Public Campaign Financing Reform - Reform

Here is the Progressive Soup interview with Mike DeRosa and Richard Duffee - two Connecticut Green Party members - about their successful suit re: Connecticut's Public Finance Law. The law was ruled not equitable to minor party candidates.

As an example, a minor party candidate for Governor would have to gain 225,000 signatures to achieve full public financing for the 2010 Governor's race. That is one fifth of the total number of votes cast in the Governor's race in 2006. With the possibility that Democratic and Republican party town clerks would determine some signatures invalid, the number of needed signatures might be even higher.

A note about the lawsuit - former Governor Lowell Weicker, who won as a minor party candidate (it was named "A Connecticut Party") testified at the trial that under the current law he would have had no chance of successfully competing for the office.

Here is the interview :

http://hatcityblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/local-access-video-progresive-soup.html

Progressive Soup interview with 2009 Danbury Democratic Mayoral candidate

Before proceeding further, it should be noted that the current Mayor of Danbury Connecticut, Mark Boughton, only agreed to one single debate with Democratic Party challenger Gary Goncalves. That debate was sponsored by the Danbury Chamber of Commerce - at a $45. per attendee luncheon event at a local restaurant. The event was covered by the local newspaper - The Danbury News-Times - which has a very solid relationship with the incumbent and cherry-picked moments favorable to the incumbent in reporting the event.

No mention was made of the incumbent's refusal to engage in any debates which would be open to the public for no charge. This stands in stark contrast to the current Mayor's ability to have five opportunities to debate the previous Mayor.

Additionally, the current Mayor declined to be interviewed on Progressive Soup - although he did appear on another public access show hosted by someone who shares Mayor Boughton's vision of the I.C.E. program recently implemented in Danbury.

As you might expect - he faced a barrage of softball questions on that show.

Here is Progressive Soup's interview with Mayoral challenger Gary Goncalves :

http://hatcityblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/local-access-video-progressive-soup.html

Management / Labor Relations in Danbury Connecticut

Here is the Progressive Soup interview with a maintenance worker at the former Union Carbide property in Danbury and his SEIU union representative.

Before the property was purchased, SEIU and employee representatives traveled many times to the anticipated new owner's headquarters on Long Island to discuss how the transfer of ownership might affect the employees. They state that they were unable to communicate with the new owner - in person, via letter or via e-mail correspondence.

After the property was purchased, every union member was fired without notice and replaced with a non-union replacement. It is well noted that the employees who were fired earned an average $11.00 per hour ( many working there for 20 years ) plus benefits ( very average by American standards - health insurance, paid sick leave, holidays and vacation time earned ). All of the employees are American citizens - some of them first generation Americans.

Here is the interview :

http://hatcityblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/local-access-video-progressive-soup.html

Minority Party Politics in Connecticut - of a most serious nature.

Here is a Progressive Soup interview with Ernie Nepomuceno - the Brookfield First candidate for First Selectman in Brookfield.

The candidate from the Brookfield First party was successful in winning the election two years ago - due partly to the Brookfield Democratic Party not running a candidate for the seat. The Brookfield First party generally holds the belief that Brookfield suffers from a Democratic and Republican duopoly - two major parties different in name only.

http://hatcityblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/local-access-video-progressive-soup_18.html