Last week Martha Aasen stepped down from chairmanship of the Westport DTC. This week brings news that John Stafstrom Jr.has stepped down from the chairmanship of the Bridgeport DTC. While the municipal elections will be the focus this year, these changes may have an impact on the race against Chris Shays. Shays, followed through on his unwavering support for the Iraq occupation by voting against the non-binding resolution that the House passed last week.

While the 2008 is far off, the Democrats would be smart to get a candidate working the district to mount a challenge. The campaign is a tough one. The 4th CD is a conservative one, 37 years of Republican representation in Congress is the obvious tip off there. Diane Farrell worked hard to comes closer than anyone has, but it was still not enough. Part of the problem was that her campaign was not able to overcome the structural chaos generated by the Lamont campaign. Longtime Democrats in the district faced distracting objectives pitting resources split between ginning up support for the anti-war left, and flipping over the moderate middle to vote for change. Norwalk and Bridgeport notably underperformed voter turnout in their most Democratic districts.

While the change in Bridgeport’s DTC is due to a new law, one that bars a “state contractor” from serving as chairman of a political committee, the change could be an opportunity for Cynthia King who will likely take over since she’s the current vice chair. But nothing is ever easy in Bridgeport, as this Connecticut Post article demonstrates:

An analysis of the city’s Democratic Town Committee membership reveals that more than two-thirds serve in city government or draw a paycheck from City Hall, and even more have a relative who does.
Of the committee’s 89 members, 71, or 80 percent, either work for the city, have relatives who work for the city, collect city pensions, are former city employees, hold elected positions, or serve on influential boards or commissions.
….
It’s hard to say whether the city’s recent history of corruption - which led to the conviction of a sitting mayor in 2003 - is an outgrowth of its intertwined political system. But at the very least it creates a culture well suited for corruption.
…
The DTC has nine seats for each of its 10 districts. However, one 138th District seat remains unfilled after the May arrest of Shawn Fardy, allegedly Fabrizi’s former drug connection.
An analysis of who’s who on the committee found that of 89 serving members, 28 members, or 31 percent, directly work for the city.
The analysis also found that:
* 10 members are former or retired city employees;
* 16 have relatives who work for the city;
* 17 serve on the City Council or Board of Education;
* 11 serve on a board or commission, or hold another elected position, such as state senator or state representative;
* 10 fall into a catch-all category because, for example, they served as paid poll workers during elections, or have a business partner who works for the city.
Some members fall into several categories at once.
Voter turnout in Bridgeport usually mirrors the rest of the state, ranging from a low of 20 percent in primaries to 40 percent of the city’s 58,000 registered voters.
The August Democratic primary drew 28 percent of eligible city voters.
There are no restrictions in the city’s charter or ethics rules that specifically prevent town committee members from working for the city, or serving on boards and commissions, including the City Council. State law also does not contain any restrictions.
The city’s ethics code, which applies to officials and employees, states that public office “must not be used for personal gain.”

The whole article is worth a read.