Jewett City Party gives all residents more choice; 'Political party insiders' will have competition for May 7 election and November 2007

"Party aims to provide choices in Jewett City" -- That was the headline over two months ago when the Norwich Bulletin published an article on January 15th about the newly organized Jewett City Party (JCP).

The article stated, "Ron Ward, founder of the Jewett City Party, is looking for candidates for the May 7 election." As the Founder of the Party, "Ward said he wants to give voters a choice not only in May when the borough election is conducted, but also in November for the Griswold election."

In the same article the "Republican Town Committee Chairman Ed Wilds said the group will endorse candidates . . . including a candidate for Kata's position." With only three days to go before their upcoming Thursday meeting, Republicans did not take the opportunity to announce that Melinda Brooks would be the GOP candidate for Borough Warden.

Ron Ward, made his candidacy public back on January 10th by stating, "The Jewett City Party will give the people a candidate on the ballot who is not beholden to either a Democrat or the Republican parties." The article published by The Day went on to state, "Democratic Town Committee Chairman Richard Duda said the committee is expected to endorse its incumbents."

"It's about the obligation of elected leaders to put aside partisan politics and party loyalty to achieve the best result for our community." -- Words by Ron Ward, JCP Borough Warden candidate on December 31, 2006.


[NOTE: The remarks published above were included by Ron Ward, JCP-eBlog! author. The article appearing below is the the opinion of the Norwich Bulletin published on March 22, 2007.]


Our view: You have power to provide choice in local elections
Opinion of the Norwich Bulletin published March 22, 2007

It happens time and time again. You go to vote in a municipal election, and you see your vote really does not matter in many of the races. There are only enough candidates to fill the slots. You don't have a choice, and you don't have a voice.

The last two local elections in Voluntown were so bare, only one person on the entire ballot could lose. In Norwich's 2005 election, only one candidate for the City Council did not win a seat. Situations such as these do not serve the community.

But you do have a choice and a voice. You could consider running for one of those boards or commissions that need elected leaders.

Taking on the issue

Chris Healy, the new chairman of the State Republican Committee, recently told the Norwich Bulletin Editorial Board he is committed to reducing the number of uncontested races in the municipal elections. That's an effort we can stand behind. Party affiliation, at this point, matters little. Ensuring voters have a choice is what is crucial.

Town committees, regardless of party affiliation, should heed Healy's call. They must do their due diligence to ensure they can put a full slate of candidates in front of voters Nov. 6. They would do well to ensure that slate includes newcomers to the political process.

Town committees will endorse candidates from July 14 to July 24. It's not too late to step forward and begin exploring a run for office. Elected office need not be a full-time commitment. Different boards and commissions require varying degrees of time commitment.

There are other reasons to consider a run, too. Those who are frustrated with a lack of response from local government, can increase accountability by ensuring elected leaders have to compete for their jobs.

There is no question running for office, and then serving, is a commitment. But, if residents refuse to get involved in their own town, or city, then the whole structure of government must be rethought.

We urge the town committees to work hard at exploring new potential candidates and energizing citizens to participate.

Norwich Atheist responds to appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Atheists meet after Griswold bell ringing suit

by News Channel 8's Tina Detelj
Posted Mar. 22, 2007
5:57 PM

(Griswold-WTNH) _ A decade old holiday tradition sparked outrage by a group of atheists and made news nationwide. Now the group is meeting to talk about whether their message was lost in the media hype.

Little did Bill Russell know his fight to silence the bells at a Jewett City church would land him in the national spotlight on a comedy show.

"Never seen it before in my life," Russell said.

The Daily Show's 'Sam on Your Side' came to Jewett City to take a tongue-in-cheek look at this Norwich atheist's claim that the church bells are unconstitutional because the sound system is owned by the town.

Russell says some of what he said was taken out of context and the questions were confusing. From the show:

"If you were me?"
"Yup."
"Would you still be on my side?"
"I guess?"

"Because of the way she worded it, it was almost like would I be on her side, and I didn't know what her side was," Russell said.

He also found it odd to see basketball great Bill Russell on the show.

From the show:
"What do you think about his hat?"
"It sucks."

"So he didn't like it. Big deal," Russell said.

It may be fake news, but they did try to get both sides of the story, so Bill Russell was not the only one who got his bells rung. Jewett City resident Ron Ward was also a target of this comedy troupe. Town First Selectwoman Ann Hatfield found the more fun than factual story entertaining.

"I was happy that I wasn't on the show," she laughed.

The Norwich Atheists are holding their monthly meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the Olde Tymes Restaurant in Norwich. They expect a higher turnout than usual because of Bill Russell's appearance on the comedy show.

It's all a political move to smear their names, say Republicans Brooks & Hatfield, about Jewett City Party's Ward filing a complaint

Jewett City Party candidate for Borough Warden, Ron Ward, filed a compliant with the State Elections Enforcement Commission which alleged that Melinda Brooks, the Republican Jewett City Borough Warden candidate, and Anne Hatfield, the Republican Griswold First Selectman had violated election laws by putting the Official Seal of the Town and the Seal of the Borough on the website, www.jewettcityborough.com, which is the official election campaign website for Brooks.

First Selectman Hatfield, the top elected official of the local Republican party, in a February 9th article published by The Reminder Newspaper, gave a strong endorsement to Brooks, the republican candidate for Warden. Hatfield stated, "She definitely has all the capabilities to manage the borough. She has a strong business sense. She is an excellent candidate. She is very successful in real estate."

The Reminder article revealed that Hatfield's endorsement went so far as to include her working for Brooks as the Treasurer for the Brooks election campaign. In the Reminder article, the Republican candidate announced her new election campaign web site, www.jewettcityborough.com and stated, "I may not always stick to party lines."


Hatfield reacts to allegations of election law wrong-doing

Immediately after allegations of election law wrong-doing, Republican First Selectman Hatfield stopped working for Brooks as her campaign Treasurer. Hatfield's name was removed from the Brook's web site and was replaced by a new campaign Treasurer. Even though she stepped down as Treasurer, Hatfield stated, "I remain in full support of Ms. Brooks."

First Selectman Hatfield explained her resignation, "I submit this resignation as a preventative measure against further negative campaign agendas and political attacks." Republican Hatfield reasoned, "My position as the First Selectman for the Town of Griswold will overshadow the Borough election."

Hatfield concluded by stating, "My position as the First Selectman for the Town of Griswold will detract from what is important, namely, the republican and democratic Warden candidates." In the resignation letter, Hatfield did not mention the fact that over 30 voters had organized an independent third party or that a candidate for Warden was nominated by the Jewett City Party.

First Selectman Hatfield authorized the use of public tax dollars to pay the Griswold Town Attorney to write a defense in response to the on-going State Election Enforcement Commission investigation.

In a March 12th Norwich Bulletin article, Town Attorney Zizka offered as a defense, "He didn't think a picture of a seal on Brooks' Web site was the same as the actual seal used to emboss documents." Mr. Zizka mentioned, "In my view, you have to do more to trick people into thinking it's the town Web site."

In the same article, Ron Ward said, "[First Selectman] Hatfield was mentioned in the complaint because she used the seals to make it look as though the town [of Griswold] government is endorsing Brooks." Ward explained, "It's an idea of identity. The last place that anyone should use it [the official government seals] is on their campaign Web site."

Republican First Selectman and former Brooks campaign Treasurer, Anne Hatfield, summarized her response by explaining, "This is just Ron trying to get in the paper." Hatfield described the allegations being investigated by the State Election Enforcement Commission by stating, "It's a kind of bizarre complaint."


Brooks reacts to allegations of election law wrong-doing

Immediately after allegations of election law wrong-doing, Republican candidate Brooks removed the Official Town Seal and Borough Seal from her campaign website. In a March 2nd article in The Day, Brooks said, "She never intended to use copyrighted material. Hatfield never gave her permission to use the copyrighted material. She didn't ask [to use copyrighted material.]"

Despite the Republican candidates admission that the material was copyrighted, Brooks concluded, "I think this is just dirty politicking." Brooks went on to promise, "If I made a mistake, I'll take full credit for it."

Ten days after promising to take full credit for her mistake, Brooks shifts responsibility to an anonymous and confidential town employee by stating, "A town employee told her the town seal was not copyrighted and the borough seal was created by a town employee's daughter for a contest."

On March 4th, the Republican candidate Brooks in a posting on her web site characterized her opponent by stating, "You are a trouble maker who likes to cry to the press. Get your own website and stay off mine. I would like to Thank You for drawing so much attention to my website. That is awesome."


Stick to the party line? A joint response by Brooks & Hatfield:

In a joint response to the on-going investigation into allegations of election law wrong-doing made by Ron Ward, the Jewett City Party candidate for Borough Warden, the Norwich Bulletin in a March 12th article reports:

"Melinda Seaman Brooks and Griswold First Selectman Anne Hatfield, who have both been cited in a complaint, say this is just a political move by Jewett City Party Borough Warden candidate Ron Ward to smear their names and create publicity for himself."


Jewett City Party candidate for Borough Warden responds:

On February 22nd, Ron Ward responded to his opponent removing the Official Town Seal and Borough Seal from her campaign web site by stating, "The decision to remove the emblems of borough and town government from her election effort website is commendable. Matching the content of the website to be within the requirements of the law eliminates the appearance that a candidate has received backing from the local government."

________________________________________________________

Photo credits: Both pictures appeared in the Norwich Bulletin in a March 12, 2007 article entitled, "State may investigate complaint from Jewett City Candidate" a photo journalist was not credited.

Click here to read State Election Enforcement complaint filed by Ron Ward
Click here to read February 22nd JCP-eblog! post by Ron Ward
Click here to read February 22nd Hatfield treasurer resignation letter
Click here to read March 2nd article in The Day
Click here to read March 12th article in the Norwich Bulletin
Click here to read February 9th article in The Reminder Newspaper
Click here to read March 4th post on Brooks website

Supporting Local Merchant's is the first priority of the Warden's Council for Economic and Community Development

"Each local merchant currently doing business in Jewett City deserves to have the full support of the Borough Government," says Ron Ward, Jewett City Party candidate for Borough Warden. He continued, "Any talk about bringing economic development to Jewett City must begin with the merchants that are already here and working hard to be a success." Ward concluded by stating, "Only after giving our full support to assist the merchants already in Jewett City, can we begin to plan for attracting additional business to the Borough."

For more information about the Jewett City Party plans for Borough Warden's Council for Economic and Community Development click here.

Included below is an excerpt from a Norwich Bulletin article which describes the great success of a local Jewett City business: Two Sisters Shipping.


More women in state pursuing self-employment
by Amy Lawson - Norwich Bulletin - March 17, 2007

When Lynn Hardell took maternity leave from her job in 2001, she never dreamed that when she returned to work, it would be to manage her own business.

Two factors put her on the path to running her own business.

"I couldn't commute to my job in Mystic from where I live in Canterbury because I had an infant son, and my job didn't want me to do part-time," she said. "My sister and I both have children, and we also didn't want them in day care. We decided to try something of our own."

Six years later, Hardell, and her sister, Kimberly Maxson, are still the owners of Two Sisters Shipping in Jewett City, a thriving packaging store that is half consumer-based and half freight management. The business ships packages for local residents and transports major goods across the country for larger companies. It even has a second location in Preston.

"We've grown a lot. It was slow, and took a while for the word to get out, but things are good now. But it would be nice to see more women take that chance," Hardell said.

photo credit: Tali Greener/Norwich Bulletin

Read the entire story at the Norwich Bulletin online: click here.