Minutes of the 7PM, Wednesday, July 16th 2014 telephonic candidate’s conference with EC members.

GPCT attendees: Candidates: Douglas Lary, Ed Heflin, S. Michael DeRosa, Rolf Maurer, David Bedell and Barbara Barry.        EC members: Rolf Maurer, S. Michael DeRosa, Christopher Reilly and Barbara Barry.      Facilitator and secretary of this meeting: Barbara Barry. Conference duration: 7:10pm to 8:45pm.

Items discussed:

  • Media contacts: DB, SMD and BAB will forward lists of known media contacts to BAB for distribution back to all candidates.  Candidates are urged to provide BAB with any other media contacts which BAB will forward back to all candidates.   

DL:  local CT radios do not interview candidates during campaigns but do seek their ad money.

Southwest CT has had the New York City radio stations: WCBS i.e. 880 and radio 1010, cover CT candidates on occasion especially if they consider the candidate/campaign to be newsworthy or unique.   

Newspapers which have done articles about GPCT candidates are: Norwich Bulletin (which has had GPCT member, G. Scott Deshefy write a column every 2 weeks in rebuttal to a conservative columnist about the same topic), New Britain Herald, Meriden Record Journal and on occasion: Hartford Courant.

Community cable TV stationsmay cover a live debate of candidates if sponsored by the League of Women Voters e.g. 2012 debate for candidates for the 1st Congressional District.  Waterbury Community TV might cover candidates and WTIC might it they consider your candidate is involved in a news event.

Short press releasesare recommended. Give as much information as you can so the reporter has the most information on hand.

Letters to local papersBAB: letters of endorsement in local papers (e.g. Rare Reminder and Wethersfield Life) from local residents in support of candidates.  Send candidate’s short bio, campaign statement with candidate picture to local papers…which typically publish the local candidates just prior to election day.

Ask for newspaper endorsements.  

Seek endorsements from your professional groups or religious organization.

Facebook’s website has a way to designate that a candidate is running for office and the political party affiliation. People will respond back to candidates. Some will state they will vote for the candidate.

Politics 101 websitefocuses only on: President, Congress, Supreme Court, legal documents and regulations and candidates for same.

             VoteSmart website(votesmart.org)Project Vote Smart is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United   States. It covers candidates and elected officials in six basic areas: background information, issue positions, voting records, campaign finances, interest group ratings, and speeches and public statements. This information is distributed via their web site, a toll-free phone number, and print publications. The president of the organization since its founding is Richard Kimball.  Individual candidates can post their bio and candidate statements here.

                   

           Patch.com  are: Brookfield, Canton, Clinton, Darien, Enfield, Fairfield, Greenwich, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Mansfield(Storrs), Middletown, Milford, Montville, Newtown, North Haven, Norwich, Oxford, Ridgefield,  Simsbury, Stamford, Stratford, Southbury, Stonington, Suffield, Trumbull,  Vernon, Wallingford, West Hartford, Weston, Windsor, Woodbury, The Haddam-Killingworth Patch editor: Paul Petrone  at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

            Benefits Corporation. orgBenefits Corporation researches and negotiates with quality companies to produce value-added (social) Benefit programs for Chambers of Commerce and their members. The Benefits Corporation is a professional, service-oriented marketing company offering high quality, discounted products and services, to the business community through affiliations with regional Chambers nationally.  

  • Shared GPCT Campaign issues:  Recommendation: focus on the most important issue(s).  Save the issues which are unique to the candidate’s district for the candidate to address in another forum.

CT public banking: EH is eager to work with other candidates about this.  EH is a member of the national Public Banking Institute for much more information: publicbanking.org ) and the CT Public Banking Institute. Ellen Brown, formerly the head of the national Public Banking Institute, is currently a CA Green Party candidate for CA Treasurer.   EH: you and go to the CT Public Banking website and download their literature for campaign distribution.    Consensus: have at least one news event about this concept and urge all GPCT candidates to join in support of this concept.   SMD: notify the press at their Press Room in the CT Legislature (4th floor) of the event the day before having the news event on the steps of the CT Legislative Building. This way the press will likely be on site.  Consider having multiple shared news events about shared issues. ND Public Banking has been in existence since prior to WWI i.e. through the Great Depression, WWI and various other recessions and still going strong.  25 other states are investigating public banking.  

              Common Core curriculum:  newer GPCT issue but one that is a primary issue in the Jonathan Pelto, a petitioning candidate for CT governor.

              Opposition to the Algonquin Pipeline expansion/increased use in: NJ, NY, CT, MA, RI from PA sources of fracked gas and oil.

  • Suggestion that each candidate have 3-5 top issues which he/she will promote within his/her district. Use these issues in literature, media contacts, and events.  Avoid being a one issue candidate. (We have seen this fail as the media and voters recognize this and do not have trust that the candidate will work for other issues, if elected.) 
  • Promotion of shared issues at fundraisers. These things will showcase a unity of the GPCT candidates’ issues and the support candidates give other candidates.  Typical fundraisers: dinners, buttons, lawn signs, bumper stickers (both adhesive and magnetic, etc. ) at Barker Specialty Co () which is CT unionized company.  Or another company: Donnelly Colt (www.donnellycolt.com)  Donnelly/Colt Progressive Resources is a family-owned and operated mail order business that has been designing and distributing progressive materials promoting peace . 202 Station Rd, Hampton, CT 06247 · (860) 455-9621
  • CT SOTS (Secretary of the State) campaign finance regulations and deadlines that need to be met. E.g. Petitions need to be signed by the circulating petition holder and handed in to the Town Clerk of the town specified on the petition no later than Wednesday, August 6th 2014.  GPCT co-chairperson needs to notify the CT SOTS office about who are the GPCT authorized valid candidates no later than Wednesday, September 3rd 2014.
  • MISC: a) GPCT and GPCT candidates do not accept donations from corporations.  b) It is up to the individual GPCT candidate if he/she will accept donations from union PACs.  c) Need graphic designer to help candidates achieve a more professionally produced literature or designs that can be use by social media sites.  d) if your town does not allow lawn signs on public property, an alternative is to have the candidate and other supporters or candidates stand at major road intersections while holding signs seeking vote for the candidate.  (See separate email about Nancy Burton’s 2004 lawsuit about no lawn signs on public property.)  
  • Consensus: want to have more meetings early in the campaigns to best prepare for them. Likely to decrease as time goes on.

Next telephonic conference of candidates and the EC members: 7PM, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014.

From:

Barbara Barry, GPCT secretary   860/919-3819  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

GPCT co-chairpersons: Linda Thompson:  860/859-1199  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ,  Rolf Maurer: 203/327-6464  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ,

S. Michael DeRosa   860/919-4042  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.        GPCT Treasurer: Christopher Reilly 860/944-8089    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Cc: GPCT candidates:

Ballot line access for state-wide offices:

Secretary of the State: S. Michael DeRosa, Wethersfield: 860/919-4042, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Attorney General: Stephen Fourier, Hartford: 860/233-3044, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Comptroller: Rolf Maurer, Stamford: 203/327-6464, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

State Treasurer: Rolf Maurer will be our write-in candidate.

US Congressional District I: Jeffery Russell registered in Glastonbury: no phoneThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

US Congressional District II: to be determined. Southeast CT regional nominating conference is Saturday, August 9th 2014. Or contact Ronna Stuller:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

CT State Senate District I: south Hartford/northern Wethersfield: place holder: Barbara Barry,  860/919-3819   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CT State Senate District 27: Stamford and part of Greenwich:  David Michel:  914/843-7545, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CT State Senate District 33: Haddam, East Haddam, Chester, Deep River, Essex, Lyme, Clinton and Westbrook:  Colin Bennett,  860/                   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CT State Senate District 36:  Ed Heflin, Greenwich:  646/625-9565, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CT State Representative District 25:   no candidate

CT State Representative District 51: Thompson, Putnam and part of Killingly: Brian Austin,  860/         , This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CT State Representative District 67:   majority of New Milford. no candidate

CT State Representative District 84:   center of Meriden: Matt Went, 203/237-7755, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CT State Representative District 125: most of New Canaan: David Bedell (see below)

CT State Representative District 135:  Weston, Easton and southern part of Redding. no candidate

CT State Representative District 148:  part of Stamford: Nathan Cloutier, 203/887-2105, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Windham Registrar of Voters (running on the GPCT ballot line and also the Bottom Line party line and petitioning for another political party): Douglas Lary,  860/423-5857   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Weston Registrar of Voters: no candidate

Stamford Judge of Probate:  David Bedell: 203/581-3193 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Stamford Board of Education: Zoe DeVito  (no contact information)

Petitioning candidates:

CT State Representative District 38:  Waterford and southern part of Montville:     Bill Collins, 860/447-3156, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CT State Representative District 94: part of New Haven: David Bedell, 203/ 581-3193       This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CT State Representative District 122: part of Shelton and northern part of Stratford: David Bedell (see above)

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