LOCAL ACCESS VIDEO: Spotlight On 05.18.10 broadcast

Friday, May 21, 2010
Time: 1:03 PM


Were their voices really heard?

Thursday, May 20, 2010
Time: 5:40 PM




Did their comments matter?


I hear ya, I hear ya! You're pissed off and I get it.

Yesterday's vote by the Board of Education to accelerate the closing of Mill Ridge Intermediate School has caused quite a bit of outrage in the community...and quite a spike in the my blog traffic.

I'm working on several stories regarding my views on what I witnessed attending the board of education's budget process. In following City Hall over the years, I must admit that I'm at a loss of words over everything I've seen. From the tone-deafness of the City Council, to the way the board of education's "debate" on the budget, I seriously wonder if elected officials were really listening to the concerns of the community...but that's for a later post.

I'd like to thank the countless teachers, parents, and students who thanked me for following the budget process and keeping them informed on what's happening. Frankly, watching the traffic on this site almost reaching up to 800-1000 visits (that's VISITS not hits) in a day was rather amazing as well as the number of people who viewed the video stream last night.

..and don't worry, I'll do what I can in terms of following more BOE meetings in the future.

I'm terribly sorry for the delay in posting video from the meetings but everything will be online soon.

One on one with 24th district state senate candidate Paul Rotello

Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Time: 11:21 PM

On Wednesday, Danbury City Councilman Paul Rotello announced that he's throwing his hat into the race for the state's 24th district senate seat.
Via Rotello's press release:
It’s been a real honor to represent my neighbors in Danbury over the last decade, and I hope to continue doing so in Hartford for all the residents of the 24th,” the four term councilman said, adding, “Many of the larger issues facing the four towns, from ill advised court rulings preventing local zoning control, to management of water resources, continuing job losses, sky-high electrical rates and the ongoing uncertainties surrounding Candlewood lake, need to be addressed at the state level if they are ever to be resolved. I intend to focus on them immediately and begin bringing the residents of Northern Fairfield county relief.

Earlier this week, I had an opportunity to interview Rotello and talk to him about his desire to give current state senator Mike McLachlan his pink slip.



Rotello isn't the only Democrat that expressed interest in representing the state's 24th senatorial district as Bethel Former First Selectwoman Alice Hutchinson formed an exploratory committee some time ago.

If 2008 is any indication of things to come, then expect these two Democrats to face each other in an August primary.

This is not good...


Time: 8:55 PM



We're screwed.
A startling new image released by NASA today shows a massive column of oil extending out Southeast towards the open ocean.

This column has not been visible in any satellite photos taken so far and will no doubt change the estimated extent of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.


(click here for a larger view of the disaster).

UPDATE: Okay, we're fucked.
A chocolate-brown blanket of oil about as thick as latex paint has invaded reedy freshwater wetlands at Louisiana's southeastern tip, prompting Gov. Bobby Jindal to step up calls Wednesday for building emergency sand barriers.

[...]

Oil from the Deepwater Horizon offshore rig disaster had been lapping at the coast before. But this was not the light rainbow sheen or the scattered tar balls seen in previous days.

Jindal, sitting at the edge of an airboat, swept a handheld fishing net through the mess and held it up. It was coated with brown sludge, which had stained the lower shafts of the leafy green reeds sticking up to eight feet out of the water.

"This has laid down a blanket in the marsh that will destroy every living thing there," Nungesser said.

People better start waking up to what's REALLY happening in the Gulf...and BOYCOTT BP.

HatCityBLOG LIVE VIDEO STREAM: Board of Education school budget vote


Time: 6:26 PM

Tonight, the Board of Education will vote on the 2010-11 school budget. Click here to view a copy of the revised budget proposal.

The live video stream of the meeting will start at 7:00 PM.

UPDATE: The live stream is over and the board of education approving the budget proposal by a vote of 9-1. I'll have the recorded video of the meeting posted later.


Back to full speed


Time: 12:56 PM

Sorry for the lack of posts...lets just say that I have a new appreciation for Shakespeare (those in the know understand what I'm talking about).

Here's some reading material.
  • Tonight, the Board of Education plan to vote on the school budget for the upcoming year. I'll be live streaming the meeting TONIGHT starting at 7 PM.

  • Speaking of the school budget and the Board of Education, now that my schedule is freed up, I have time to finish a write-up I was working on regarding the News-Times reporter Eileen Fitzgerald's sloppy reporting skills.

  • Another Democrat has thrown his hat into the 24th State Senate race...details to come

  • Case against Danbury landlord Joe DaSilva continued to June

  • Amanda Bloom has been on a ROLL with her reporting over at The Mercurial. If you haven't already, BOOKMARK THE SITE!

  • Oh, I can't WAIT for the end of June! Brian Lockhart has the details on the albatross that Mike Fedele placed around his neck in picking the state's anti-immigration mayor as his running mate.
    Lt. Governor Michael Fedele of Stamford, who is pursuing the Republican Party’s nomination for Governor, today officially announced his choice of Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton as a running mate. Boughton had also been looking to succeed the retiring Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell before abandoning his campaign to be part of Fedele’s ticket.

    Boughton has proven to be a candidate with legs both in Danbury and in the current gubernatorial contest, but he is also a potentially controversial choice for the general election.

    Boughton generated headlines in 2005 with a proposal to deputize state police as federal immigration agents – an idea that was shot down by the state’s Public Safety Commissioner.

    But, more importantly, even as he promises to be “Mike’s full partner in managing the state,” Boughton and his administration continue to be embroiled in a federal civil lawsuit filed in 2007 by Yale Law School professors and students on behalf of eight day laborers arrested in Danbury.

    In fact the Danbury mayor, according to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, the New York law firm working with Yale on the case, is scheduled to be deposed at the end of June.

    [...]

    Which brings me back to Fedele’s decision to choose Boughton. Part of Fedele’s allure as a candidate, both when he was tapped as Rell’s running mate in 2006 and during his current bid to succeed Rell, is his story – immigrant-turned-successful businessman/politician.

    As the very first sentence of Fedele’s website reads, “Republican Mike Fedele has lived in Stamford since coming to Connecticut from Minturno, Italy with his parents and siblings when he was three years old.”

    Fedele also mentions his Italian roots at the start of this campaign ad.

    So when I learned Fedele had chosen Boughton, my first thought was not: “Wow, shrewd move heading into the GOP convention.” It was: “Huh. The proud immigrant who often talks about realizing the American dream is partnering with the mayor under fire for allegedly harassing illegal immigrants in his city.”

    Whatever your opinion of how the state and federal government should deal with illegal immigrants, by tapping Boughton, Fedele has injected the issue into the Connecticut gubernatorial race. Not only is his running mate dealing with a lawsuit related to his current job, but it’s about a politically volatile topic.

    Earlier today I e-mailed Fedele’s campaign a copy of the aforementioned lawsuit against Boughton. I asked if Fedele has “any concerns about the issues raised” and if his partnering with Boughton should be viewed as an endorsement of Danbury’s policies toward illegal immigrants?

    Fedele responded: “I am a proud immigrant to America and a proud citizen and I believe legal immigration is one of the core underpinnings of America as a place of opportunity. However, I also believe that existing laws should be followed now, just as they were to be followed when my parents and I came to this country.”

    Not, I’m certain, the end.

    If the number of inquires I've received regarding information on the city's last honest man are an indication of things to come, then Lockhart's "not I'm certain the end" remark is a gross understatement.

  • ...oh, and don't worry Joel, I haven't forgotten about you and your laundry list of bullshit.

Happy to have free time to write again!

Foley announces Lt. Gov running mate...and it's Boughton

Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Time: 3:29 PM

Kevin Rennie explains why Tom Foley's acceptance of ">Danbury's last honest man as Lt. Gov now is a smart political move that could hurt Mike Fedele at the convention.
Republican gubernatorial hopeful Tom Foley will not name a running mate. The former ambassador to Ireland will go into the Republican convention on his own and accept the choice of Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton to run with him after the party’s summer primary. The move will deny the Fedele/Boughton campaign $375,000 in campaign cash that would have gone to Boughton in an August primary contest for the nomination.

The move may also keep Boughton supporters from rallying to Lieutenant Governor Michael Fedele in his race against Foley. With either candidate, they get Boughton on the ticket, which may be enough for them.

BREAKING NEWS: BOUGHTON TO DROP OUT OF RACE

Monday, May 17, 2010
Time: 12:45 PM

(post bumped to top with video coverage from today's announcement)

Boughton_Out

Seems like Danbury's last honest man has decided to call it quits. Kevin Rennie has the details:
Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton is expected to drop his campaign for governor on Monday to become Lieutenant Governor Michael Fedele’s running mate. With balloting for the Republican nomination for governor to take place on Saturday, May 22nd, the flagging Fedele campaign needs a boost to remain competitive with former Ambassador Tom Foley, the frontrunner in the race. Boughton could provide it.

The selection of Boughton, who has attracted the enthusiastic support of at least 15% of the delegates to the convention, ought to help Fedele avoid a humiliating result at the convention–if Boughton’s delegates move with him. Danbury has 28 delegates. There are 1462 delegates to the convention, which will take place in Hartford at the Connecticut Convention Center.

Boughton's move shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who understands the extreme obstacles candidates face in qualifying for the state's public finance program (hint: Dan Malloy is the only candidate that's raised the 250,000 dollars in contributions of 100 dollars or less needed to qualify for the program...and he's been campaigning for governor for well over a year).

Taking into consideration the amount of time it took Malloy to qualify for public financing, Boughton's late entrance into the race, as well as his less than impressive first quarter campaign finance report, it's no surprise that Mark decided to call it quits. Whether Boughton's delegates will decide to shift to Fedele's camp at this week's convention remains to be seen...

UPDATE: Here's WTNH's report on the Fedele/Boughton press conference


"Don't drunk dial FreedomWorks"


Time: 10:40 AM

Although he was fired from Geico for a comments he made about FreedomWorks, D.C. Douglas hasn't stopped his criticism of the financial backers of the teabagger movement...


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INDEPENDENT PARTY OF DANBNRY
DATABASE COMING SOON


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CITY OF DANBURY VIDEO ARCHIVE (Dec 2012-present)

The Mercurial (RIP)
Danbury News Times
Danbury Patch
Danbury Hamlet Hub
Danbury Daily Voice
Tribuna Newspaper
CT News Junkie
CT Capitol Report

10.03.18 (PDF):
"Approval of Danbury Prospect Charter School"

10.30.20 (HatCityBLOG VID): Charter School discussion during 2020 interview with Julie Kushner

2018 (RADIO): WLAD
"State Board of Ed signs off on Danbury charter school proposal"

08.20 (VID): CT-LEAD
"Stand up for Education Justice" Rally

08.20.20 (OP-ED): KUSHNER: "Charter schools are not ‘magic bullet’ to improving Danbury schools"

09.13.20 (OP-ED): CHAPMAN
Candidate for state Senate supports charter school for Danbury

01.15.21 (VID): CT-LEAD
Danbury Prospect Charter School press conference

03.19.21 (OP-ED): CT MIRROR
"Danbury leaders do not want a charter school"

04.01.21 (OP-ED): CT-LEAD:
"Why did Sen. Kushner vote against us?"

05.06.21 (VID): Danbury rally to fully fund public schools

10.07.21 (VID): Danbury City-Wide PTO "Meet the Candidates" education forum

10.07.21 NEWSTIMES
Danbury candidates quarrel over charter school, education funding

01.10.22 NEWSTIMES
"New operator named for Danbury charter school: ‘I’m a huge advocate for parent choice’"

01.10.22 NEWSTIMES
"Some Danbury Democrats ‘open minded’ about charter school after new, CT operator named"

01.21.22 (OP-ED): CT MIRROR
"Lessons from Danbury: Ending the dual process for charter school approval"

02.09.22 NEWSTIMES
"Proposed Danbury charter school won’t open in 2022, governor leaves funding out of budget"

02.18.22 NEWSTIMES:
Danbury residents plead for charter school funds in 9-hour state budget hearing: ‘Just exhausted’

03.05.22 (LTE):
Time has come for Danbury charter school

03.12.22 (OP-ED): TAYLOR
"Why I am excited about the Danbury Charter School"

03.16.22 (LTE):
"Why a Danbury Charter School?"

04.02.22 CT EXAMINER:
"Crowding and a Lack of Options for Danbury Students, But No Agreement on Solutions"

04.04.22 (OP-ED): DCS
"Danbury Charter School plans debut"

04.07.22 (PODCAST): (CEA)
"SENATOR KUSHNER DISCUSSES POINTS OF OPTIMISM FOR DANBURY PUBLIC SCHOOLS"

04.18.22 (VID): CT-LEAD
Protest press conference

04.25.22 (RADIO): WSHU
Latino group call on Connecticut lawmakers to open a Danbury charter school

06.03.22 (OP-ED): KUSHNER:
"Career Academy ‘a great deal for Danbury"

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On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.

The amended complaint states that plaintiffs sought to remedy the continued discriminatory and unauthorized enforcement of federal immigration laws against the Latino residents of the City of Danbury by Danbury's mayor and its police department.

Plaintiffs allege that the arrests violated their Fourth Amendment rights and the Connecticut Constitution because defendants conducted the arrests without valid warrants, in the absence of exigent circumstances, and without probable cause to believe that plaintiffs were engaged in unlawful activity. In addition, plaintiffs allege that defendants improperly stopped, detained, investigated, searched and arrested plaintiffs. Plaintiffs also allege that defendants violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights when they intentionally targeted plaintiffs, and arrested and detained them on the basis of their race, ethnicity and perceived national origin. Plaintiffs raise First Amendment, Due Process and tort claims.

Plaintiffs request declaratory relief, damages and attorneys fees.

CLICK HERE TO READ/DOWNLOAD MAYOR BOUGHTON'S DEPOSITION

CLICK HERE TO READ/DOWNLOAD MIKE McLACHLAN (then MAYOR CHIEF OF STAFF) DEPOSITION

Danbury Area Coalition for the Rights of Immigrants v.
U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security
3:06-cv-01992-RNC ( D. Conn. )

(02.25.08) Court docket

(10.24.07) Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant's Emergency Motion for Protective Order

(09.26.07) Press Release

(12.14.06) Complaint


Barrera v. Boughton, No. 07-01436
(D. Conn. filed Sept. 26, 2007)

(02.25.08) Court Docket

Amended complaint

Defendants' Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Defendants' Motion to Dismiss State Law Claims

Plaintiffs' Opposition to Motion to Dismiss

Order on Motion to Dismiss

Defendants' Answer to Amended Complaint

NEW HAVEN REGISTER: Immigrant's 2006 arrest was flawed Danbury mayor testifies

(10.05.07 (VIDEO) Boughton mislead the public about Danbury's involvement in raid

(09.18.07) Yale Law Students expose Danbury involvement in raid

(12.14.06) VIDEO: Interview with Yale Law Students at FOI presser

(12.14.06) VIDEO: Danbury 11 FOI complaint media roundup

City Clerk Jean Natale standing next to skinhead sparks outrage

(10.03.06) VIDEO: Danbury 11 rally

(09.29.06) VIDEO: Danbury 11 case deepens

Word of raid spread across the country

(09/29/06) VIDEO: Danbury 11 protest news conference

(09/29/06) Immigrant newspaper "El Canillita" gives best account of ICE day labor raid at Kennedy Park


trans_button Santos Family Story
VIDEO: Tereza Pereira's ordeal with ICE agents

VIDEO: Danbury Peace Coalition Immigration Forum (April 2006)
featuring Mayor Boughton and Immigration attorney Philip Berns

VIDEO: 2007 Stop the Raids immigration forum at WCSU

2007: Community protest anti-immigration forum

A tribute to Hispanic Center Director and immigrant activist Maria Cinta Lowe

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2023 MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

Results:
11.15.23 Recanvass return
(Head Moderator Return Format)

11.07.23: Election night returns
(Head Moderator Return Format)

11.07.23: Initial returns


ESPOSITO FINANCE REPORTS:
Oct 10 2022
Jan 10 2023
Apr 10 2023
Jul 10 2023
Oct 10 2023

ALVES FINANCE REPORTS:
Apr 10 2023
Jul 10 2023
Oct 10 2023

CAMPAIGN SLATE DATABASE
Dem/GOP slate/ballot position

VIDEO: DRTC convention
VIDEO: DDTC conveniton


2021 (ALVES/ESPOSITO)

TOWN COMMITTEES
(VID) DDTC nomination convention
(PDF) DDTC campaign slate flyer

(VID) DRTC nomination convention
(PDF) DRTC campaign slate flyer

FORUMS/DEBATES
(VID) 2021 Danbury City-Wide PTO educational forum

CAMPAIGN FINANCE
First quarter
Alves Apr 10th SEEC filing

Second quarter
Alves Jul 10th SEEC filing
Esposito Jul 10th SEEC filing

Third quarter
Alves Oct 12th SEEC report
Esposito Oct 12th SEEC report

CAMPAIGN MAILERS
Alves "Jan 6th" attack mailer 10.21.21
Esposito "you can't trust Alves" attack mailer 10.20.21
Alves mailer 10.20.21
Alves mailer 09.30.21
Esposito mailer 09.28.21
Alves mailer 09.27.21
Esposito mailer 09.27.21


PAST CAMPAIGN COVERAGE

2005 (BOUGHTON/ESPOSITO)
Danbury 2005 election results
Newstimes Dean Esposito profile (10.25.05)

2007 (BOUGHTON/ABRANTES)
Danbury 2007 election results
(VID) Helana Abrantes TV ad
(VID) BRT tax deferral presser
(VID) Helena Abrantes "Community Forum" interview

2009 (BOUGHTON/GONCALVES)
Danbury 2009 election results
(VID) 2009 Danbury City-Wide PTO educational forum
(VID) 2009 Danbury Chamber of Commerce mayoral debate
(VID) 2009 DDTC nomination convention

2011 (BOUGHTON/TABORSAK)
Danbury 2011 election results
(VID) Saadi/Nero campaign kickoff

2013 (BOUGHTON/NO DTC ENDORSED CANDIDATE/MCALLISTER)
Danbury 2013 election results
(VID) 2013 DDTC nominaiton convention

2015 (BOUGHTON UNCHALLENGED)
Danbury 2015 election results

2017 (BOUGHTON/ALMEIDA)
Danbury 2017 election results
(VID) Al Almeida concession speech
(VID) 2017 Danbury City-Wide PTO educational forum
(VID) Al Almeida nomination acceptance speech

2019 (BOUGHTON/SETARO)
Danbury 2019 election results
(VID) 2019 NewsTimes Editorial Board interview with Mark Boughton and Chris Setaro
(VID) 2019 Danbury City-Wide PTO educational forum
(VID) 2019 Danbury Chamber of Commerce mayoral debate
(VID) 2019 convention endorsement speeches from Mark Boughton and Chris Setaro