If you need a ride to the polls on November the 5th give us a call

It's your town - get informed, get involved and VOTE Tuesday November 5, 2013

 

 

So how are we doing in Wallingford’s District 9? Not too bad from the cross section of calls made.

A couple of students from Notre Dame High School in West Haven got in touch with me as the school requested that they choose a campaign to volunteer for in order to help a candidate campaign for the upcoming election.

As they put it to me, this is done “in hopes of gathering a better understanding for the electoral process. The school asks that we complete ten hours of campaign volunteer work. As a Wallingford resident, I've noticed many signs stating that you are running for Mayor, and my hope is to help you campaign. If you are interested, please considering responding and hopefully we can set up a possible schedule.”

So I got in touch with them to let them know I could use the help calling in the 9th District and they called as much of it as they could over the past three weeks as time allowed.

While the results are not “scientific” it was a wide cross sampling of the people they reached.  As one of the two students indicated in the email follow up to me:

”I've attached a folder that contains the survey results, the survey voting tally, and concerns that were mentioned during the survey process. I was quite surprised by the number of people that answered their phones, or rather the number that didn't. Regardless, It appears it's going to be a close race. You've done a fantastic job campaigning, good luck!”

Here is the data they were able to supply from the calls. Lots of room for error and a lot undecided but I am encouraged regardless. 

 

Friday Evening Sign Rally – RAIN OR SHINE (Looks to be more SHINE than rain)

Friday November 1 at 5PM

At the corner of Main and Center Streets. 

Join us to rally for the Democratic Candidates.

Please make every effort to attend! Bring your signs from your yards if you can (we will have some on hand).

Zandri leads in donations

This is very defining in the amount of support I am receiving in my run for the seat of Mayor in Wallingford – thank you all for your commitment of time, money and personal effort. Please see the full story in the Record Journal - Zandri leads in donations

Five days remain to Election Day and we will be pushing every single day to get out that vote.

The goal is 50.1% voter participation – 25,100 residents were registered to vote in town according to the recent article in the Record Journal and that is pretty much par for the course so the effort now is to get at least 12,575 out to the polls.

It’s your town – get informed, get involved and VOTE November 5th.

Let’s roll.

Wallingford in a changing universe

As published in the Record Journal (page D03) on Sunday October 20, 2013 – by Jason Zandri

The one constant in the universe is change. The greatest danger a business, a municipality or an individual can succumb to is an irrational fear of the unknown.

The CEO of Borders Books embraced technology use as well as the changes in the business landscape of the corporation he led. What he lacked was the true understanding of the depth of the change. Believing that loss leaders like the Nook and Kindle readers, the hardware of his competitors which lose money on every sale, should be something his company should avoid, he made a bet on what he knew best – his historical customer base and what he believed they wanted. They would always want to hold a real book in their hand.

His knowledge and understanding of his customer base and decades of experience would help him and Borders Books weather their financial storm.

Today that corporation is gone because it resisted the direction of their market; they were unable to see the full scope of the future of their venerable business, and the choice of losing money on devices for sales of e-books was not prudent in the short term. Yet that lesson is a core teaching in business and economics – “give away the razor, sell the blades.”

There are times in all our lives when we become so set on how we’ve always done things that we believe there is no better way to do anything and that we have perfected our craft.

Then something in the landscape shifts and all things are not equal. The shift has already occurred in Wallingford’s landscape and as we continue to do the same things we’ve always done, they are becoming increasingly less effective.

Change is inevitable, predictable and beneficial – it is a wave that you can choose to ride on or be drowned under but it is a force that cannot be ignored because it brings the future, a future that will not just happen but one that we will create.

Wallingford has the ability to do more, with less, even in “these trying times,” as that statement ends up being relative; it just depends on how you want to go about it.

Are times today worse than they were in 2007 when things were still booming? I suppose if you are just looking at the early and mid-2000s.

There are times in our country’s history that make the boom of the early and mid-2000s look paltry just as there were times in the 30s that make today look like paradise.

We can better leverage technology to complete more tasks and move projects along; this has the effect to allow us to get started on the next task sooner.

We can offer more services that offset some costs – by going to e-payments and e-billing as options for those that want them, we save postage and handling costs and paperwork becomes reduced.

The less paperwork that people in the offices need to handle, the more they are freed to do other things; this becomes an increase in service for things that must be done manually.

Proper planning for future expenditures via cost analysis allows Wallingford to project what should be deferred for “down the road” as costs look to decline (certain hardware and some technology) and where costs will increase like labor-based jobs such as road paving that also have a petroleum cost in the materials used – both of which increase year over year making it more prudent to review the cost of doing that work now rather than later.

Being more open and providing more access into how and what local government is doing and making residents better aware of what is going on and letting them feel like they can be part of the process fosters and grows that sense of collectiveness and ownership.

This is our hometown; let’s create Wallingford’s future together.

Jason Zandri is the Democratic challenger for mayor of Wallingford.

Thank you regarding tonight's fundraiser at the Portuguese American Club / LAST EVENT is NEXT Sunday 10/27

Thank you everyone who attended tonight's fundraiser at the Portuguese American Club. It was a great event and it was effectively "sold out" with the room filled to capacity (A little over 100 people).

Special thank you to Peter Gouveia for setting everything up and the folks at the Portuguese American Club for an awesome meal.

The next and final fundraiser is NEXT Sunday (eight days from now) on 10/27 at Zandri's Stillwood Inn - see you there.

MAYORAL FORUM - Wallingford Candidates forum – Election 2013

WALLINGFORD — The Wallingford Community Women’s Club held the 2013 candidates forum on Tuesday, Oct. 15 in the Town Council Chambers of the Wallingford Town Hall.

Reporters from local newspapers, in addition to students from Sheehan High School, addressed questions to the candidates.

This session was the Mayoral discussion between Republican Mayor William Dickinson Jr. and the Democratic Challenger Jason Zandri.

Generational choice / Local Voter Turnout

Below is a letter to the editor published on October 11, 2013 in the Record Journal.

After that is the content from a blog post I published on Wallingford Politico titled “The most impactful voters are the ones that show up”.

Both indicate the importance of getting out the vote especially locally.

It’s your town – get informed, get involved and VOTE.


Editor: In 2012, Wallingford voters turned out and voted in the presidential election at an 83 percent rate. In 2011 for local elections it was only 39 percent. One of the differences nationally was that the younger age demographic increased in voting percentage. In 2011 local voters 18 to 25 came out at a 15.5 percent rate, age 26 to 35 17.5 percent, and age 36 to 45 came out at 30.5 percent for the election. In this election Wallingford faces a generational choice. We have a veteran mayor who has served since the days of Ronald Reagan. When the current mayor was elected computers were just beginning to be used by a wider populace, the Internet was an idea and cell phones were in their infancy. Wallingford has integrated as time has gone by but its leader remains rooted for better or worse in a previous time. His challenger comes from a generation that is comfortable with technology and quick to embrace its’ advantages.

This brings us back to voter participation. Will all of our registered voters (25,759) come out and make this a real choice? Will Wallingford’s younger demographic step up and voice its preference on how Wallingford meets the future? Can this election be the one when a new generation makes its choice for a generational change in leadership?

Laurence Morgenstein, Wallingford

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The most impactful voters are the ones that show up.

Different ages of people ask me why it seems (to them) that “the government” (and this could be federal, state or local depending on the conversation at the time) always seems to favor [THAT AGE GROUP] over theirs and the [GROUP] always seems to be an older age group.

The bottom line is – the squeaky wheels get the grease.

When you look at total number of registered voters, the older the bracket, the more they tend to be registered. At the same time too, when you look at the percentages of who turns out from those brackets, the older brackets turn out with a larger percentage as well.

The following is the information lifted from the last municipal election (2011) of a total of about 25,000 registered voters:

18-24 year olds – total registered 1,869 and of that 193 (10.5%) showed up to vote. You expect this bracket to be less in total number of voters as it contains only seven years of voters and all the others are ten but the 10.5 percentage across just those registered is very low.

25-34 year olds – total registered 3,051 and of that 456 (14.9%) showed up to vote. Nearly 50% more percentage wise on the turnout, nearly twice as many total registered and more than double the number in turnout which is all better than their counterparts in the 18 to 24 bracket but still low overall as you compare the older demographics.

35-44 year olds – total registered 3,433 and of that 913 (26.6%) showed up to vote. With nearly 3,500 registered voters, this block comes in with less than 1,000 total voters showing up to vote locally. When you consider this group (along with a portion of the prior demographic and the next) to be the main segment of the population that uses the largest portion of the municipal budget (education budget for those with children) you would hope to see higher turnout numbers.

45-54 year olds – total registered 5,167 and of that 1,995 (38.6%) showed up to vote. This group is the second largest in total number on the registration side but at just 38.6% in turnout (while better than their younger counterparts) they impact about the same as the 65 to 74 demographic but less so than the 55 to 64 group. With its sheer numbers matching, they could have more presence if they could move their turnout numbers higher.

55-64 year olds – total registered 5,211 and of that 2,350 (45.1%) showed up to vote. This group is the largest in total number on both the registration side and the turnout number. On the percentage side at 45.1% they turnout at the third highest percentage as well but because of their total numbers of registered, this group’s turnout numbers have the highest impact regarding total vote tally.

65-74 year olds – total registered 3,329 and of that 1,876 (56.3%) showed up to vote. This group is the third largest group with 3,329 registered. Their turnout percentages are very good locally at 56.3% which generated 1,876 voters at the polls. They are the second highest impacting group because of this.

75-84 year olds – total registered 1,958 and of that 1,146 (58.5%) showed up to vote. As people age onward and pass away it impacts the demographic. This group has the highest percentage of local voter turnout at 58.5% but as their total numbers dwindle their voter impact lessens. Despite the handicap, they are still a very impactful group.

85 and older – total registered 1,292 and of that 547 (42.3%) showed up to vote. At just a hair shy of 1,300 registered voters and 547 turning out, this group nearly singlehandedly outstrips the impact of the 5,000 registered voters in both the 18 to 24 and the 25 to 34 demographics combined as in both those groups only 649 people voted locally.  

It’s your town – get informed, get involved and VOTE

Wallingford mayoral candidates file financial reports / upcoming fundraisers

Thank you everyone that has supported the campaign to date – while the donations have exceeded my expectations I am still in need of more so if you can come to the dinner and lunch fundraisers and have something to eat (with the cost of your meals as a donation) I would greatly appreciate it. (More on that at the end of this post).

In one filing period the Republican machine raised 60 percent of the totals we have since the start of the campaign.

As reported in the Record Journal story by Andrew Ragali – back in July Mayor Dickinson hadn’t started fundraising. As of Thursday October 10th (three months later) he had contributions totaling $17,623. Mayor Dickinson spent $6,802.89 during the three month reporting period, leaving him with $10,820.11 on hand. Dickinson spent $216.44 out of his own pocket, and as of Thursday, he had outstanding expenses of $263.

By the July reporting period we had recorded $10,107.20 on hand. Over these past three months we have been able to bring in $12,025.22 in additional contributions thanks to your support. I have just about $3,000 of my own money into the campaign and I plan to continue to personally fund about 10 percent of all the expenses. In the past three months, the campaign has spent $9,281.97, leaving us with $12,850.45. (I presently have about $1,595.60 in outstanding expenses).

In total, our campaign has brought in $28,294.79 to date; that is only possible because of all of you. Thank you.

As I mentioned – as much as I hate to keep going on about it, we need more help.

If you can make an additional donation please do so:

Donations:    Jason Zandri for Mayor Committee
                         c/o 23 Cardinal Drive
                         Wallingford CT 06492

I would much prefer that you come and make a donation, have some food, and spend some time with friends so rather than just considering cutting a check please think about possibly attending one or both of the upcoming fundraisers:

DINNER FUNDRAISER at the Wallingford Portuguese Club

51 SOUTH COLONY ROAD WALLINGFORD
SATURDAY OCTOBER 19, 2013 at 7PM

Pork Loin, Baked Chicken, Seafood Rice, Oven Roasted Potatoes, Salad and Rolls
Dessert and Cash Bar

Dinner cost - $25.00 donation
Please make all checks out to “Jason Zandri for Mayor Committee”

 

 

 

 

LUNCH FUNDRAISER at the Zandri’s Stillwood Inn

1074 SOUTH COLONY ROAD WALLINGFORD
SUNDAY OCTOBER 27, 2013 at 12:30PM

Scheduled Special Guest

Third District Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro

Lunch cost - $25.00 donation
Please make all checks out to “Jason Zandri for Mayor Committee”

 

Once again – thank you for all the help and support; I am going to get this done and it will because of the support from all of you.

Thank you

 

More support and Letters to the Editor

Time for change
Editor: Wallingford needs a change. Jason Zandri is our man. He’s wise, intelligent, young, energetic, knowledgeable about issues, community- minded, a watchdog of the Town Council, a man of the people and for the people and, especially, a family man. Yes, Wallingford — Jason Zandri is our man for mayor, 2013.

Ben F. Klimczak, Yalesville

Wallingford taxes
Editor: I moved to Wallingford in 2007. My taxes were $3,860.00. They were $4,300 in 2011. Mayor Dickinson and the Republican block tout how they are holding the line on “expensive” employee salaries (you know, the people doing the actual work). They brag about 1.4 percent average annual salary increases over three to four years of a contract (after additionally paying arbitration costs because they don’t negotiate fairly). So tell me — why have my taxes gone up 12 percent in those same four years? Salaries are barely 5.5 percent of that. The other 6.5 percent? What are we spending it on?

Michael Cicarella, Wallingford

Deferrals
Editor: Regarding the elderly tax deferral program and Republican commentary (R-J letters, 9-18) “Does somebody making $71,000 need tax relief ?” It depends on the individual. Someone at $55,000 may, and that person is currently excluded from the current program despite being more than 20 percent below median income. “If more people have property taxes deferred, the rest of us would have to make up the difference.” Overall, that isn’t true; in the short term, while there are more deferrals taking place than settlements, it is possible, but the entire point of “deferral” is that the town is made whole over time.

Charlotte Ayers, Wallingford



GOP spin machine
Editor: The Republican spin machine is at full RPM. A letter-writer (R-J, 9-18) indicated Jason Zandri wanted to “expand the elderly/ disabled tax deferral program to people with incomes up to $71,000. No reason, except that Durham and Guilford do it” — couldn’t be further from the truth as those towns were examples. The reasons are in his blog, “I don’t want to have anyone move from family and the town that they grew up in or have called home because they can no longer afford the taxes in Wallingford.” My vote on 11/5 goes to Zandri for Mayor.

Patricia F. Mills, Wallingford

Local 478 of the International Union of Operating Engineers endorses Jason Zandri for Mayor of Wallingford

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

I received a letter today from Local 478 of the International Union of Operating Engineers endorsing our campaign efforts for the seat of Mayor in Wallingford.

Speaking on behalf of the local, Business Manager Craig Getz wrote in the endorsement letter “I am writing on behalf of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478 to inform you of our decision to endorse you for the office of Mayor of the Town of Wallingford.”

Craig added “Throughout your years as President of the Wallingford Fireworks Fund and as a member of the Wallingford Town Council, you have a proven track record of assessing the needs of the town, engaging the residents and leading viable discussions about the changes and improvements that need to take place.”

The endorsement continued “As an organization that respects the input of every member, we applaud you for the way that you reach out to the residents of Wallingford as you seek to insure that their voices remain an integral part of the town’s vision.”

The endorsement finishes with “Your commitment and passion for the Town of Wallingford is rivaled by few. Therefore, without qualification, we endorse your candidacy and promise to work diligently to see that the hard working families who reside in the Town of Wallingford benefit from your leadership as Mayor.”

MY TAKE on Zandri, Dickinson disagree on using contractors to get through storms

On Monday in the Record Journal, there was an article titled “Zandri, Dickinson disagree on using contractors to get through storms”

At the end of the day, the options are "wait until the work is done by the staff we have" (which doesn't always work well in critical situations like blizzards and hurricanes), hire more people permanently by adding head count (which is a long term salary and benefits cost and can be impacted when there is less work to get done) or continue to use your existing workforce and have people contracted at a locked in bid rate to augment them and offer assistance during emergencies and “as needed”.

I choose the latter option and by working with the union members and management, we can come up with the right solution for all; a solution that gives Wallingford the flexibility to have staff augmentation at a known contracted rate for emergencies and if planned for correctly and with a well negotiated contract, you can have some of the hours roll over to a new year (allowing you to buy a smaller future contract). Also, knowing that bad spring storms are rare, remaining hours may all the town to get caught up on or ahead of schedule on planned projects by consuming contract hours before they expire.

You buy insurance, such as home, life, long term disability, or automobile, with the hopes of never using it; it is a hedge against an unforeseen problem or catastrophe. You expend the money on the policies, and effectively throw it away in most cases, for the security of being able to “pull the rip cord” on it if necessary.

Planning and working in advance of an emergency to correctly procure a well negotiated contract of support hours to augment existing staff for extraneous circumstances and emergencies when they occur is an insurance policy against being shorthanded during those emergencies.

If those emergency situations never occur during a contract period, you have the ability to leverage that support contract proactively near the end of the term to consume those support hours and get a direct benefit in having the “insurance” of the contract when no emergency ever occurred.

It is the best of all worlds.

The New Haven Building Trades Council today endorsed Jason Zandri for Mayor of Wallingford

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The New Haven Building Trades Council today endorsed Jason Zandri for Mayor of Wallingford.

The Council is working with its direct and affiliate members to get additional endorsements for Zandri’s campaign in Wallingford and to engage its membership to take an active participation in the campaign.

“At this point in time they have called me with their support and endorsement” Zandri said “and they are willing to engage with people and other resources to help the entire Wallingford Democrat ticket to have a successful run for this November 5th election.

Zandri continued “The campaign is honored and fortunate to receive this endorsement and we will continue our efforts to take all 13 seats across the Town Council and Board of Education as well as the office of Mayor in Wallingford. Franklin D. Roosevelt has been quoted to have said “Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting” and Democrats near and far hold that as a truth. We hope that ALL the registered voters in Wallingford understand how important all elections are, especially this one, which sets the tone for the cost of their local property taxes as well as dictates the services they will receive.”

Zandri finished with his common call to Wallingford voters “It’s your town; get informed, get involved and vote.”

MY TAKE - GOP vs. Dems: politics vs. environmental issues

BELOW - Political Cartoon from the Record Journal on Sunday September 22, 2013

Not much more needs to be said than what was reported in the GOP vs. Dems: politics vs. environmental issues story (only available for 30 days online) in the Record Journal on September 18, 2013.

“It’s a strategy I guess,” said Republican Tom Laffin. “They try to poke holes in the administration by attacking public works.”

If you read the Wallingford GOP alleges politics as Dems press environmental issue story, you will see, in black and white “McCully told the council the placement of oily material at the site was “not a spill. It was done under direction and control.””

You will also see in the story titled “Wallingford PZC troubled by illegal waste storage” the following:

McCully admitted Tuesday that the oily substance — runoff from the used-oil collection site at the recycling center — was purposely placed at the North Turnpike Road facility on April 8.

“It was not a spill,” he said. “It was done under direction and control.”

I am not poking “holes in the administration by attacking public works” – I am showing the people the facts of what has been going on for YEARS.

The old saying applies here - “if you’re not outraged you’re not paying attention.”


I will leave you with this from the “Wallingford PZC troubled by illegal waste storage” article:

Unpermitted storage of street sweepings and catch basin materials has long occurred at the site. The town has owned the property since 1910, McCully said Tuesday, and uses it to store pipe and other construction material.

DEEP took notice of the site in 2009 after a complaint from Comerford. In response, the Environmental Protection Agency become involved, McCully said, and DEEP required the town to halt all storage of unpermitted materials at the site, also known as the “dog pit.”

But the practice continued, McCully said, as a “very large load of sand from street sweepers” remained stockpiled at the site.

“There’s nowhere else to put the sand,” McCully told Zandri. In a given year, McCully said, the town purchases between 5,000 and 7,000 tons of sand mixed with salt. It needs to be kept somewhere, he said, and another location wasn’t found because “I had higher priorities.”

The final two campaign fundraisers are set for Saturday October 19th and Sunday October 27th

Save the dates – the final two campaign fundraisers are set for Saturday October 19th and Sunday October 27th.

The Saturday October 19th event will be a dinner held at the Portuguese Club at 51 South Colony Road at 7PM.

The Sunday October 27th event will be a brunch held at the Stillwood Inn at 1074 South Colony Road at 10AM.

While we are still working our efforts of getting donations in through calls and emails to supporters, these social events are our best draws to make large headway into our mailer and newspaper advertising campaign expenses that we are budgeting to get the information out to the voters so that they understand more of what is going on in their town and allow them to make informed decisions on how they want to be governed for the next two years.

If you’re doing any planning and budgeting with respect to which social events you’re able to attend over the next few weeks please keep these dates in mind – we’d love to see you at one or both as your budget allows.

Thank you for all your support to date and over the next few weeks on the road to November 5th.

The Campaign is looking for locations for signs; if you have a location please let us know.

We’ve crossed Labor Day so it’s time to start peppering the campaign signs out.

 

The campaign is looking for additional lawns for signs – if you’re willing to lend us your real estate for signage please drop me an email at Jason@Zandri.net or send me a private message on Facebook.

    

We will be out over the next few days putting them up (and I am sure we’ll be out during the entire campaign replacing them too) so let us know and in most cases my father or I will swing by and get them up. 

Thanks for the support!

More explanation on Wallingford taxes: myth and reality – as offered by one Republican in a Facebook discussion

This is an independent conversation from my prior blog post Wallingford Taxes – MYTH and REALITY (which is what generated Steve Knight’s article in the Record Journal) but as far as I am concerned it only further proves my point

 

Campaign Lawn Signs are now available

Quick reminders – lawn signs for the campaign are now available; anyone that is interested in one please drop me a note at Jason@Zandri.net with your address and we’ll swing by and get them for your property.

Those of you that have already grabbed yours from us prior or at the Democrat Town Committee meetings, please remember that the local rule for putting them up is AFTER Labor Day weekend (which is this weekend). They can go up TUESDAY and beyond.

If you’ve requested them from me prior we will be out over the next week to install them all; if we don’t have yours up by next Saturday please drop us a reminder email.

If anyone has any questions please be sure to let me know.

Thanks for the support.

Trees in Wallingford Center

There have been a number of recent stories in the paper regarding the fate of the trees in Wallingford Center.

Tree talk gets testy at times was published on Wednesday July 17, 2013, Group seeks to save trees until Wallingford has plan was published on Wednesday August 7, 2013 and finally Mayor confused by downtown meeting on trees was published the following day on Thursday August 8, 2013.

I was against the prior removal of the trees close to 15 years  ago and in the same manner, we are taking these down in much the way – with just the thought of “we’ll plan to replant these and just cut them down in the next X number of years once again.”

We’ve learned nothing over the last 15 years; we are still not listening to the desires of the people to who this matters – the people who have been outspoken regarding their outright removal and we are doing the same things once again. 30 residents attended a workshop hosted by Wallingford Center Inc. to discuss the short and long-term future for trees in the downtown and they are just understanding now that it is very likely that it was a moot point and that all the trees are likely to come down.

The old saying is that those that do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.

The other old saying is that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

Both are applicable here.

The Tree Warden of Wallingford is Public Works Directory Henry McCully. State statute says town money can only be spent by the tree warden to remove trees when they pose a public safety issue - no public safety issues have been defined. Some businesses want them trimmed or removed for line-of-sight issues, so let’s take care of that as that is easily done in a single day.

The most likely result at this point (POSSIBLY subject to how strong the political winds blow) is that the Mayor will just do what he’s already decided “Eventually, the trees will come down. Ultimately, they are meant to come down, because they are ‘ornamental in nature.’”

Keep your voices heard; call the Mayor’s office if you need to because once the trees are cut down this battle is lost.

The rest of the battle rages on until November 5th – election day.

It’s your town – get informed, get involved and VOTE

Standing still – Letter to the editor of the Record Journal Sunday August 4, 2013

This letter was written by Vincent Avallone of Wallingford and published in the Record Journal on Sunday August 4, 2013 in the Readers’ Opinions section of the paper.

 

Editor: In response to Jim Seichter’s letter (R-J, 7-26), I’m sure Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman would have enjoyed meeting with the mayor if she had only been invited.

It amazes me how the thinking of the local Republican Party is so in sync with the state and national Party in that they’re great at pointing out problems, with no solutions of course, but fail to acknowledge those most responsible for causing the problems in the first place.

Do the names John Rowland, Jodi Rell and George Bush ring a bell? When Mr. Dickinson became mayor in the 80’s, he wasn’t burdened with a financial and economic crisis, electric rates were already low, much lower than they are today, and the bond rating was just fine.

Not quite the same scenario when Governor Malloy and Lt. Governor Wyman took office. It’s unfortunate that Seichter didn’t attend Jason Zandri’s fundraiser and listen to the Democratic Party’s endorsed mayoral candidate’s address to the crowd. He was excited, energetic and full of ideas you’ll learn about as the campaign progresses and he delivered a message of moving Wallingford forward and making it a better place to live, unlike the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy of the mayor.

The Republicans feel that Wallingford is an oasis and they’ll continue “doing things how they always have been done.” The mayor is so complacent that instead of addressing issues that face the town, he decided to sing a song when he was recently endorsed by his Party. Jason Zandri understands that if Wallingford isn’t moving forward, it’s moving backwards as other towns streak by us utilizing modern methods of achieving greater efficiency at a reduced cost. There’s much work to be done, as Seichter states, but it won’t get done standing still.

Vincent Avallone, Wallingford