August 6, 2009 9:21 am

Norwalk Dems Tweak Lineup

Officially, Anna Duleep is running for Common Council again. Except that she is running with the nomination out of District E’s instead of District D, where she actually lives. Does it matter? To the petty partisans of district politics, yes it does. Forget that once elected at-large, you supposedly are�representing�all of Norwalk. But this is the year of the great switcheroo, where Fred Bondi, Democratic Mayoral�candidate�of 1999, becomes a Republican in order to get the nomination not of his�district, but District E. Must be something in the water eh? Bondi is not not alone in the switcheroo, Steve Colorassi left his lifelong Democratic registration to become an�unaffiliate�running as a BOE candidate nominated by the Republicans. And District C Dems replace an at-large candidate with someone from District B. Without consulting Bobby Burgess.

So the lineup looks like this:

Steve Serasis for Mayor

A Erik Anderson, David Jaeger, Amanda Brown at large
B Travis Simms, Carvin Hilliard, Mike Geake at large
C Kevin Poruban, Laurel Lindstrom and Thomas Agosto at large
D Marilyn Robinson, Chris Donahue, TBD
E Chris Potts, Nora King, Anna Duleep at large

And yes, that’s a TBD (to be determined) in district D’s at large slot, which if you’re keeping track was formerly Doug Sutton’s and now held by Anna Duleep.�

Bill Krummel has the quote of the day on all this, “I would like to have us be open, transparent and collegial in all these things.” That’s the same Bill Krummel who liked to decry the lack of transparency in Norwalk on the council floor.�

The party line- “Nothing to see here, please move along.”�

The generally absentee, former Republican, DTC town chair Gail Wall offered this gem, “In politics, your life can change in less than an hour.” Seems like there’s more than hourly changes afoot with the Dems, but you’d have to actually be in politics to be able to opine about political stuff wouldn’t you? And if you are not consulted when it comes to picking candidates, just what does that mean to you Bobby Burgess?

Naturally there were abstentions on the vote to add Duleep back to the lineup. The Hour, doesn’t indicate who , other than Krummel, abstained. As for Krummel’s vacant seat on the Common Council, Chris Potts steps in the fill the remainder of the term. At the last Common Council meeting, the Democrats switched committee assignments, removing Krummel’s slots and replacing them with current council members. Welcome to the forward thinking Norwalk style Democratic party politics Mr. Potts.�

source: The Hour, Dems fill council vacancy, by Robert Koch, August 5, 2009

�

http://intensedebate.com/people/WFPmember WFPmember

Interesting that Sara Sikes and Amanda Brown boycotted the meeting where Anna was endorsed by District E.

http://intensedebate.com/people/NwlkSpectator NwlkSpectator

Did they specifically boycott or were they just absent? Not trying to argue, just want to know.

http://intensedebate.com/people/VeryCurious VeryCurious

What happened to the other folks who were running at large for the dems?
http://intensedebate.com/people/turfgrrl turfgrrl

From Chris Potts:
Thanks for those words of encouragement, Turfgrrl! I started tuning into your blog about three years ago. Your examples of citizen involvement and public airing of local issues (even if from an admittedly biased viewpoint) inspired me to get involved myself.

So it's partly your fault that I'll now be joining the Common Council, though I take full responsibility for my actions there.

Dozens of other people helped guide my progress from interested citizen to Council member. I would like to particularly thank Bill and Regina Krummel, Galen and Stuart Wells, and all the Dianes.

Having the greatest respect for his years of public service, I'm sorry to see Bill Krummel leave the Council, but I look forward to serving District E and all the citizens of Norwalk in his place. And I look forward to running with Steve Serasis, Nora King, Anna Duleep, and the rest of the Democratic candidates in this November's election.

I strongly encourage everyone to get involved in city government in some capacity, whether by running for office, serving on a board or commission, or staying abreast of local issues and speaking out publicly on matters you think are important. You really can have a hand in shaping Norwalk's future. If necessary, you CAN fight City Hall.

http://intensedebate.com/people/turfgrrl turfgrrl

Yesterday there was a glitch with posting comments which I think has been corrected. In response to Chris Potts:
Glad that you are inspired to get involved with government. Odd that you would focus on "fighting City Hall" when the greater good is "making Norwalk better" which can happen not just through politics, or speaking out publicly, but with actual roll up your sleeves and get in the trenches work.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Chris_Potts Chris_Potts

I agree with almost everything you say. The butterfly garden at Ryan Park is a perfect example of "roll up your sleeves and get in the trenches work." I heartily commend the Friends of Ryan Park for their efforts.

I do take issue with your suggestion that my focus is on fighting City Hall. It was mentioned only one time in five paragraphs, and even that was prefaced with "if necessary". A major contributor to citizen apathy is the feeling that "you can't fight City Hall". I was simply pointing out that it's not true, and so it's not an excuse for a citizen doing nothing if he or she is unhappy about something. Citizen involvement does make a difference. Ryan Park's continued existence proves it.

http://intensedebate.com/people/NwlkSpectator NwlkSpectator

It seems to me that frequently, people simply don't know who to ask or how to resolve issues when they have a problem. I can't count the number of times I've heard someone complaining about something (potholes, loud music after 11 p.m.; speeding, Board of Education, just to name a few recent issues) and asked them if they have called the City's Customer Service number. Most of the time, I get a blank stare and "Huh?" Other times, I've asked them if they have contacted their council representative about an issue and (please sit down now) frequently, they don't know who he or she is. There are also Neighborhood Associations for most of Norwalk, but people just aren't aware of them until they wake up one morning and find their garbage all over the street or some other dire situation.
Many people don't want to be involved in "politics" but need to have some working knowledge of how to register a legitimate complaint and address a need. Yes, people are frustrated, but, I, like Turfie, don't see that as "fighting City Hall". It doesn't have to be a fight. It can be a civil discourse starting with, "Okay, this and this happened. How do we fix it?"
http://www.intensedebate.com/people/NwlkSpectator NwlkSpectator

It seems to me that frequently, people simply don't know who to ask or how to resolve issues when they have a problem. I can't count the number of times I've heard someone complaining about something (potholes, loud music after 11 p.m.; speeding, Board of Education, just to name a few recent issues) and I've asked them if they have called the City's Customer Service number. Most of the time, I get a blank stare and "Huh?" Other times, I've asked them if they have contacted their council representative about an issue and (please sit down now) frequently, they don't know who he or she is. There are also Neighborhood Associations for most of Norwalk, but people just aren't aware of them until they wake up one morning and find their garbage all over the street or some other dire situation.
Many people don't want to be involved in "politics" but need to have some working knowledge of how to register a legitimate complaint and address a need. Yes, people are frustrated, but, I, like Turfie, don't see that as "fighting City Hall". It doesn't have to be a fight. It can be a civil discourse starting with, "Okay, this and this happened. How do we fix it?"

http://intensedebate.com/people/Chris_Potts Chris_Potts

Test comment from an ancient Operating System.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Anonymous068 Anonymous068

War whats it good for? Absolutly nothing! Turf is on the mark. We have had enough battles, its time to move forward.Seems that we spend an inordinate amount of time bickering over petty politics while the Express train to the future leaves the station without us. Our system is set up for checks and balances, when the checks reveal an imbalance than that, derservedly so, demands attention. Healthcare – Education -Transportation and a fair share for Joe and Jane this is what we must work together for. The quality of life in America, Connecticut and our Norwalk. Lots of work to do, sleeves up everyone. Lets work together and make it better.