Battle Lines–Herbst Campaign Files Election Complaint, Walker: No Merit

Walker tweet
Tweet in question.

Don’t expect Republicans Tim Herbst and David Walker to share a beer any time soon. The gubernatorial campaign of Trumbull First Selectman Herbst asserts Bridgeport resident Walker, the former U.S. Comptroller General, is violating state campaign finance law by making representations of a declared candidacy for governor under the guise of an exploratory committee.

The 2018 campaign for governor features hotly contested races in both major parties. Herbst, who nearly won the state treasurer’s race in 2014, is among the top-tier Republicans vying for the GOP nomination next year. Walker is raising money under an exploratory committee. The State Elections Enforcement Commission asserts what you represent as an exploratory candidate could trigger a window in which the candidate must form a full blown candidate committee. For instance a candidate cannot hold himself out as candidate for a specific office while in an exploratory phase. Such representations could disqualify funds raised under the state’s Citizens Election Program of publicly funded races.

Herbst campaign manager Tom Daly, for one, issued a letter to the SEEC on Monday claiming written statements made by Walker on June 26th and June 27th represent the actions of a declared candidate for governor despite operating under an exploratory committee. He cited Walker’s Twitter account from June 26 declaring “If you care about fiscal responsibility, please make a modest contribution to my CT Gubernatorial effort at DaveWalkerCT.com. Thanks.”

Response from Walker: “The tweet came from someone on my Exploratory Committee. It does not have the DW initials which signifies that I did it personally.”

Walker’s homepage website also features the language “David Walker is working now to be nominated for Connecticut governor.”

What you say and write, however, matters, says the SEEC although there is no “bright-line rule,” according to a declaratory ruling.

According to SEEC regulations an office seeker has 10 days to form a candidate committee after making a declaratory statement and must not seek campaign donations in the exploratory committee. An exploratory committee allows a candidate to raise personal contributions to a maximum of $375 and flexibility to pivot to the declared office of choice rather than being boxed into a specific slot. Arguably, candidate contacts may be more willing to write a check to a candidate committee than one testing the waters.

Prior to the Herbst campaign complaint Walker says he recently met with SEEC officials to discuss these types of issues. “Based on that the complaint has no merit.” Walker also added if he qualifies for public financing “I will be the next governor of Connecticut.” Walker ran for lieutenant governor as a Republican in 2014.

“I think it’s ironic a career Washington bureaucrat would have trouble navigating campaign finance rules,” said Herbst in a statement. “It’s certainly embarrassing for the Washington insider, but GOP voters are more likely to reject Mr. Walker because of his past advocacy for tax hikes, his longtime status as a D.C. insider who was a Democratic appointee to various offices and the fact he only became a Republican in 2014 to run for office,” Herbst said.

Daily Ructions host Kevin Rennie has also weighed in on this issue.

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61 comments

  1. All these damn rules would drive a normal person crazy. Then again are politicians normal? I have a feeling that Herbst is going to be like an in operable hemorrhoid and complaining about every little thing. I know I wont be voting for this suburbanite.

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  2. Ooh give me a break Andy, you use suburbanite like it’s a curse word and to suggest that Dave Walker is anything other than a suburbanite is disingenuous at best and foolish at its worst. Both are more suburban than you will ever be as will every Republican that runs for governor.

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    1. Hello Donald, I absolutely see your point. I can only speak for myself, living in Bridgeport certainly chnaged my perspectives on many things. Listening to, working with, volunteering with people of different backgrounds (being a farmers daughter makes just about anyone else different) a lot of issues I thought were simply because people didn’t want to work harder – were absolutely challenged and changed. Bridgeport rubs off on people, in a good way if one is lucky. I was lucky. That being said, consider not voting for Tim. If for no other reason, his very cozy relationship with JG2 and his frequent visits to the restaurant known as Testo’s.

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  3. Tim Herbst is listening to his Campaign Manager too much. He made the same false and misleading claims in his role as Campaign Manager for Heather Somers in 2014. It violates Reagan’s 11th Amendment and it will not work this time. Both of them need to look up the definition of the term “bureaucrat”. I have never been a career civil servant. I have always been in a leadership role and viewed as an innovator and major transformational change agent. That is the opposite of a bureaucrat. It is true that I am well connected and well respected in Washington, DC, which Tim and other people who are candidates, or exploring for the office of Governor, like me, aren’t. My federal experience and connections can be a major asset to the State of Connecticut. Candidly, I have more years of successful leadership experience than Tim has years of life. He may be a good politician in a town that only represents 1% of the population of the state. It is also a big spending town compared to Danbury, Shelton and even Bridgeport! That is not what we need in our next Governor. I have made major changes happen in very large and complex organizations. I have also led organizations in all three sectors of our economy. I am proud of my record and will let it speak for itself. Finally, Tim’s complaint to the SEEC just shows that he fears me. There is no merit to it based on my face-to-face meeting with the SEEC officials several weeks ago.

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    1. Donald J Trump became the 45th President of the United States by stating that he would “Drain the swamp” in Washington D.C. Well, Trump was talking about people like David Walker, this is what Dave Walker said, “It is true that I am well connected and well respected in Washington, DC, plus “My federal experience and connections can be a major asset to the State of Connecticut.” Stephen Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist,Ivanka Trump the daughter of President Trump and wife of Jared Kushner and Reince Priebus, Kellyanne Conway, which one does Dave Walker has the contact with to get something done for Connecticut? Maybe it’s Vice President Mike Pence who is pushing for the U.S. Senate to pass Trump Care which is really a tax cut of 800 billion dollars to the rich and at the same time to take 22 million off of their health care.

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      1. Oh gosh Ron, it’s easy to fact check Walkers political registration over the years, and who respects him in DC. I have no idea who you, or Trump views as Swamp people to be drained. So here’s Dave Walkers history: Walker was a Conservative Democrat from 1969-1976, a Republican from 1976-1997, and Independent from 1997-2013 and a Republican from 2013-Present. He was a Reagan, Bush (41) and Clinton Presidential appointee. He was part of the Reagan and Bush 41 Administrations. He served as CGOTUS and head of GAO during the Clinton and Bush (43) Administrations but was not part of either of their administration as GAO is in the legislative branch of government. With 100% yes vote from the Senate, and his job as Comptroller was to work with all of congress, I would bet money on his contacts being sitting senators and congressmen, the head of GOA, Social Security, Labor Relations, AARP and FEMA to name a few – because he either worked with or served on boards and commissions in each of these departments. He’s also a friend of Mitch McDaniels, former governor of Indiana who put this state in the black to the tune of 2 billion surplus. I don’t know if Dave knows Trump, Pence, Bannon – et.al, but he does know how to work well with others. Across the isle. And you will never find an article that says he sold out or sold anyone else out. The first time I heard him speak, he said, I just want to see every person have the opportunity to succeed. He walks that talk. Google his statement when his department wanted to unionize. Hardly seems like a man out for the millionaire. Have you looked at what Michigan just did For their Teachers and tax payers? Haven’t seen any protests in the streets over that agreement.
        I understand you don’t like Dave, and will push hard to try to make him into a Trump affiliate, you’re just doing your part, calling it like you see it. Our views are different, I do appreciate we can disagree and remain civil and friendly, even when we’re on different teams. Enjoy the 4th.

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        1. Jennifer, I was using Dave Walker’s own statement, “It is true that I am well connected and well respected in Washington, DC, plus “My federal experience and connections can be a major asset to the State of Connecticut.” The American voters are sick of people who well connected.

          Jennifer, nobody is able to get anything done in Wshington so how is Dave Walker going to get something done for Connecticut?

          As for 4th, here is Frederick Douglass, a black Republican, ‘ speech “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” (July 5, 1852).
          https://youtu.be/8tTkHJWxfP0

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          1. Wow, see I still have a whole lot to learn. That was a brave and powerful speech. Thanks for sharing that with me. I would hardly call someone respected as what voters are sick of.
            What Walker has done, and I sincerely believe he will do for CT:

            As Comptroller General, walker achieved a major transformation of the GAO. Working with his executive leadership team, the results were an agency that: had 1/3 fewer offices, 60% fewer organizational units, eliminated a senior layer of management, adopted a system that focused on skills, knowledge and performance rather than years of service, implemented modern technology and knowledge management systems, increased productivity by 50-100%, generated a 110:1 Return on investment for taxpayers, achieved a more inclusive and satisfied workforce, received a 95% positive rating for the Congress, and was viewed as the best Supreme Audit Institution in the world by its peers.
            To put things in perspective, GAO’s budget is larger than Danbury, Trumbull and Shelton combined. It has offices in 12 U.S. cities and works all over the U.S. and around the world. In addition, GAO oversees a $3.6 trillion plus federal budget which is 180 times larger than Connecticut’s annual budget. Walker and his team rolled up their sleeves and successful implemented structural changes that increased efficiency and significantly reduced the department budget. He can and will do this in Connecticut.

            So Walker did get things done in Washington, and it was when the US economy was in pretty great shape.

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        2. Jennifer,

          Thanks for your posts. I know Mitch Daniels and a number of other current and former Governors of both political parties as well as many current and former U.S. Senators, Congress persons and Cabinet officials from both political parties. I have met President Trump and know VP Pence from his time in Congress. I have never met or spoken to Steve Bannon.

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      1. The job of Comptroller General is a title that has ZERO power. It’s a position created by Congress so that Congress would look better. The position of Comptroller General has been far eclipsed by the Congressional Budgeting Office. It it is numbers from the Congressional Budgeting Office that bills are score in the Congress. The Comptroller General can do absolutely nothing. Maybe some republicans will develop some backbone and just get rid of the whole Comptroller General joke.

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        1. Hmmmm . The Comptroller General of the United States is the director of the Government Accountability Office (GAO, formerly known as the General Accounting Office), a legislative branch agency established by Congress in 1921 to ensure the fiscal and managerial accountability of the federal government.

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        2. Hmmm…. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress

          So, should they merge Frank, I don’t think you can have one without the other and have their numbers and recommendations make any sense. Well, not that they do these days. They certainly used to.

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        3. Frank,

          You are incorrect. The GAO was created in 1921 at the same time as OMB. CBO was created in 1974. The GAO is many times bigger than both OMB and CBO. It is the audit, investigative, program evaluation, research and policy analysis arm of the Congress. It also provides legal opinions and renders bid protest decisions. FAO’s scope of work spans the entire scope of federal activities anywhere in the world. It generates over $100 in return to taxpayers for every $1 of its budget. The CG is CEO of the GAO. There have only been 8 CGs to-date and the current one was my de-facto Deputy. The CG has the longest term of any Presidential appointee that has a term (15-years) and the is the subject of the most complicated appointment process of any political appointee in the federal government. The Washington Post has called the CG position on of the most powerful and least understood jobs in the entire federal government. They are right.

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          1. Dave Walker and Jennifer.. I appreciate your defense of the GAO. I’ve done some research. The GAO issues a lot…and a lot..and a lot of reports. Some are acted upon. Some are very narrow reports requested by partisan members of Congress. The GAO cannot tell any branch of The Executive to change their practices. In 1921,it was called The General Accounting Office to look at the expanded spending of The Federal Government after WWI. The General Accounting Office grew and expanded along with the growth of the Federal Government through 1930’s,40’s and 50’s. The name was changed to The General Accountability Office under Dave Walker as if we had a part of the Federal Government that was “the so-called watch dog” of government spending. I’ve done some research. Some work of the GAO had some impact on Congress. Many other reports were requested from members of Congress to prove their political views. Dave Walker claims extra-ordinary efforts to “streamline” the GAO. It is ironic that employees of the GAO also sought and achieved union status while Dave Walker was head of the GAO. I think that situation reflects greatly upon Dave Walker’s time at the GAO.

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  4. Dave Walker should make up his mind and decide if he is running or he is not running to be the Governor of the State of Connecticut. The Republican race to be the Candidate will be brutal. Dave’s parsing of the SEEC begins the process that he is gaming the system. The fact of the matter is that he is running for Governor and he should quit all the legalistic splitting hairs…AND JUST GO FOR IT.

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    1. Frank,

      I have made it clear to the SEEC and the public that I have an Exploratory Committee for the position of Governor. I was recruited to explore for Governor since many people believe that my background and track record make me uniquely qualified to lead a CT Turnaround effort at this time in the state’s history. I appreciate your views, but I will decide when and if to convert based on my own pre-determined criteria. In the interim, I voluntarily limited contributions to $100 per person in order to not “pad the books” and try to artifically inflate the fundraising numbers needed to qualify for public financing. Others have not done that. It’s called integrity! That is word that you don’t hear much in CT. If I become Governor in the future, that, and many other things at the state level and in Bridgeport, will change for the better.

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  5. Jennifer, Mike Pence has not been in Congress since 2013 and Dave Walker that’s the frame of Walker’s involvement with Mike Pence and the same goes for Mitch Daniels, who’s term as governor ended in 2013. Walker said that he met Trump, what does that mean, Joe Ganim met Trump and Lennie worked for Trump so what does that mean? It means nothing.

    For any governor in America their budget depends on what funding they will get from the federal government and with Trump Care getting ready to get pass by Congress will means that the cost of Medicaid will be given to the states to finance. So what is David Walker’s plan cut taxes and help cities like Bridgeport and New Haven and to provide health care to those who needed instead of people using hospital emergency rooms as their doctor and that cost will be left to the hospitals to find a way to pay for those cost?

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    1. Ron,

      Come to one of my events and find out. I was CGOTUS from 1998-2008. I go to D.C. virtually every month and have a lot of friends, professional colleagues and contacts there. Just because people are out of office does not mean that you don’t communicate with them. That can be a key difference between who is a real friend and who isn’t.

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      1. Dave, none of those you mention have any pull with President Trump except for Vice President Mike Pence who has his own problems especially now because it’s Pence’s job to pass the Trump Care Health Care which will take 800 billion dollars out of the health care program for the poor and the elderly and give that money to the rich in tax refunds to the top 400 Americans.

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  6. What this blog needs is a spokesman who is FAR-to-the-RIGHT of Dave Walker and Tim Herbst. I’m talking about someone who won’t tolerate the status quo and wants to ELIMINATE what others want to reduce. This person will demand draconian changes that produce immediate reactions and serve as model for the other forty-nine states to copy.
    I’m talking about sharp contrast. Only then will Walker and Herbst be revealed as men of reason and logic and the Connecticut Rebound can begin!

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    1. Paul, I don’t understand, you are saying two things, first you want someone on the blog who is FAR-to-the-RIGHT of Walker and Herbst. Why would they follow someone on a blog?

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      1. Ron, until election day arrives, blogs are fantastic substitutes for actual voting.
        Also, OIB has a far reach and Connecticut will be making national headlines for good reasons. This blog might become a cornerstone for a national/global discussion. Saving money has a global audience and Lennie is often ahead of the curve.
        (wink)

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          1. Frank,
            Local Eyes has been accused of many things but you must admit the truth of the phrase that “even a broken clock shows the correct time twice each day”. Give a think to what he is saying because by talking about the far right or far left positions, you begin to talk about issues, governance problems, opportunities for change from the status quo, etc.

            Those are generally different things than what is discussed on OIB!! Not because of Lennie Grimaldi, certainly. But because many have let themselves be brought back to high school popularity. Notice Ron Mackey’s delight in trying to de-bunk Walker’s respectful relationships. He is all about “power” relations, as if that is the way most governance happens.

            Go back several OIB items, also on July 3, and my comments to the CC are included with specific reference to the CAFR pages for this year, possible errors of exclusion, and potential imposition of inflexible bond payments and additional pension expenses in the future when the State changes assumptions.

            But no comments. Ron, Don, Frank, Bridgeport taxpayers…..any comments pro or con? Why silence? One member of the CC indicated that it was worth studying. Progress? We’ll see, but where is the understanding among the readers? Understanding that might generate some “outrage” for fiscal handling? Ganim’s “hyper mil rate” move (Playbook #1) has generated a surplus of more than $4Million but no word? His next target (despite many long term funding issues) is to bond the public safety overtime expense (Playbook #2) that he first ran on the City in 2000. Has he told us of the small returns on Pension Plan A that continue to force added contributions today? What is Playbook #3? Revaluation deferral is in that book, but won’t appear on our agenda until perhaps 2020 with the last one completed (after a Finch flinch) in 2015? Why no bragging about budget surplus? If we were OPEN, ACCOUNTABLE, TRANSPARENT and HONEST wouldn’t we have heard already? Time will tell.

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          2. Sorry,JML..Local Eyes continues to hide behind his moniker. JML,you talk about transparency. Let’s demand some transparency from LocaL Eyes. He is not such a big deal in Bridgeport.

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          3. JML,I understand the “big picture” idea that Local Eyes has promulgated in that,in today’s digital world, the world has become a smaller place and one can do business literally worldwide using a relatively small digital footprint. I don’t understand some of the other statements that Local Eyes has made. As to making comments about your posting,I will be truthful and admit that I do not have the in-depth knowledge of Bridgeport finances that you have acquired over years of researching BPT finances. I also do not have the overall financial acumen that you have because that is not my educational or employment background. But I will try to get better.

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        1. Anyone who is interested in a far right experiment should look at the State of Kansas under the tenure of Governor Sam(?) Brownback and the Kansas legislature cut taxes and cut services. This became increasing unpopular and Brownback was barely re-elected in a deep red state. Just recently,the State Legislature-mostly Republicans and some Democrats voted to override the veto by Governor Brownback and RAISED taxes. So,the lower taxes/less government experiment failed.

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          1. Frank, of course that system doesn’t work, if you read what happened during the Reagan’s administration and you’ll see that Reagan said one thing and did something different, in fact it was David Stockman Reagan’s own financial advisor Who told the President and Congress that the Reagan’s plan was a failure. In fact CNN special on “The Eighty’s” has Stockman making that statement.

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  7. Rumor Mill:
    It’s a fast world we live in. A specific private equity firm in Greenwich has been alerted to a new class of esoteric asset: state governments. To be hyper-brief, here’s their proposal:
    For $300 million this firm will automate our state government and reduce state employment to 106 people immediately (union rules do not cover these contingencies). Robots seem to enjoy Connecticut and analysts were amazed at how easily most functions were improved by automation.
    Although rejected by The General Assembly, the Governor has promised to veto their objections until the GA capitulates. He views this new proposal as the instant answer to Connecticut’s problem.

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    1. Has anyone noticed that Paul has become very delusional in the last week to. 10 days. He claims to have assets from Boston to NYC….and additional weird statements.

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  8. What are Republicans David Walker and Tim Herbst position on the top issues for any governor in America their budget depends on what funding they will get from the federal government and with Trump Care getting ready to get pass by Congress will means that the cost of Medicaid will be given to the states to finance? There is no leadership from these Republicans, they just want to go along to get along with President Trump while Trump’s policies will hurt Connecticut.

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    1. Ron, I have no idea where Herbst stands on Trump. Walker has said publicly- he doesn’t not agree with every policy of every president he has served under, nor every one of Trumps policies. No critically thinking person would, in my opinion. By your argument, I would expect every CT democrat federal elected official to want to get along with Trump to have as much federal money returned to CT as is sent to D.C. I don’t see any indication the Trump Healthcare bill, as it stands, being passed. The majority of republican voters, according to the recent Q poll don’t like it. There is a provision for funds for states to supplement Medicaid as the states work on their budgets to determine how best to cover the health costs of their citizens. Walker is on the record as supporting single payer insurance- he obviously understands the need for everyone to pay their fair share to help those in need. Trump is the president (ugg, I don’t like saying that), so its a matter of doing the best one can working with and around the policy and funding that is.

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    2. Jennifer, David Walker is now running to be governor and there are polices on the table in Congress that will hurt Connecticut and Dave Walker is silent on these policies, he refuses to make a public statement against those hurtful polices. Dave finds the time to criticize Joe Ganim all the time but what about President Trump? Walker has absolutely no problem in being silent with 800 billion dollars being taken from health care for the elderly and the poor that will also hurt Connecticut so Jennifer, where is David Walker voice and not Jennifer’s voice?

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      1. Good morning Ron, Dave is exploring a run. His voice is loud and clear to those who make the time to listen. Just because he doesn’t spend daily time writing on OIB doesn’t mean he’s silent. Watch for the quarterly fund raising reports, you will see a large number of open and reforme minded democrats who have attended his events and listened writing checks to support his statements.

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        1. C’MON Jennifer, tell me, what is more important to ANY wannabe governor than knowing how much money will their state NOT receive from the federal government in order to balance and finance their state business? What are Walker’s top priority for being governor? Dave Walker is scare just likeost other Republicans to criticize President Trump? How will Walker cut state taxes and grow our economy with less federaloney coming to Connecticut? Jennifer, I hope that you are a paid Walker supporter because there is no one else defending Walker’s positions and Bridgeport is his home base. If Dave wants votes then start answering questions and give us answers.

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          1. I’m not being paid. I’m currently my moms primary care taker as she fights multiple myeloma, or I would be back in CT working on Dave’s committee. Just as the city of Bridgeport doesn’t know state aid until after their budget is approved, yet a budget is created with a scramble to either move budget priorities or increase spending. No governor knows the exact federal funds they will receive. Much like Dave did with all of the federal government budgets, including his own GOA budget, eliminate waste, implement recommendations from departments to reduce costs while increasing efficiency of delivering services etc. Walker is already meeting with owners and presidents of CT business and assessing what needs to be done to support and keep employers in CT. He’s been doing that for more than a year. Why are you so insistent that republican candidates must criticize and denounce Trump? Well, I can understand from a democrat in a very blue state – from my perspective, like it or not Trump is president. Not all of his policy ideas are wrong or bad – his delivery- absolutely. Both parties have to live and work with his policies, like it or lump it, so pandering to staunch democrats to possibly garner a handful of votes seems pretty disingenuous to me, something Walker is not. There are plenty of Bridgeport people democrats and independents supporting Walker – they’re just too busy working to pay their taxes to write on blogs.

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          2. Senate health bill means choosing between ‘children, seniors, the disabled,’ Kasich says
            By CHRISTINA POWELL
            Jul 2, 2017, 10:42 AM ET

            Republican Gov. John Kasich of Ohio says that the current version of the Senate Republican health care bill is “not an acceptable choice.”

            “If you cut $750 billion out of Medicaid, and in the out years you basically starve the program, we have to choose between children, seniors, the disabled, the addicted, the mentally ill,” Kasich said in an interview with ABC News’ Martha Raddatz on “This Week” Sunday.

            Ohio represents a microcosm of why many have concerns about the Republican Senate health care bill, afflicted with an ongoing opioid epidemic, the state also has 700,000 people currently insured through the Medicaid expansion that Kasich established in the state.

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          3. Yes Ron, as I said before, the majority of Republicans don’t support the new healthcare bill and are putting great pressure on their representatives to not approve.

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  9. Hey Jennifer, I believe that your assertion that most Republican’s don’t support the ACA might be correct if you don’t count their congressional representatives. 217 House Republican’s voted for repeal of the ACA while only 20 didn’t.

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    1. Ah, but the senate! The new q-poll numbers. We just turned Senator Young (r) from Indiana from a yes to undecided. Almost every Indiana (r) congressional rep were forced to apologize at town hall, on local news casts for their votes. I’m no fan of one party rule and dominance on either side of the isle. We’re very busy here working to get more balance in Indiana. The state actually carried for Obama his first election- were not hopeless!

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    2. Don, surveys have shown that the American voters want to keep their health care plan that Congress passed but here is where the problem starts, they hate  “Obamacare” but they love the Affordable Care Act and not knowing that they are the same. It’s amazing how hate can cause people to vote against something they want and need but because the black American President’s name is involve they don’t want it. The idea of Affordable Care Act started with the Heritage Foundation, a  conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that Republicans depend on to make policy. President Obama used Mitt Romney’s health  care plan when he was  the governor of Massachusetts at the time, the law has colloquially been called Romneycare, a reference to the nicknaming of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as “Obamacare.

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        1. Jennifer, thanks, that was very good but again Jennifer, again I what to read and see David Walker’s position on the topic and not Jennifer Buchanan, with all do respect.

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          1. Awww Ron, the number of times Dave Walker has invited you to events, to meet with you in person, I am beginning think you really want to know his position on topics – there are more than a few on the issue surveys Walker has completed and easy to Google, not to mention numerous OpEd pieces he has written on on many topics, including healthcare. Respect right back at you.

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          2. Jennifer, again this is not about Ronald Mackey this is about David Walker who is planning on running for the position of governor of Connecticut and it’s his duty let the voting public know how he will be the best candidate for governor. Why should I and the voters in Bridgeport have to go searching to find out where Dave Walker’s position are? Jennifer, Walker wants voters to vote for him because of his resume, please, what did a resume do for John Ellis “Jeb” Bush Sr.  a American businessman and politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007, who’s father and brother are former U.S. Presidents, Jennifer,  how did that resume worked out?

            Jennifer, Dave Walker resides in Bridgeport well how many black and Puerto Rican churches has Dave ever visit since he has been in Bridgeport as a political candidate?

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  10. Is David Walker still attempting to run in the Republican primary for governor? His last comment on OIB was, Dave Walker // Jul 4, 2017 at 1:53 pm. It’s obvious Walker is not really serious because it’s to hard for him to reply to a topic that’s about his possible candidacy for governor. We all knw how hard it is to post a comment on OIB, hell President Trump is up on Twitter by 5:30 in the morning. Oh, that’s right it’s the voters responsibility to search for information about Walker and this guy lives in Bridgeport and he’s never seen in the communities except a few whenever he’s in Bridgeport.

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  11. To be fair, David has formed an exploratory committee which is only to see is the has a viable path to get the republican nomination. He is not technically a declared candidate. Should he become the nominee (lord willing), I will bet he visits black and Puerto Rican churches. Why wouldn’t he? After 8 years of Malloy are we better off now? If not, why not take a chance with a republican.
    Also, you should never take a candidate at face value. Diligent voters ought to check candidate claims. As Reagan was fond of saying “doveryai, no proveryai, Trust, but verify”
    Between the D’s and and R’s, this is going to be a entertaining political time.

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    1. DC Faber, you said, “Should he become the nominee (lord willing), I will bet he visits black and Puerto Rican churches. Why wouldn’t he?” Are you kidding me, you mean the only way that David Walker will visit black and Puerto Rican churches is IF he become the nominee? Please Dave, stay home because we don’t need a candidate like that.

      As for Ronald Reagan, he was the 33rd Governor of California, from 1967 to 1975, after a career as a Hollywood actor and union leader before ever running for President. Now what has David Walker ran for and was elected to serve? Walker has no relationship with the black community in the City that he calls home.

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      1. Hey Ron,
        You wrote – Jennifer, Dave Walker resides in Bridgeport well how many black and Puerto Rican churches has Dave ever visit since he has been in Bridgeport as a political candidate?
        And now you want him to stay home. He’s not a candidate yet, I think Senator Marilyn Moore might be at least one black he has a relationship with, he worked to help get her elected. He also has a relationship and support with more than one Hispanic pastor. I know he’s reached out to you on OIB many times over the year to meet you. I would argue it’s not for lack of trying.

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        1. Jennifer, I really do like you even though we have never met. Jennifer, I was asking this same question years ago when CW4BB was started and I started questioning its membership because it seem like just a Black Rock organization. Well, here are years later and nothing has changed. Jennifer we don’t need a candidate from either political party or of any race to ONLY seek our vote AFTER they decide to be a candidate in the City they that reside in.

          Jennifer, of course it’s a lack of trying, Mary Jane Foster never had a problem attending Mt. Aery Baptist Church even when she was not a candidate, she would just come to church and she didn’t have to standup when visitors were asked to stand up because the membership didn’t consider her a visitor. Chris Shays would visit by his self even when it was not election time. We are not looking for “fair weather friends.”

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          1. Good points. Walker has never been a politician – Shays was an elected official making the rounds and staying in touch, Mary Jane was both a business owner who needed community support and a politician once she started running for office. More than a few people aren’t comfortable mixing church and politics. However, attending local church services, even if not a member of that denomination is absolutely a good way to see what’s going on in other parts of the community and city. You make very solid points. And I hope you know I like and respect you – I’ve leaned a lot over the years reading all your posts.

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          2. Jennifer, if you truly look at the questions that I have asked David Walker over the years is a roadmap for Walker to expand his base of support, I’m not the bad guy here, I’ve questioned and challenge Mayor Ganim the same way.

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          3. I hope you don’t think I implied you’re the bad guy. I don’t think that at all.

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  12. Jennifer, I don’t want any candidate no matter what political party to take the black voter for granted like Democrats do or to over look them like Republicans do. Of course you didn’t implied anything.

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