Dick And Linda In Pasties, Plus: Jimmy’s Tax Jam, BOE Building, And Malloy-Foley Debate Debates

A lot of fighting going on. The Board of Education, arguing over where to consolidate offices, authorized Superintendent of Schools John Ramos to negotiate a deal to house all administration/maintenance functions in the former Bodine building on the West Side. Protests at Sacred Heart University over sorority hazings. Politicians duking it out. Yes, one big happy family.

Are you tired of Linda McMahon’s mail mugging? Saving it for fall firewood? Dartboards? Maybe you even like McMahon mail? My favorite is the 20-panel beauty that opens up into a near life-sized poster of the wrestling guru GOP U.S. Senate hopeful.

Democratic State Party Chair Nancy DiNardo says Linda needs to ease up the tree assaults or at least spend all that mail dough on Connecticut-based consultants. I’m starting to think it’s time for a mud-wrestling match between Dick Blumenthal and Linda. (Shoot, I just broke Fairfield County Weekly scribe Greg Hladky’s blood brothers agreement … no Linda wrestling metaphors.) I say we do the match in the state’s largest city. I’m open to suggestions. How about the West End sewage treatment plant with Dick and Linda in pasties? And how about GOP Chair Chris Healy and Nancy DiNardo as the undercard?

Jimmy’s Tax Jamboree

So you’re Democratic freshman Congressman Jim Himes and you represent most of Fairfield County, the wealthiest region in the the country. Most Washington Dems want to blowtorch the Bush tax cuts for couples earning $250K or more. That would impact a lot of Fairfield County couples. Jimmy says, “The economy has by no means fully recovered, so my bias is that those high-end tax cuts should be extended.” The fact is it’s impossible for Himes to win reelection without support from some of those higher-end earners. He cannot get there on Bridgeport, Stamford and Norwalk alone. He’s not going to win the ‘burbs, but he must be competitive in some of the towns against Republican challenger Dan Debicella, otherwise it’s sayonara.

BOE Building

Board of Education functions are split across several facilities around the city. The BOE, after some give and take among members Tuesday night, authorized school super John Ramos to determine if the 110,000 square foot former Bodine building on the West Side is the right fit financially to consolidate all administration/maintenance functions. The BOE reviewed several city locations following response to a request for proposals. The Bodine site also includes 200 parking spaces.

Let’s Get Ready To Rumble …

Labor Day is over. Time for Malloy and Foley to start fighting!

From Dan Malloy:

MALLOY ACCUSES FOLEY OF ‘PLAYING GAMES’ OVER DEBATES

Has agreed to 19 debates so far, urges Foley to join him

Democratic nominee for Governor Dan Malloy said this morning that he was disappointed in Tom Foley’s refusal to commit to numerous debates, despite organizers’ best efforts to secure his participation. Arguing that the debates would give the candidates “a great opportunity to compare their records and their vision for the state,” Malloy said he’s accepted every debate offer his campaign has received so far – 19 in total.

“Tom Foley is playing games with these debates – and in his games, he thinks he can play by his own rules,” said Malloy. “Apparently, he wants to limit the number of debates to four. I just don’t understand that. I’ve agreed to do every debate that’s been put on the table, for one simple reason: I have a fundamental belief that voters should hear as much as possible from both candidates about our ideas, our experience, and our vision. What better way to do that than standing right next to one another and answering the same questions?”

While Foley has tentatively agreed to certain debates, Malloy said he thinks that others will give the candidates a better chance to drill down into specific issue areas.

“It’s great we’ll be doing at least a couple of televised debates – those are extremely important – but there are other forums that would give us an opportunity to give voters and even better picture of who we are and how we differ,” Malloy continued. “The Chambers of Commerce in Fairfield County wanted to hold a debate, and now it sounds like Tom isn’t sure if he wants to do it. At a time when job creation is most important issue in the state, why wouldn’t he want to join me in front of a roomful of business leaders?”

Concluded Malloy, “Here’s the real question: what possible reason could he have for not doing them? I’m running as a Citizens’ Election Program candidate, and Tom is relying on his personal wealth. We both don’t have to raise money, so we have plenty of time to debate. The bottom line is this: the next Governor of Connecticut will be our first new governor in a long time. It’s a big, important choice for the state to make. What better way to help them make that choice than to stand next to one another on a stage and tell people why we think we’re best qualified to be Governor?”

From Tom Foley:

Will it Really Take 19 Debates for Dannel Malloy to Defend His Abysmal Record in Stamford?

The Foley for Governor Campaign was surprised by Dannel Malloy’s press release on debates today. Tom spoke with Dannel ten days ago and suggested their campaign managers sit down to agree on a debate schedule. Dannel agreed and the campaign managers attempted to set a time to discuss the debates. Dannel’s release today was the next thing that the Foley campaign heard from them. This type of behavior is nothing new for the Malloy campaign that has yet to even discuss the idea of limiting campaign spending and negative advertising.

The Foley for Governor Campaign has agreed to four television debates. Justin Clark, Foley for Governor Campaign Manager said, “[w]e know that career politicians like to talk and like an audience, but four televised debates should be plenty of time for Dannel Malloy to explain why Stamford lost 13,000 jobs from 2000-2009, why he raised Stamford’s taxes every year he was in office, why Stamford’s debt rose over 200% to more than $340 million while he was mayor, and why only 37% of Stamford’s public school students perform at grade level.”

While the working families of Connecticut try to make ends meet in a state with rising unemployment and a government that has become almost completely dysfunctional, we hope Dannel Malloy will enter into a meaningful debate about real issues that matter to Connecticut families and voters rather than a phony debate about debates.