Column: Democrats Beaten But Unbowed

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By John Blankley
Sentinel Columnist

John Blankley
John Blankley

No two ways about it, we Democrats were served some humble pie on November 3rd. We fought the good fight, we had a clear message about improving our already fine town, we organized, we strategized, we put out our lawn signs, we knocked on doors, made phone calls, pestered innocent folks at the town dump and on their way to work at the railway stations and still we failed to get out the vote. In the end only 33% of registered voters turned out and our share of that was only 35% in the combined competitive races.

Yet again we face the fact that only when Republicans fumble the ball do we stand a chance of winning the First Selectman’s office, as we did in 2001 when Dick Bergstresser took advantage of Republican disarray on the famous matter of access to the town beaches. Greenwich is a Republican town and we’re the minority and we must confront that reality. But wait; didn’t President Obama carry Greenwich in 2008 and Congressman Himes in 2012? Yes they did. However those were presidential election years, the turnout was much higher, over 60%, and enough Republican and unaffiliated voters voted for the candidates and not the party. But when it is purely a local election we face long odds.

So where does this leave us? It is our absolute duty to put up a candidate and offer voters another choice, and this year it was our own party chair, Frank Farricker, running for the second time against incumbent Peter Tesei, who valiantly stepped up to the plate. Frank ran an issues-focused, dignified campaign using lots of innovative ideas. But still he lost – the same happened to Lin Lavery in 2009, to me in 2011 and to Beth Krumeich in 2013.

In a peculiarity of our system the First Selectman candidate is also in a race with his running mate for Selectman and Frank lost, as did each of the previous four First Selectman Democratic candidates, against the rightly popular Drew Marzullo. But these are the rules we play by and only a change to the town charter will get us out of our predicament. As for tax collector Howard Richman was running to eliminate the elected tax collector position and save the town over $100,000. Many Republicans support this idea but we couldn’t reach enough voters to turn the tide.

On the Board of Education both parties put up three candidates for the two seats allocated to them. We could have opted to nominate only two candidates each but bowing to some pressure Democrats and Republicans offered the voters a choice. Incumbent Republican Peter von Braun was voted off but both he and the losing Democrat, Anthony Lopez, have vowed to return next time. Democracy in action!

Are local election losses cause for despondency? Not at all! Although in the minority we make our voices heard. We have no difficulty highlighting issues and putting projects on the agenda. No-one can claim full responsibility for all the good things achieved in recent years but give some credit to Democrats for major initiatives such as MISA and the Byram Pool. And Democrats will have a significant voice in the big local issues in the next two-year term: school start times, moving the New Lebanon school project forward, soil remediation and fire department coverage for the North West part of town. I and my colleagues on the BET will have to wrestle with our financing needs and Democrats will again argue that there is not actually a Democratic or Republican way of financing major capital projects – merely the sensible way!

On a note of wider interest, local Republicans across the state tried, largely unsuccessfully, to capitalize on our Governor’s low popularity ratings and to run against Hartford. I’ll return to the topic of state finances in the future but for now I would echo Frank Farricker who said that such problems as we have in Greenwich are our responsibility. We own our mistakes; don’t go blaming Hartford.  As for the state’s budget issues, we continue to be plagued by legacies of debt and pension obligations. None of this however justifies the overwrought rhetoric of local Republicans, here or elsewhere in the state.

Let me finish on a personal note: as a naturalized US citizen I prize the right to vote and I relish participation in the political process. The decks are cleared now for next year’s state and national contests. I can’t wait!

John Blankley came to America with his young family 32 years ago and has lived in Greenwich ever since. A former corporate executive and now small business owner and entrepreneur he has served on the RTM and currently sits on the BET. He ran for First Selectman in 2011 and the State Assembly in 2012.

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