Retired Superior Court Judge Carmen Lopez in a commentary for CT Latino News, writes “Our Democracy is on life-support; a third party candidate can supply some much needed oxygen!”
Will Rogers once famously said that: “The more you read and observe about this politics thing, you got to admit that each party is worse than the other. The one that’s out always looks the best.”
The established political machinery in Connecticut is gearing up for the November big event: the election of a governor to lead the state for the next four years.The Democratic Party has determined that it is in its best interest to stick with the incumbent.
I have been a lifelong Democrat. My parents left Puerto Rico in the 1950s and made Bridgeport their home. They registered to vote as soon as they arrived. They registered as Democrats and when I reached the legal voting age, the first thing my dad did was make sure that I registered to vote, also as a Democrat.
After all, the Democrats were the party that celebrated the worth of the average citizen and looked out for the common person.
Sadly, the Democratic Party that I once was honored to serve in a variety of positions from delegate to national conventions, deputy counsel to the Democratic State Central Committee and in leadership positions in national, state and local Hispanic Democratic organizations, has morphed into a party which promotes corporate welfare, rather than worker’s welfare.
The Republican Party, on the other hand, isn’t quite sure whether it wants Wall Street or Main Street, diversity or uniformity, or just a chance to be relevant. It seems that it has resigned itself to be Connecticut’s perpetual minority party or, as in Bridgeport, the Democrats’ wholly-owned subsidiary.
Until very recently, those were the cards dealt to the taxpayers and residents of Connecticut, a choice between two not-very-different political parties or, as is often said, a vote for the lesser of two evils.
Enter Jonathan Pelto, a potential independent third party contender for governor.
The mere fact that he is considering forming an exploratory committee to determine if a credible third party independent campaign for governor can be organized, is creating, what we would say in Spanish, “un revolouz.”
Spoiler, extremist, and egomaniacal are some of the favorite terms used by those in possession of political power, to describe a third party candidacy. Every effort is being made to marginalize a third party opponent, from ridicule to character assassination.
It is tragic that our democracy has been so co-opted by an elite group of privileged power brokers that it cannot tolerate third party candidates.
Third parties should not be dismissed and disrespected in this manner.
They should be encouraged. Third parties force the candidates of the two major parties to confront and address issues they would rather not talk about. Third parties ask tough questions, which establishment candidates would rather not answer.
They make the major party candidates nervous, and that is always a good thing.
Issues such as the corporate control of public education, the erosion of local control, politicizing the courts and the justice system, and a disproportionate tax burden on the middle class are only a few of the issues that would be subjected to a comprehensive review and discussion with the presence of a third party candidate.
A third party candidacy in Connecticut, the Land of Steady Habits, will provide an opportunity for hope and a greater participation by many who feel as Will Rogers declared “that each party is worse than the other.”
Our Democracy is on life-support; a third party candidate can supply some much needed oxygen!
Hmmm, Carmen came out in support of Pelto, big surprise. David Moore already came out, so now we just have to hear from the other WFP ‘heavy,’ Maria Pereira.
It is funny Carmen criticizes people for using words like extremist and egomaniacal and tactics from ridicule to character assassination. These are just a few of Pelto’s favorite things. Read any of his essays on Vallas, Finch, Moales or anyone else in his gun sights. Talk about the marginalizing of an opponent by an elite privileged power broker in a dismissive and disrespectful manner. I guess he and his supporters do not like being the target. Of course, he WAS just telling it like it is because no one was paying him, or anything like that, and anyone who is not in TOTAL agreement with him is a Democrat or Republican or union stooge puppets. That is BPT politics.
BOE SPY, you apologize for Vallas, Moales and the Finch team, so who is paying you, the corporate private educational group? And what is the reason again you won’t use your real name?
I did not read where I apologized to anyone. If they deserve an apology it is not from me. I do not use my name because I do not want, or have, too. That is none of your business. I am not paid by C-peg. I pay them.
BOE SPY, if anyone badmouths Vallas, Moales or the Finch team, you are right there challenging them. Somebody paying you, every time someone talks against your guys there you are with all kind of information challenging them, then you go hide because you are scared to use your own name. I guest you would be scared because you don’t want the people who are paying you to find out.
Not true, Ron. If you look back you will see: I did supported Vallas’ work on straightening out the BOE budget and OATS. I believe he made cuts as he saw fit. He wasn’t going to save money by doing nothing. The current BOE privatized the BOE therapists to save money, while they oppose charter schools (or privatizing teachers). Accusing one guy of being pro-privatizing and saying nothing about the other guy is unfair. I opposed the solar project at Seaside and supported the no city workers on the counsel. I do not and did not support Moales as a BOE candidate (obvious conflict of interest) but did see the Daycare fiasco as a billing error on Moales’ side (the letter said so) and paying that bill as an example of fiscal mismanagement on the BOE side. I mean, if a guy mows your neighbor’s lawn and puts the bill in your mailbox in error and you pay it, who is at fault for that? I oppose Moales but not everything he does, just the bad things. He shouldn’t have gotten or taken the daycare contract in the first place. You would think the BOE would have been watching the billing more carefully.
I used those three names as examples because those are the Pelto articles I am familiar with. Those are the Pelto essays I have read. Even if I do not support the subject of the essay but the essay is unfair with ‘trumped-up’ charges, I can’t support the essay. This is the idea. You are on a jury for a case were a guy supposedly stole a car. He did not steal the car but he recently got acquitted for a murder he did commit. Should you put him in jail for not stealing the car to make up for the murder? I could not do that.
Pelto’s essays are not journalism because they lack objectivity. This is bad for both sides of an issue. Using Pelto to support your issue is as valid as using the NRA support your pro-gun stance. Their support makes your issue less credible because of their ‘one-sided’ stance. When Pelto opposes your issue his essays have so many refutable opinions he makes the issue MORE credible. The idea of opposing an issue is to make the issue LESS credible.
BOE SPY, thank you for your reply but you didn’t answer some of the other concerns like, “Somebody paying you, every time someone talks against your guys there you are with all kind of information challenging them, then you go hide because you are scared to use your own name. I guest you would be scared because you don’t want the people who are paying you to find out.”
If you mean do I have a job, then yes. My job is NOT posting on this site. The only person who gets paid when I post is Lennie. More posts = more traffic = more advertising = more money for Lennie. I am shy to post my name because, sometimes, I am critical of the people (the city) who pay me. Much like this site, they have a ‘you are (always) with me or you are against me’ attitude. Even here, when I was against the solar project, I am a genius with the knowledge of Solomon. Now, I am a charter school lackey. These are JUST my opinions. In an attempt to discredit foes, people post a lot of half-truths and innuendo. Pelto is a master of this. The joke is, Pelto wrote essays fervently supporting every issue Maria and Carmen supported. Did anyone have any doubt Carmen would support Pelto? If I offer a different (devil’s advocate) point of view, then good for me. These issues are not as black and white as we are often led to believe. As far as supporting Finch goes, who did you vote for, Ron? I voted for Torres. That alone would put me on the $hit list at work. Of the two of us, who has supported Finch more?
OATS? What, are you licking the soles of JML’s shoes now … please … next thing we know you will be ending your posts with “Time will tell.”
Dave–OATS is important. The only way you know no one is stealing the money is to know where it is going. JML has done a lot of good work in this area even though I do not always agree with him. His OATS acronym was the best way to convey the idea I was trying to get across. Why is that a bad thing?
BOE SPY, it is you who makes false and baseless statements. You stated the current BOE privatized the therapists and that is completely false. The matter was tabled per Fran Rabinowitz’s request. You are well aware Maria Pereira resigned from the WFP and has nothing to do with the WFP, yet you post she is a “WFP heavy.” Carmen Lopez has proven she doesn’t just complain about the problems that plague Bridgeport, she takes action. She is a fierce advocate for those she defends. Carmen Lopez is a home-grown hero, not an outsider from the suburbs who thinks they can tell Bridgeport residents what is best for them.
Why don’t you list three specific items Pelto stated in his blog that were false and inaccurate?
I do not think anyone can or should tell BPT residents what is best for them. Who is she? Their mother? One example: the people want charter schools. At least some do. Yet Carmen continues to advocate defunding them. Or does she know what is best fo’ us po’ plantation folk? Give the voters the platform and performance data and let them decide for themselves.
I have written extensively on my problems with Pelto’s rabble. Some of it you objected to. If you do not remember, you can go back to the original conversations. Some things come to mind: the billing ERROR (per the letter) made by Moales’ daycare. Pelto portrayed this as an intentional fraud. Pelto insisted a number of times the courts would remove Vallas as super and the case was warranted. Both those were wrong. The court dismissed the case. You could say the BPT residents who brought the case wasted a boatload of sorely needed BOE money and the people who wanted Vallas removed failed to follow the proper and free protocols.
None the less, Pelto will be nothing more than a spoiler. Voting for Pelto is, in reality, half a vote for the GOP.
PS SPY, yes I am critical of some things Malloy has done in the education area, but there are other things he has done I agree with particularly in his raising of the minimum wage and mandatory sick leave.
Concerning Mr. Pelto, he is very pro-union and I find your characterization very weird since Mayor Finch whom I know you idolize has very mixed relations with city labor unions.
While I am a big supporter of Carmen Lopez and Maria Pereira, that doesn’t mean I have jumped on the Pelto for Governor bandwagon though his criticisms of Vallas, Finch and Holy Moley have been spot on.
You see, the ONLY Malloy plank I support is education reform. The thing I dislike about Pelto is his ‘black and white’ image of every issue. He also exaggerates to the point of absurdity. Despite what you believe, the only thing I like about Finch is his ability to show how ineffective and out of touch the Democratic Party has become. I would have preferred Torres. I do not like any of the WFP folks. I had high hopes for them but the only change they seem to support in education is changing it back to how it has always been. As far as unions go, no one needs to kill the unions. They are actively committing suicide. The poison pills that will kill unions are high cost, low productivity, corruption and political collusion.
So Pelto is “black and white” and “exaggerates to the point of absurdity.” I think that is the perfect description for your dear friend Megan DeSombre. An outsider raised in Brick NJ who has lived in Bridgeport for one year and writes outrageous, inaccurate, biased and idiotic articles on her blog, which is being funded by ConnCAN. At least Jon Pelto has credibility in CT, unlike your friend Megan.
Unions are causing their own demise due to “high cost, low productivity, corruption and political collusion.” One again, this better describes the so-called “pro-education reformers” who are doing everything in their power to privatize education and promote charter school expansion. High cost would be defined as the $2.6 million Dr. Perry will receive in management fees over the first five years, low productivity would be defined as all Bridgeport magnet schools significantly outperforming state charter schools located in Bridgeport, corruption would be defined as charter school proponents (Steve Mandel, Megan Lowney, Nate Snow …) who worked to remove an elected BOE.
You are right. Megan DeSombre (from what I understand) is the head side of the coin and Pelto is the tail end. I have never had the opportunity to read any of Megan DeSombre’s work. I do not recall Lennie re-posting any of her essays. But at least she lives in BPT. Pelto is ‘an outsider from the suburbs who thinks they can tell Bridgeport residents what is best for them.’ Or, is he the kind of ‘not an outsider from the suburbs who thinks they can tell Bridgeport residents what is best for them’ who is OK because he is funded by CEA? This is the kind of double standard I find irritating.
BOE SPY, in regards to Moales’ so-called billing “error,” it was without a doubt FRAUD. The Connecticut State Department of Education allocated 19 seats to his sister’s daycare, 15 to his mother’s daycare and 56 to the third location on Union Avenue. The additional seats for the new location were supposed to be completely filled by October 2012. The new location wasn’t licensed until August 2013. If a specific child was approved for a daycare slot at his sister’s location but they were absent for whatever reason, Moales claimed they would call the parent on the waiting list for the third location and that child would fill the absent child’s slot for a day or two. Moales then charged the allotted monthly fee of $695.00 for the child who the seat belonged to and would charge another $695.00 for the child who filled that same slot for a day or two. That’s right, $695.00 for one or two days of daycare services while he collected the complete $695.00 for the child the seat was really assigned to. The policy is quite clear, one child per slot. Children sharing slots is not even permissible, never mind double-billing. Moales’ daycares have been billing for Early Childhood Readiness slots for years, but suddenly he makes an “error” for four consecutive months for 27 children per month, all while he is dealing with an $8 million dollar foreclosure. Are we honestly expected to believe it was an honest mistake?
That must be why he is in jail. Oh, what wait! He is not in jail, or under indictment or under investigation. Now I am confused. All these crimes and nothing? You missed your calling. You should have been a cop. You seem to be the only person who can figure this out. If you were a cop you could arrest him.
The letter said ‘ERROR.’ You are quoting facts that are not in evidence.
Judge Carmen, I am in complete agreement with you. Bridgeport is fortunate you live here.
Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.–Groucho Marx
I’ll buy that, the concept. I still have to learn more about Pelto.
The last time we had a third-party governor we got Lowell Weicker. Remember the income tax? Remember Weicker telling Bridgeport basically to go to hell in regards to a casino?
One term was enough to put the nail in the coffin for Connecticut’s most populated city.
Guess what, Bob … CT needed an income tax. Sales taxes are very regressive and Weicker took a very unpopular stance but it got CT’s fiscal state in good shape.
And you think casinos are a good idea … just what Bridgeport would have needed … more organized crime. NICE TRY.
You are correct about casinos. There are many studies that show casinos, in the long run, are worse than doing nothing. There is an economic principle about the velocity of money that shows casinos to be a bad idea. However, the income tax was a terrible idea. It was also supposed to be a short-term thing until the financial problem was solved. The result was we are more in debt now (as a percentage of GNP, income to debt and total debt) than we were when the income tax was enacted. What CT needed then and now was/is fiscal responsibility.
Weicker also gave Bpt millions of dollars to pay its bills.
He certainly did … he helped out Bridgeport a lot and was the one responsible for the new HCC campus, NOT Rowland who took credit for it.
Every governor has given BPT millions to pay the bills. Malloy just gave the BOE $2.3 mil. What Governor gave BPT less than $2 mil (millions would be any number = or > 2)? You would have to go back 50-60 years when a mil was a lot of money.
BOE SPY, Lowell Weicker took care of Bridgeport better than any other governor. Your attacks on certain people like Mr. Pelto are not fair at all because you won’t give your real name. If you can’t be a man or woman and put your name next to the bad things you talking against then your comments should not be allowed, this is the only fair way to criticize someone. Your opinion is one thing but not to criticize is another unless you tell all of us who you are and stand by it.
You want us to believe you post in your spare time ALL of this information from just off the top of your head and no one is feeding you all of that information and you are not being paid by someone for your comments?
I am in complete agreement with Judge Carmen and yes, Bridgeport is fortunate she lives here.
OK Ron. My mane is Richard Hurtz. I work at 211 State Street, Bridgeport CT. Stop in and ask ‘Who’s Dick Hurtz?’ Someone will answer up.
Richard Hurtz (dick hurts), are you being paid by someone for your comments?
No.
BOE SPY, Jon Pelto is CT homegrown. He was an elected legislator for 10 years and the political director for the state Democratic party. When has he told Bridgeport residents what they should or shouldn’t do? He just writes stories about elected officials and focuses mainly on education policy. Why don’t you list all Megan DeSombre’s CT/Bridgeport accomplishments?
Moales is in a lot of trouble. Even Finch who was close to him has distanced himself. Wouldn’t surprise me if his parishioners are left.
That must have been before he quit.
www .nytimes.com/1993/09/13/nyregion/at-32-he-bows-out-a-connecticut-whiz-quits-politics.html
Finch has the same qualifications you listed about Pelto. What is your point? Megan accomplished getting you guys all tied in knots. That is not bad for a kid with a laptop and an opinion.
I have said before. I am not a fan of Moales. I just do not believe he committed fraud. I think the entire thing is just the BOE trying to lead people away from the idea they have no idea what they are paying for.
The opinion and the laptop you talk about is supplied to Megan by ConnCAN or do you think she does this full time as a volunteer out of the goodness of her heart … which would be kind of weird since she has no ties to Bridgeport.
BOE SPY, are you honestly comparing Mayor Finch’s resume to Jon Pelto’s? When was Mayor Finch a STATE political director for any party? What was he doing at 25? Certainly nothing close to what Pelto had accomplished. If Pelto chose to resign, he left on his own terms. Megan DeSombre is an errand-runner who hasn’t made a dent in Bridgeport politics. In fact, on July 18, 2014, her blog will have been up and running for a full year, and as of today she has 172 likes. That doesn’t even equate to one per day. In fact, she has received only two likes in the month of May. The vast majority view her blog for entertainment value, not credible journalism. Moales is accused of fraud and did everything in his power to keep it from the remaining eight BBOE members. If it was an honest error, why did he conceal the audit and its findings? Why did he conceal he had to repay $75,000? You know why.
OK, for someone who has not made a dent you seem to have some obsession with her. That is understandable. She takes a cuter picture than Pelto and you seem to have a ‘slash and burn’ mentality toward those who do not agree with your viewpoint. I am not like that. I support XYZ and this is why … You point out flaws in my belief and I point out flaws in yours. No view is always 100% right or wrong. Your side also seems to have the belief that ‘things’ are bad when they do it but OK when we do. We each focus on the parts we believe will make the greatest difference. If you ‘win’ then I hope you were correct and I will work to make it work or else we all lose. Or we try again in 4, 3 or 2 years. In contrast, when Vallas was superintendent most of the opposition acted as roadblocks to slow progress. Fran, although she is just an interim super, has the full support of the board (they would not hire someone they do not support and can tell what to do) and has not managed to do much of anything. They make choices, table them, unmake them and start over.
Pelto and this blog have zero ‘likes.’ To ‘like’ you have to be able to ‘like’ then sign up, log in, etc.’A fairer comparison would be to track internet ‘hits’ or the number of people who view the blog and how long they stay. I suppose that is possible but I would not know how to do it. Are you implying Pelto is ‘credible journalism?’ I could not guess why Moales does what he does. He may be heavy but he surely is not my brother. The letter said error. End of story.
When will people just realize pretty much everything I have heard this lady put her mouth or hands in becomes muck. She riles up people to be rude and obnoxious, creating unfavorable atmospheres which do not do their causes any justice and are heard only because they have the right to be heard but I could see they are being tuned out because of the manner in which they are presenting their thoughts, angry, arrogantly and with unsubstantiated facts many times inaccurate. The public may have some valid points at times, but by the time this woman finishes with them, they end up on another type of mentality that circumvents the initial purpose and probably other ways of addressing the issues at hand that may be more productive. Yet her public-speaking abilities are far from good or genuine and when things get tough, she tends to be repetitive and inconsistent with what she presents … again, just muck … I’ve yet to see a good display of a good, clear, assertive, yet respectful, not insulting to anyone, speech from her. These are the same reasons the respect and appreciation she may earn is tarnished so badly. Only those whom she can manipulate and rile up will be used by her, but anyone who has their own mind and would like to do something their way instead of hers, then they become the enemy also and they realize then. It takes a little time but most realize it sooner or later. It’s not so clear in the beginning.