Newsletter Volume 2 • Number 41
Our March 27 meeting’s gonna be a lollapalooza!
Come and throw your hat in the ring to be a convention delegate
Perhaps influencing democracy wasn’t on your bucket list, but if you’re reading this newsletter and you’re a Dem, now you can partake. The Greenwich Town Democratic Committee (GDTC) will elect up to 120 local Democrats on March 27th to fill seats for upcoming conventions, depending on how many of you vie for each spot.
Conventions are where Democrats select their nominees for office. While you’re probably familiar with the one where delegates from 50 states converge, wave placards, and choose a presidential candidate, this year there are also conventions for state and federal district races. What a great way to participate in the small “d” democratic process!
These are the four conventions we’re sending delegates to, and you can nominate yourself for more than one:
- Traditional hoopla. The state convention in Hartford (May 11th) is where we’ll send 37 Greenwich Democrats to help nominate a candidate for the U.S. Senate. (Incumbent Chris Murphy is the only announced Democratic candidate.) Delegates in Hartford will also choose Presidential Electors, the people who would attend the Electoral College and ceremonially vote-in the next president. Yes, that’s the vote that the Trump/MAGA insurrectionists tried to overturn in 2021.
- Maybe more like Cheers? The 4th Congressional District convention (May 13th, probably in Bridgeport) is to nominate our candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. Incumbent Jim Himes is running for re-election, and has no Democratic challengers to date. 37 Greenwich Democrats will attend as our delegates, alongside a number of others from Fairfield and New Haven counties. The last convention filled a Norwalk High School auditorium two years ago, and was followed by an invitation to gather at a nearby sports bar for food and drinks.
- Most consequential. The 36th State Senate District convention (May 14th, probably in Greenwich). Two local Democrats are vying to flip the seat now held by incumbent Ryan Fazio, a Republican, representing Greenwich, New Canaan and parts of Stamford. Trevor Crow, who narrowly lost to Fazio in 2022, is a mother, author, practicing therapist, and certified executive coach. Nick Simmons is a former high school principal, Biden administration appointee, and deputy chief of staff to Gov. Ned Lamont. Here’s where the Greenwich Town Committee’s delegate selection on March 27 really matters: The 37 Democrats we send to this convention may be “pledged” to one candidate or the other, so there’s likely to be a competition that evening between delegate slates.
- Most exclusive. The 149th State House District convention (in Greenwich, May 15th). The 149th includes Glenville, north central Greenwich, and our backcountry, so the nine Greenwich Democratic delegates we send must reside in the district. Others will come from northwest Stamford. Democrat Rachel Khanna currently represents the 149th.
As a registered Democrat in Greenwich, you can nominate yourself to be a delegate for any conventions you qualify for. It’s a great way to meet fellow Dems and get a taste of the nuts and bolts that keep our democracy running. Please email our party chair, Joe Angland, at jangland@optonline.net in advance. (You can nominate yourself at our meeting on March 27, but you won’t be included on a written ballot.)
Although any Democrat can run to be a delegate, only elected members of the GDTC will be able to vote for delegates. Important note: That meeting will take place in the Eastern Middle School auditorium at 7:30 p.m.
GDTC members will also elect a new party chair, vice chair, and secretary.
Greenwich schools elicit envy despite our aging buildings
Sometimes it’s hard to see what is right in front of you. Recently our town has been engaged in fraught, and sometimes bitter, discussions about how to fund our schools, a conversation that focuses on what our schools lack. So it was a good reminder last week to see Greenwich Public Schools listed among the top most envied school districts in the country.
Yes, some of our buildings desperately need upgrades, but our students are among the highest performing in the country, and offer opportunities to excel academically, with over 20 AP courses; athletically, with recent state championships in multiple sports; and artistically. This year’s senior class includes a national chess champion, two Regeneron Science prize winners and more.
Let’s not jeopardize our reputation by failing to give students the facilities and financial support our schools need.
State of the Union: when guests speak louder than words
If you could bring anyone as a guest to the State of the Union annual address who would it be?
The president, senators and representatives may invite guests, and who they choose is often an indicator of their priorities.
As a statement of her support for reproductive rights, First Lady Jill Biden invited Kate Cox, a Texas mother of two who was denied an emergency abortion by the state’s Supreme Court even though her health was in danger and her fetus had a fatal condition.
Support for reproductive freedom was also high on the mind of our Congressman Jim Himes, who invited Dr. Vrunda Desai of Shelton, CT. Dr. Desai is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist, and professor in obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at Yale University, as well as a women’s health advocate. “Dr. Desai and her colleagues see every day the horrendous consequences of the nationwide Republican effort to eliminate women’s reproductive freedom,” said Himes.
Senator Dick Blumenthal’s guest underscored his support for the Kids Online Safety Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation to provide young people and parents with the tools, safeguards, and transparency they need to protect against online harm. Shayan Raghoo, a New Britain High School junior, attended as Blumenthal’s guest and talked up the most important issue with legislators.
Calling aspiring justices of the peace
In Connecticut, justices of the peace once held substantial authority over minor courts. Now you may know them mostly as people who perform civil marriages. But vestiges of the old system remain in how they attain their positions. In each town, political parties elect them from their ranks, and the town clerk can appoint unaffiliated or minor party justices. We now have two vacancies among the Democratic Party justices.
If you’d like to serve, your term would last only until January 4, 2025 because a new election must be held later this year, (and you could run for re-election). Oh, and as a justice you can marry people from any political party, of course!
If you wish to run for the short-term position, nominate yourself by emailing our party chair Joe Angland at jangland@optonline.net by Monday, March 18.
For your calendar
| Meetings can be watched on Greenwich Community Television Channels 24 (Verizon), 79 (Optimum), GCTV on YouTube, or in person at the Town Hall Meeting Room. |
March 18
Old Greenwich and Riverside. Traffic and pedestrian safety open house with DPW. March 18, 6:00-8:00 pm. Town Hall Meeting Room.
March 20
Maya van Rossum will discuss the Connecticut Environmental Rights Amendment that is before the state assembly, a constitutional mandate recognizing a healthy environment as a generational legal right of all citizens. Round Hill Community Church, March 20, 12:30 p.m.
| Volume 2, Number 41 • March 14, 2024 |
| Paid for by the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee. |
| Greenwich Democratic Town Committee P.O. Box 126 Greenwich, CT 06836 |