Ward remains in coma, likely to be revived Monday

Making the rounds at seasonal events Saturday, Mayor Art Ward stopped by the Italian Social Club for a bite to eat and some holiday glad-handing, a part of the job he usually enjoys.
He was sitting at a table eating dinner with Elliott Nelson, the city’s Democratic Party leader, when he suddenly got up and walked off a little.
Nelson said he didn’t think much about it because the mayor frequently takes phone calls by stepping away.
Then he heard someone ask Ward if he was in distress.
Nelson turned to the mayor.
“Artie couldn’t talk. He just shook his head no,” Nelson said.
A couple of public safety workers who happened to be nearby grabbed the mayor and began trying to do the Heimlich maneuver on him to dislodge the piece of meat caught in Ward’s throat.
“Artie just collapsed” into one of the men’s arms, Nelson said, and was lowered to the ground.
“It happened so fast. It just looked like a dream,” Nelson said.
At this point, concerned residents don’t yet know how Ward will fare. He is listed in critical but stable condition by Bristol Hospital, hooked up to a respirator in a medically induced coma, according to several sources.
Ward, 63, was without oxygen for a couple of minutes or more, two of them said, but nobody knows exactly how long. Nelson said that in an emergency, every minute feels like an hour, so it’s impossible to guess.  CLICK HERE FOR ENTIRE STORY.

L to R: Art Ward, Nancy Wyman, Elliott Nelson, Dan Malloy

*****
Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

The Democratic establishment takes it on the chin

There's no way to view Mary Rydingsward's defeat of city Democratic Party leader Elliott Nelson except as a rebuke to the party establishment.
After all, the town committee overwhelmingly backed Nelson.
No doubt some of Rydingsward's support came from women who feel like outsiders dealing with the male-dominated party leadership team.
But there's also no doubt that some of those votes she racked up came from Democrats of both sexes who feel left out or shunned by party officials who are largely loyal to Mayor Art Ward.
Rydingsward worked hard in this campaign -- but so did Nelson. Both of them put in the effort that winning requires.
But when a Democratic Party chair loses a political race that only rank and file Democrats can participate in, the outcome is not just a referendum on the boss. It's about something more.
And that something may spell trouble for Ward, too, when it's his turn to run again next year.
*****
Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Nelson gets backing from Malloy, Wyman and Ward

Press release from Elliot Nelson, the Democrats' endorsed candidate for registrar and the party chair in Bristol:

Elliot Nelson kicks off his run for Democratic Registrar of Voters with being endorsed by three prominent Democrats-Gubernatorial Candidate Dan Malloy, Lt. Governor Candidate Nancy Wymann and Bristol Mayor Art Ward. Nelson who received the Democratic Party endorsement in May by a nearly 3 to 1 margin has pledged to work closely with the elected officials in Hartford to ensure that the changes that need to be made in the Registrar’s office are implemented to create a much more user friendly environment that the people of Bristol can be proud of. He will now face his opponent in an August 10^th primary.

*******
Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Primary for Democratic registrar looms

Democrats will face a primary in the race to pick a successor to their party’s registrar of voters.
Though Democrats voted 37-14 Monday to endorse Elliott Nelson, the city’s Democratic chair, the final decision will be made by rank-and-file Democrats in an Aug. 10 primary.
Mary Rydingsward, who fell short in when party loyalists voted, said afterward she would seek to overturn the decision by reaching out to ordinary Democrats.
“I didn’t expect as an outsider to get the nomination,” she said.
Rydingsward and Nelson will compete for the right to take the $46,000-a-year job that Bob Badal is giving up when his term ends this year
See Tuesday's paper for more. Here is the link.
*******
Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Dem chair may be interested in running himself

The city's Democratic Party chair, Elliott Nelson, told me he is weighing his options in terms of a possible campaign for something this year.
That's as much as he would say.
But there are rumors he's eyeing a possible primary against state Sen. Tom Colapietro, a Bristol Democrat.
*******
Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Democratic chair retires as city firefighter

After 27 years on the job, city firefighter Elliott Nelson retired last Saturday.
Nelson, the city's Democratic Party chairman, went out "in a blaze of glory," according to Mayor Art Ward.
Fire Chief Jon Pose and others said that Nelson was among the firefighters who tackled a wild fire that consumed a Burlington Avenue barn last Friday night -- a sweltering, sticky, awful one.
"I earned my money that night," Nelson said.
Nelson retired the next day.

*******
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

New political party leaders in Bristol

Accepting his party’s unanimous backing to become the new Republican Party chairman in Bristol Monday, TJ Barnes said the volunteer post “is not a fun job.”
“It’s like herding cats through a fence,” Barnes told the GOP’s town committee.
Democrats also united Monday behind a single candidate to serve as their town chairman: Elliott Nelson, a 25-year veteran of the city’s Fire Department.
Both men are low-key, behind-the-scenes leaders who are unlikely to follow the fire and brimstone style of some of their predecessors.
They will, no doubt, experience some of the same headaches that party chairs always face – clashing ambitions, warring factions and trying to find solid candidates in long-shot races.
“Sometimes the chairman is a thankless job,” said city Probate Judge Andre Dorval, a longtime political veteran on the Democratic side.
Nelson, 53, has been the Democrat’s treasurer in recent years and has helped out on many campaigns.
“Our party needs to be unified and I can’t think of a better person to do it,” said Mayra Sampson, a former Democratic chair. She said that the party is “constantly under attack” from the GOP and needs to stand up to the assault.
But Barnes, though a Republican loyalist whose family has deep roots in the city, isn’t likely to be the point man on many attacks.
Barnes, a former Republican chairman, said he reluctantly agreed to take the helm again because he wants to help improve the party’s standing in the community.
“I really think we have an opportunity here in Bristol to change how we’re viewed,” said Barnes, 35, who runs the investment arm of the Bristol-based Valley Bank.
Both men praised their predecessors, Republican Art Mocabee and Democrat Dean Kilbourne, each of whom chose not to seek another two-year term.
But they promised to bring different agendas and directions to their parties.
“I’m not the Art Mocabee style, definitely not front and center,” Barnes said.
Barnes said that while he can get “pretty enthusiastic and get out there and do the hard work,” he’s going to concentrate on building up the Republicans, not tearing down the Democrats.


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