate that Norton's ideological parallels with the national GOP are based soley on that incident in 1968 is proposterous. <BR/><BR/>But let's save the bickering for another time and stop at this point.<BR/><BR/>Thanks.Concerned Constructive Conservativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13369681105636203099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811616037332448221.post-47108934372508903562009-04-04T11:12:00.000-04:002009-04-04T11:12:00.000-04:00Stretch was, above all, practical. He was an engin...Stretch was, above all, practical. He was an engineer, after all. So perhaps you're right.Steve Collinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06316108296993240817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811616037332448221.post-50773895067178685242009-04-04T11:00:00.000-04:002009-04-04T11:00:00.000-04:00So he was sometimes (if not often) non-partisan. B...So he was sometimes (if not often) non-partisan. Bi-partisan is the example or effort of both parties working together. For instance when Norton was became mayor in 1969 he asked the Board of Finance Chairman (a Democrat) to remain as Finance Chairman chairman. Although that individual declined (out of allegiance to his friend the defeated former mayor...according to Norton), this was an example of J. Harwood's non-partisan behavior.<BR/><BR/>But a point can be made that the Democrat Finance Board Chairman at the time was much smarter, knowledgable, and actually more fiscally conservative than Stretch's Republican Colleagues. So perhaps Stretch was just practical in a city dominated by the vast Democrat majority? I think most of the time, that was the case.Concerned Constructive Conservativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13369681105636203099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811616037332448221.post-16676361808811610222009-04-04T10:27:00.000-04:002009-04-04T10:27:00.000-04:00Stretch told me once that he became a Republican a...Stretch told me once that he became a Republican after he watched the Chicago police in 1968 beating hippie demonstrators at the Democratic national convention. Stretch said he was so disgusted at Mayor Daley's orders and the cops behavior that he gave up on the Democrats completely. (For those who don't know, Daley and his cops were Democrats; the demonstrators were mostly anti-war college students, with whom Stretch sympathized.)<BR/>Of course, as I'm reading through old clips, I realize Stretch ran for mayor in 1967 as a Republican so I know that what he told me wasn't quite right. But what I'm pretty sure he meant is that the beating of those protesters turned him against the Democrats.<BR/>Still, it's no wonder he was bipartisan to his core. He believed in government, not politics, as he said all the time.Steve Collinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06316108296993240817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811616037332448221.post-70568218542534833432009-04-04T07:36:00.000-04:002009-04-04T07:36:00.000-04:00Those who knew Stretch liked him very much to say ...Those who knew Stretch liked him very much to say the least. He was a terrific man. <BR/><BR/>As far as your comment on his "bi-partisanship", perhaps it was less because of that (being "bi-partisan") and more that the Democrat Party since 1968 had/has swung so far to the left? That is what I believe to be true of Norton and many of his generation (in Bristol) who were active in polictics and whom I know very well. I'm sorry I can't let one use this time to take a shot at the political party which Norton loved and supported so much. He wouldn't want that. He was bi-partisan because he loved Bristol in general and he enjoyed and cared for many of the people here.Concerned Constructive Conservativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13369681105636203099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811616037332448221.post-90501596553144650562009-04-03T22:31:00.000-04:002009-04-03T22:31:00.000-04:00A truly great man of Bristol, the state of Connect...A truly great man of Bristol, the state of Connecticut and of America. <BR/><BR/>He is missed.Concerned Constructive Conservativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13369681105636203099noreply@blogger.com