Urgent: Trumbull Redistricting Public Hearing Town Hall Monday, April 2nd, 2012 8:00 PM

Monday night the Trumbull Town Council will vote on the purposed redistricting plans put forth by the Republicans and the Democrats on the Redistricting Committee. Prior to this vote, there will be a public hearing on the proposed redistricting plans. It is imperative that everyone associated with the Trumbull DTC attend this meeting to show support for the Democratic plan. The need for redistricting was primarily brought on by the redrawing of the state district lines. These new lines created three "split" town districts where people in one of these three districts were divided across two state districts. This adds overhead at the polling places requiring separate voting lines and a separate ballot for each town and state district pairing. The Democrats on the Redistricting Committee have proposed a plan modeled after the current seven district plan. This plan makes minor adjustments to the district boundaries to best align them with the new state district lines while attempting to minimize the changes to the current map. This plan achieves the goal of aligning the town lines with the state lines while minimizing the disruption for town voters. All seven districts are equal in size and preserves the current minority representation rules which have served Trumbull so well over the last 25 years. The Republican plan makes a radical proposal to reduce the number of town districts from seven to four - reducing the number of polling places accordingly. Because our Town Charter calls for 21 Town Council representative and four does not divide evenly into 21, the Republican plan calls for three districts with five TC representatives and one "super district" with six TC representatives. This super district will contain 20% more voters than the other three which appears to violate the legal requirement that all districts be within +/- 5% of the ideal number. Following an election the voters in the super district will have six representatives and the other three districts will only have five. Minority representation will also be reduced from one out of three to one out of five or six. The end result could be an 17 to 4 majority rule in the Town Council - not a good idea for a two party democracy based on checks and balances. The town ballot will be longer and the voting lines will likely be much longer because there will be three fewer polling places. This Republican redistricting plan is nothing more than a blatant gerrymandered power grab attempting to quash minority input into town affairs. It is URGENT that we all show up to the meeting Monday night and show our support for our Council members including Vicki Tesoro who has spent countless hours working on this issue. Please help us spread the word about this important meeting!

2012 Trumbull Democratic Town Committee Car Raffle Drawing - We Have a Winner!! The Trumbull DTC 2012 Car Raffle was held on Saturday, February 4th at the Trumbull Mall. A large crowd of excited ticket-holders gathered around the shiny black 2012 Camaro 3.6L Convertible as the 7:00 PM deadline approached. The winning ticket, number 1777, was held by Josemina Rodriquez of Bridgeport. Congratulations to Josemina! And to everyone else: we hope to see you next year! Trumbull Democrats Meet to Nominate Their 2011 Slate   The Trumbull Democratic Town Committee gathered at Tashua Knolls Monday night July 25th to select their slate of candidates for 2011. The packed room clearly supported the need to take Trumbull in a new direction - ending the current “rancor, vitriol and personal attacks” that have characterized the leadership of the current administration. When Democrats take back Town Hall in November, it will be "about people, not politics".   Statement From Mary Beth Thornton in Response to Herbst's Personal Attack On Her on Yesterday's Connecticut Post Web Site:   "Once again, Herbst sends out personal attacks instead of addressing the issues at hand. Abstaining from a vote where there is a perceived lack of information regarding one of the most important issues we face as a Town is not a leadership problem, it is simply a lack of information. The Town labor attorney was not present to answer questions around the implementation of the retirement-contribution plan for new employees. Questions about the cost to the Town were not answered. We did learn that the First Selectman will benefit from this plan with a matching contribution from the Town." —Mary Beth Thornton Thornton Works Registration at Sunset Run Mary Beth Thornton helped out at this year's extraordinarily successful Trumbull Rotary Club Sunset Run. The race, held at Twin Brooks Park, attracted nearly 500 runners. See other photos here. Pictured: Mary Beth Thornton and Rotary Club member Steve Archer. Mary Beth Thornton Announces Candidacy for First Selectman On May 18th, 2011, before a packed house at Tashua Knolls Restaurant, Mary Beth Thornton announced her candidacy for the office of First Selectman of Trumbull. In announcing her run, Mrs. Thornton said: "As a lifelong Trumbull resident, I am proud of my local heritage, and the way my community has shaped who I am." "It is as a result of that character shaping experience, provided by our neighborhoods, our neighbors, our leaders and our educational system, that I now seek to return to our community a leadership that looks, thinks, and acts in a positive way, and to restore to our government an environment characterized by mutual respect and thoughtful dialogue."   To learn more about Mary Beth Thornton and her campaign, click here.

Democrats and One Republican Walk Out of Special Town Council Meeting to Protest Veto Power Grab

Democratic Members of the Charter Revision Commission Issue Minority Report

On Wednesday night, the six-member Charter Revision Commission held a hearing at Town Hall to present a draft of the group’s revised charter. The two Democrats on the commission submitted a minority report detailing their opinion on the various recommendations in this draft charter. The text of this minority report can be found here.

Democrats Respond to Unfortunate Magnet School Resolution

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 15, 2011

Magnet School “Deal” is a Consequence of Bad Decisions By First Selectman Herbst

Poor decisions and high-stakes gamesmanship by First Selectman Tim Herbst blew up in Herbst’s face and the faces of all residents of Trumbull residents with the passage this week of a permanent and irrevocable shift in the town’s border by the state legislature.

Full Press Release

And the Winner is ...

In case you missed it, the Trumbull Democratic Town Committee held the drawing for a brand new Black 2011 Mustang Convertible at the Trumbull Mall on Saturday, the 5th of February. Seen here is Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo assisting Starbucks employee Daniella who volunteered to pull the winning ticket. The lucky winner was Stefanie Truino who held ticket number 7778. Congratulations Stefanie!  We want to thank everyone that supported our fundraiser and if you didn't win - better luck next year.

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DTC Celebrates November Victories

On Monday November 15th, the Trumbull DTC held its monthly meeting at the home of Mary Beth and Scott Thornton to celebrate the many Democratic victories locally and around the state. Election night was charged with excitement as many close races went right down to the wire. After the dust settled, almost all seriously contested races fell to the Democratic candidates. Click here for more info and photos. Richard Blumenthal Visits Trumbull Center On Saturday, October 30th, US Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal made a campaign stop in Trumbull Center. Campaigning with State Senate candidate Anthony Musto, Blumenthal surprised the breakfast crowd at Marie's Sandwich Shop chatting with the staff and patrons at the counter and dining throughout the busy restaurant. He and Musto then stopped in at Kenny Z's Salon to find the staff decked out in Halloween costumes to entertain their clients. Blumenthal shook hands and posed for pictures before heading off to his next campaign stop. Click here for more photos. Trumbull DTC Serves the Seniors On October 29th, the Trumbull Democratic Town Committee honored the senior citizens in town with a free luncheon at the Tashua Knolls Restaurant. Town officials, DTC members and area candidates waited tables and a good time was had by all. For more details and photos, click here.

Democrats Fete Former Leaders

Trumbull Democrats on October 14th honored their esteemed former leaders in a gala dinner filled with laughs, political insights and lots of stories of the way things were.

Nine former elected officials, including four first selectmen, four town clerks and two town treasurers, representing more than 100 years of combined service to Trumbull, were honored at the event, which was held at the Tashua Knolls banquet facility.

Read more about the event and see photos of the honorees and other guests here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 22, 2010

Trumbull's Republican leadership has recently punished Town Council District 2 representative Robert Pescatore, Jr., by removing his Chairmanship on the Finance Committee of the Trumbull Town Council. This is in retaliation for bipartisan efforts with me Saturday, September 18 at a forum conducted to inform our constituents of an added cost to the current sewer project in North Nichols. This punitive action is morally and ethically wrong. Trumbull has played partisan politics far too long. I believe bipartisan efforts should be applauded, not punished. Mr. Pescatore and I will continue our efforts to keep residents informed of the issues that impact our Town.

Mary Beth Thornton
Trumbull Town Council
Minority Leader
D-2

Tony Silber, Trumbull Democratic Town Committee, responds to accusations by the Herbst Administration.

Dear Editor:

Republican Town Chairman Jack Testani says Democratic political gamesmanship has run amuck, and that Democrats should be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

I say the only thing that’s run amuck is the Republican leadership’s penchant for wild accusations. And because Jack alleges there’s a problem, it’s only fair to challenge him to define it.

Is open and honest political debate the “problem” Jack’s referring to? Every time someone so much as differs with the first selectman, they’re attacked by his named and unnamed surrogates, in the papers and on computer message boards.

Or perhaps the “problem” Mr. Testani talks about consists merely of asking questions about various Herbst Administration policies. As local residents are finding out, asking critical questions of this administration risks massive retaliation instead of fact-based response. Our current leaders either forget or just flat-out don’t get that in a two-party democracy, different viewpoints are a healthy and necessary part of the process.

Maybe the “problem” here is expecting that the administration should have its facts straight.

Jack Testani and First Selectman Herbst last week accused me of sending to the Connecticut Post an e-mail written by Keith Klain. The act would have been innocuous if I’d done it. But I didn’t send the Post anything. That didn’t stop Mr. Testani and Mr. Herbst from proclaiming as loudly as they could, and with absolute certainty, that I did.

Consider what First Selectman Herbst said in a letter to Nichols residents on June 4:

“Planning and Zoning Commission alternate Tony Silber (also a political opponent) contacted the Connecticut Post editorial board requesting that they delve into the matter without verifying the truth or accuracy of the allegations contained in the e-mail.”

Here’s the wonderful irony. The first selectman reprimanded me for not checking out my facts, when he himself didn’t bother to verify “the truth or accuracy” of his own information before he allowed inaccurate hearsay to masquerade as absolute truth.

One thing’s certain: That’s no way to govern.

Then both Mr. Testani and Mr. Herbst criticized Town Council Minority Leader Mary Beth Thornton for filing an FOI request in the matter of the power-plant project. “This was pure politics with the worst of intentions,” Mr. Testani exclaimed. Well, there is one thing worse—and that’s filing six FOI complaints in six months, which is what the Republicans did in 2009.

If the first selectman insists on government that lurches from crisis to crisis, he won’t succeed in the long term. If the Herbst administration insists on parrying mild questions with shrill accusations, it won’t win the confidence of our residents. If the elected leadership insists on divisiveness first and policy second, then its fate is already set.

Trumbull Democrats believe in the power of the outstretched hand, not the pointed finger. Democrats believe in engaging in debate, not in smashing dissent. Democrats believe in embracing all perspectives, not in discrediting those who differ.

Tony Silber

Democratic Town Committee

A Trumbull Land-Use Agenda

By Tony Silber, alternate member of the Trumbull Planning and Zoning Commission

Trumbull Democrats: Herbst's Budget Process Produced The Worst Possible Outcome - Significantly Reduced Services and Higher Taxes

Read the Press Release here

First Selectman Timothy Herbst did not achieve his campaign pledge of identifying $1 million in operational savings in his first 100 days in office, and he misled the citizens of Trumbull in a press release on the topic issued this week, Trumbull Democrats said.

Click here to read the full story