Suzio concedes race, final margin 214 votes

Republican Len Suzio, running for the 13th District state rep seat  which includes parts of Cheshire, Middletown, Middlefield, & Meriden conceded to Democrat incumbent Sen. Dante Bartolomeoon Friday Nov. 21, 2014. According to an article in the New Haven Register, Suzio will decline asking for a judge to re count votes.

Suzio lost the election to Bartolomeo by   614 votes, however, the town of Cheshire amended its official count several times and the final margin was 214 votes. WTF At the Insider, we scratch our heads at home a margin could be so misreported to begin with?!

Suzio in Middletown

Suzio told the Registrar :“During the 2000 presidential election, Democrats rallied under the mantra ‘every vote counts’ and an intensive audit process was conducted to confirm the vote count,” Suzio said in a statement released Friday.”I do not intend to put the voters through such a prolonged experience that could potentially leave the results in doubt for a considerable amount of time.”"

Suzio encourages reforms to Connecticut's election process. Suzio will remain at his post as the State's Victims Advocate. Suzio has been an advocate of repealing the state's absorbitant gas tax, for the ending of early release of violent criminals, as well as education and fiscal accountability. If he had been elected, he vowed to not support any tax increases.We wish Len Suzio the best and hope he stays involved in local politics; a true asset to Middletown and Connecticut.

Len Suzio: Early Release Program and Frankie "The Razor" Resto

Now that the trial of Frankie "The Razor" Resto is over and he has been sentenced to 53 years in prison for the murder of Ibrahim Ghazal it's time for the people of Meriden to understand the unambiguous truth and the critical role Connecticut's infamous "Early Release" program played in springing Resto from jail to prey upon Mr. Ghazal.
Mark Twain once quipped, "There are 3 types of lies, lies, damned lies and statistics". Undersecretary for Criminal Justice Mike Lawlor has seriously misled the public with equivocal statistics regarding Mr. Resto's premature release from prison. Mr. Lawlor is fond of repeating that Frankie Resto was released from prison after serving 91% of his prison time. According to Mr. Lawlor, this is longer than the 85% that was the norm for the previous law. By juxtaposing these numbers Mr. Lawlor implies that the Early Release law is tougher than the old law.
What Mr. Lawlor does not disclose is that Mr. Resto's release from prison was delayed because a qualified "sponsor" couldn't be found. Resto's longer prison time had nothing to do with the Early Release law. The omission of this fact would lead someone to believe that Early Release was the reason for Mr. Resto's delayed release from prison.
There are other critical omissions in Mr. Lawlor's misrepresentations regarding Resto's "Early Release":

• Mr. Lawlor has not divulged to the public that the application of the "risk reduction earned credits" had actually shortened prisoner Resto's sentence to the point where the Department of Corrections was compelled to release him on April 14, 2012 for "time served".
• Undersecretary Lawlor has not disclosed that, because Early Release compelled the premature liberation of Frankie Resto for "time served", Resto was discharged without a sponsor who would monitor him and be responsible for him
• Undersecretary Lawlor has not disclosed that Resto was released on "probation" and not on "parole" because of Early Release credits. This is critical in the murder of Ibrahim Ghazal because release on probation requires a court proceeding for any violation. On the other hand, criminals released on parole can be quickly swept off the street without a court proceeding. The Department of Corrections knew Resto had violated his probation but they had to use the time-consuming process of formal court procedures to issue his arrest warrant. Ironically, the warrant was delayed until the day after the murder.

It is clear that the Early Release Program played a critical role in accelerating the discharge of this dangerous criminal and letting him loose on more lenient conditions.
Last year, the Legislature passed a bill that was misrepresented to the public as toughening the law for violent criminals. The change mandated that violent criminals must serve at least 85% of their sentence before being eligible for discharge with Early Release credits. That change itself underscores Mr. Lawlor's deception of the public. If the law had been responsible for delaying Resto's release to 91% of his sentence, why was there a need to codify the 85% minimum?
The "acid test" for any meaningful reform of the Early Release law is, "Would this change have prevented the premature release of Frankie Resto from prison?" Mr. Lawlor's statements that Resto had been released from prison after serving 91% of his sentence demonstrates the "reform" makes no difference in Resto's case.
Let's stop coddling violent criminals and start thinking about their victims. The 53 year prison sentence handed to Resto is nothing compared to the lifetime sentence suffered by the Ghazal family. Connecticut's law for violent criminals should be, "Do the crime. Serve the time".

Len Suzio, member Victim's Advocate Advisory Board

Early Release Hearing on Friday, March 22!

Press Release from Len Suzio: 

Early Release Hearing on Friday, March 22!

Dear friends,

The Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing on Friday, March 22, at the Legislative Office Building. The details are included in this e-mail notification. We hope to get a good number of people testifying in support of SB 123 which would repeal the program as it applies to violent criminals. It's time to put a stop to letting violent criminals out of prison early to terrorize our neighborhoods and families. Already 2 murders have been attributed to Early Release criminals. If you want to help end this dangerous program sign the petition to end Early Release, attend the hearing, contact the governor's office and your state senator and state representative and ask them to support SB 123 to end early release for violent criminals in Connecticut.

Below are the details. You don't have to testify, although as many people as possible supporting SB 123 would be ideal. If you do plan on attending please respond to me by return e-mail. We are considering a pre-hearing press conference.

Can't make the hearing sign the petition

Sign the Petition

Judiciary Committee

Public Hearing

Friday, March 22, 2013

11:30 AM IN ROOM 2B OF THE LOB

http://www.cga.ct.gov/2013/JUDdata/oa/2013oa-00322-R001000JUD-oa.htm *Judiciary Committee Friday, march 22, 2013

The Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing on Friday, March 22, 2013 at 11:30 A.M. in Room 2B of the LOB. Please submit 45 copies of written testimony to Committee staff, preferably any day prior to the hearing, but no later than two hours prior to the start of the hearing in Room 2500 of the LOB. Testimony submitted after the designated time may not be distributed until after the hearing. Sign-up for testifying at the hearing will begin at 9:30 A.M. and conclude at 11:00 A.M. in Room 2500 of the LOB. Speaker order will be decided by a lottery system. Anyone wishing to testify after the drawing is closed must sign up in the hearing room and be placed at the end of the list. The first hour of the hearing is reserved for Legislators, Constitutional Officers, State Agency Heads and Chief Elected Municipal Officials. Speakers will be limited to three minutes of testimony.

SUBJECT MATTER: Risk Reduction, Department of Corrections, Racial Profiling and Miscellaneous

*H.B. No. 6657 (RAISED) AN ACT CONCERNING SENTENCING AND RISK REDUCTION CREDITS.

*S.B. No. 123 (COMM) AN ACT REPEALING THE RISK REDUCTION CREDIT PROGRAM. http://www.cga.ct.gov/2013/TOB/S/2013SB-00123-R01-SB.htm

Click here to read Len's early release Op Ed.

Visit Us: EndEarlyRelease.com

Contact Info:

Phone: (203)-530-1544
Email: lensuzio@gmail.com

Letter from Len Suzio: Thanks for Support

Len Suzio, photo credit www.ctrepublicans.com

‪It has been my honor to serve the people of Meriden, Middlefield, Cheshire, Rockfall and Middletown for the last 2 years. I thoroughly enjoyed working and advocating for my constituents. I am proud of our legislative victories such as the gas tax cut and cap. But I also am proud that I gave people a voice and a means to express their views in Hartford. We collected more than 10,000 signatures on petitions for the gas tax, Early Release reform and eliminating the state income tax on social security benefits. Those petitions had an impact. And they showed that when the People are organized their will cannot be ignored.

While serving in the Legislature I learned quite a bit about the political and legislative process at the Capitol. It is my intention to write a periodic e-news letter to try to keep you informed about important developments during the legislative session. In particular, I hope to keep you informed about the budget, taxes and public safety issues. Who knows, maybe we can start another petition or two!

Many of you have asked do I intend to run for office again. The answer is that I am not foreclosing that as a possibility. I do intend to play some kind of public role, but exactly what form it may take I don't know. I can assure you, although I was disappointed by the election results, I am not discouraged. I will continue to fight for common sense public policies and to keep you informed about important public policy news in Connecticut.

Again, thank you to each and every one of you for your support and encouragement.

Sincerely, Len Suzio

Former State Sen. Len Suzio has been appointed to the Advisory Committee for the Office of Victim Advocate. He will continue to fight to end the early release of violent criminals. Insider staff would like to say Congratulations Len Suzio!

From Senator Suzio: It's been an honor

It's been an honor...

‪It has been my honor to serve the people of Meriden, Middlefield, Cheshire, Rockfall and Middletown for the last 2 years. I thoroughly enjoyed working and advocating for my constituents. I am proud of our legislative victories such as the gas tax cut and cap. But I also am proud that I gave people a voice and a means to express their views in Hartford. We collected more than 10,000 signatures on petitions for the gas tax, Early Release reform and eliminating the state income tax on social security benefits. Those petitions had an impact. And they showed that when the People are organized their will cannot be ignored.
 
 While serving in the Legislature I learned quite a bit about the political and legislative process at the Capitol. It is my intention to write a periodic e-news letter to try to keep you informed about important developments during the legislative session. In particular, I hope to keep you informed about the budget, taxes and public safety issues. Who knows, maybe we can start another petition or two!

Many of you have asked do I intend to run for office again. The answer is that I am not foreclosing that as a possibility. I do intend to play some kind of public role, but exactly what form it may take I don't know. I can assure you, although I was disappointed by the election results, I am not discouraged. I will continue to fight for common sense public policies and to keep you informed about important public policy news in Connecticut.

Again, thank you to each and every one of you for your support and encouragement.

Senator Len Suzio
13th District

Cheshire, Meriden, Middlefield, Middletown<

Suzio: Heating Assistance Available

Heating Assistance Available

Operation Fuel is now accepting applications for emergency energy assistance. If you or someone you know might require heating assistance, please call the state's free infoline at 211 or visit the Operation Fuel website at www.operationfuel.org for more information. The non-profit organization provides emergency energy assistance to families who may have no other option to cover energy costs. Most recipients are either elderly or working families with children. In addition, if you have the ability to donate to this program, I encourage you to do so. Each winter, Operation Fuel receives many more requests for energy assistance than they can fulfill. They are hoping to raise at least $1 million from individual donors. By mail, donations for Operation Fuel can be sent to: Operation Fuel One Regency Drive, Suite 200 Bloomfield, CT 06002 Donations may also be made online at www.operationfuel.org. Thank you!

Suzio to Host Middletown Toy Drive

Reprint: Suzio Requests a Recount in 13rh Senate District

By Amanda Falcone On November 13, 2012 ·....

One week after Republican Leonard Suzio lost his state Senate seat to Democrat Dante Bartolomeo, he is asking for a recount. In a letter to Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, Suzio said he wants a recount because substantial errors have already been identified, and there is the potential for more errors.
Suzio lost the race by 238 votes.
Suzio says errors occurred and more may be identified because the two candidates ran on five party lines. He said this created confusion and resulted in people voting in the “unknown” category.
Suzio also said that the head moderator in Meriden was the campaign treasurer for Bartolomeo, and he said that moderator refused to request a recount before sending the final vote tallies to Merrill.
“I do not allege any improprieties on his account,” Suzio wrote in his letter. “But I do point out the Head Moderator’s obvious conflict of interest which undermines the need to give the public assurance that the vote count was administered in an impartial manner.”



Note: Originally Published at http://courantblogs.com/capitol-watch/suzio-requests-a-recount-in-13th-senate-district/

Bartolomeo Plays Dirty, Suzio Asks for Recount

In a letter addressed to the Secretary of State Senator Suzio requests a recount of votes from the last election because he alleges that several errors and improper procedures occurred including his opponent Dante Bartolomeo's campaign Treasurer being a poll worker. The initial count showed that Bartolomeo won by 238 votes.

Suzio's letter:

Page 1 of 2
State Senator Len Suzio
35 Lydale Place
Meriden, CT 06450 Denise Merrill, Secretary of State 30 Trinity Street Hartford, CT 06106
Re: Recanvass of State Senate District 13 election November 12, 2012
Dear Madam Secretary,
As time is of the essence I write to you as the custodian of vote integrity and election accuracy in our State of Connecticut and ask that you act on the following request immediately. The election for State Senate District 13 was an historically close election with an apparent difference of only 238 votes out of nearly 40,000 ballots separating my opponent and I. I am aware that the current count difference exceeds the threshold for an automatic recount of 198 by a mere 40 votes. However, I respectfully ask that you order a recount for the following reasons:

• The potential for human error with respect to vote-counting in this contest is far greater than normal because although there were only 2 candidates, those candidates ran on 5 different Party lines. This compounds and complicates the vote compilation process and appears to have contributed to some significant errors.
• One of the complications in the District 13 race was the fact that a significant number of “unknown” votes were cast (reflecting the fact that the 2 candidates ran on 5 different Party lines) and your office had devised a new system for assigning those votes to each Party. I have heard both Democratic and Republican Registrars comment about the confusion and complications created by the introduction of this new system, the novelty of which contributed to real and potential errors.
• An example of the foregoing potential problem was identified in Precinct 6 in Cheshire which double counted candidate Bartolomeo’s Working Families and unknown votes when it reported on election night. It appears as though the Moderator discovered the difference but “corrected” the error by adding (rather than deducting) more votes to Ms. Bartolomeo’s totals that night thereby doubling the error and making it overstated by 58 votes. In effect an error was compounded in the confusion.
• Significant vote counting errors already have been detected following the election. For example, in Cheshire an undercount of 196 votes with respect to Republican votes was identified in the 4^th Precinct (and corrected). At the same time, it was discovered that 29 votes were double

Page 2 of 2 counted for my Democratic opponent in the 6^th Precinct. At the last minute, only hours before the reporting deadline a large error was discovered in Meriden. That error was not discovered by the people charged with counting votes. It was discovered by some of my campaign staff who were quickly examining the vote documents and reported the error to the moderators.

• At least one vote machine was disabled during election day in Meriden. That vote machine has been implicated in a significant error detected in Meriden results.
• The Head Moderator in Meriden was the treasurer of the Democratic contestant. I do not allege any improprieties on his account. But I do point out the Head Moderator’s obvious conflict of interest which undermines the need to give the public assurance that the vote count was administered in an impartial manner. The Head Moderator in Meriden refused to grant the Republican Registrar of Voters request for a recount of Meriden results on November 9, prior to sending in the final vote tallies to your office. The Republican Registrar made the request once the aforesaid error identified by my campaign staff was reported. She was concerned that other undiscovered errors may exist.
• We have examined the Middletown vote totals reported on your site and the totals in the documents provided to us by Middletown officials and late on Friday we identified a discrepancy of dozens of votes in the final tally provided to your office

Again Madam Secretary, you are the public official charged to maintain the integrity of the voting process. It is your sacred responsibility to maintain public confidence in the integrity of the process as well. Given the facts as stated above including the complications of a 5-Party vote, numerous errors already discovered, the Middletown errors not yet officially recognized and the conflict of interest of a Head Moderator who denied the Republican Registrar’s request for a recount in Meriden I strongly urge you to order a recanvass of the vote in Senate District 13 so that there can be no reasonable doubt about the final outcome. I am prepared to support any effort to assure the accuracy and integrity of the final election results including providing witnesses to attest to the foregoing facts.
Respectfully,
Len Suzio State Senator District 13

Letter to the Editor: Disappointing Loss for Middletown, Bartolomeo's Track Record Raising Taxes

     Very disappointing loss for Senator Suzio who has been looking out for the voters of the 13th district since he was elected 21 months ago.
    He lead the fight against wasteful spending in Hartford including the Busway in New Britain which cost $573 million dollars and Jackson Lab cost $291 million dollars to tax payers. Not counting the millions spent to keep companies in state.
     My hope is that Mrs. Bartolomeo will continue to look out for the taxpayers of the 13th District. But her record of voting to raise taxes in Meriden during her short time on the council doesn't make me feel any better.

     Thank you Len Suzio for your service for the people in Middletown, Middlefield, Meriden, and Cheshire.

William Wilson,
Vice Chair of the Middletown Republican Town Committee

Letter to the Editor: A Confirmation...

Letter to the Editor:
A Confirmation…

Reading the paper recently, I am intrigued by what I am reading on the 13 th District State Senate Race.
In 2011, I watched Len Suzio run in a special election in a heavily Democrat district, and win. In that
time, I have seen Len travel throughout his district proudly and unapologetically fighting for a smaller,
leaner, less intrusive government.

Whether it has been on the price of gasoline in trying to cap but ultimately do away with the gross
receipts tax (which taxes gasoline on the wholesale level and goes up with the price but doesn’t go
down when the price retreats and adds a third level of taxation on gasoline), to stopping the early
release of criminals. Throughout these instances, Len has held press conferences and public events to
inform his fellow citizens of major issues in Connecticut.

I recently read where a man from Middlefield, Charles, complained that Len has refused to engage in
public events. This is a total falsehood as Len has been holding a number of events some of which I have
attended, (regarding gas prices in my case) and also press conferences on Early Release.

On Early Release, I read an article in the Record Journal from October 26 th, where his opponent
stated, “I’m not going to be on street corners letting people know how I feel. But I would understand if
the governor wants to suspend the program.” How ironic considering many people feel our politicians
don’t relate to or want to make time for us. I think this statement is quite telling because it shows how
the people of the 13th and everyone all around Connecticut are looked at by the bulk of the majority in
Hartford.

Therefore I implore all of you to support Len Suzio for State Senate on Tuesday, November 6 th, because
we all need men of character and integrity who are doing what they said they would in both word and
deed. Remember, politicians work for we the people, not the other way around.

Bob Beaumont, Wallingford, Conn

http://www.myrecordjournal.com/election/2012/13th/article_095323e0-1fe7-11e2-ba71-001a4bcf887a.html

A Letter to the Editor on Len's lack of meeting with constituents

http://www.myrecordjournal.com/towntimes/election/article_4f59d652-08b0-11e2-b8b1-0019bb2963f4.html

Letter to the Editor: Suzio Works for Working Class

To the Editor:

This letter is to urge all voters in the 13th District to re-elect Senator Len Suzio.

Need I enumerate all the reasons why? Do you like paying high gas prices? Senator Suzio single-handedly spearheaded the call to cap the gas tax. How about violent criminals being released onto our streets?

He has vowed to suspend the Prisoner Early Release Program. Senator Suzio has an admirable voting record and has accomplished much during his first term in office. I am confident he will accomplish even more in his second term.

Sue James, Middletown

Guest Blog: The Connecticut Flip

The Connecticut Flip 

Summary of a series of articles on Political Events in Connecticut by Tim D. Enchanter

This month I began to feel that our State of Connecticut has the potential to surprise those who tend to write it off as either an easy victory for one political party or a lost cause for the other.  Things are working in a different direction than most are used to with regard to electoral change and party shift.

I must admit that I am often one of those who believe this state is almost impossible to change.  It has been almost completely taken over by a political machine which rules from the top down.  The reason for this belief can best be illustrated by the 2010 Gubernatorial Election.

The Midterm Elections (when Senators and Congressmen run for re-election in the middle of a President’s term) were a referendum on the President’s agenda as people rose up against establishment politicians.  This so-called “Conservative Wave” swept the country, but seemed to crash impotently against political barriers in states run by Democrat political machines.

Please note that the following pieces of information have been accumulated over a 5 year period from news reports, radio reports, phone calls, testimonies, and observed actions.  I have remembered all of this and report the puzzle pieces here so you can put them together yourself.  I leave it to those who are supposed to conduct investigations to actually conduct them and verify their validity.

As a private citizen who is a registered unaffiliated voter, I have the right to voice my concerns according to the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Keep that in mind when you read the following and yell about how I “can’t say that” without documented proof.  I am not filing charges or taking any action other than telling you my thoughts.  Also keep in mind that anyone who actually takes the time to do the research could assemble said proof.  The fact that nobody has filed any charges should speak volumes as to whether or not you are being served by those you have elected.

Prior to Election Day 2010, the Chairman of the CT GOP raised alarms about boxes of ballots being shipped to an abandoned lot in Bridgeport.  The day after Election Day, Democrat operatives came to polling places with bags of ballots that they wanted to be counted, not explaining where they “found” them.

On Election Night, the Bridgeport polling places ran out of ballots, and Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz ordered the polls in Bridgeport to remain open an extra 2 hours, notifying residents by phone to go and vote after normal closing time.  

The Senatorial race was called in favor of Democrat Richard Blumenthal at the normal closing time before any vote counts were posted.  In the race for Governor, Republican Tom Foley was ahead of Democrat Dan Malloy all night according to the running vote tally, yet the CT News anchors were reporting Malloy the winner.  Even one of the anchors could not understand why and was informed there were things she did not know.

The city of New Haven waited until 3pm the following day to start counting votes, yet the results had already been reported.  As everyone was paying attention to what was happening in Bridgeport, nobody seemed to notice or care that 20,000 new votes were cast in New Haven by people who had apparently registered during the month before the election.

Years earlier, the Mayor of New Haven, Democrat John DeStefano, had made New Haven a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants, issuing Driver Licenses and Voter IDs to anyone asking for them.  Back in 2007, it was discovered that the New Haven Mayor’s office had ordered the workers at Social Services to generate Social Security numbers for those who did not have them.  The Social Services Office used a random number generator and didn’t bother to check with the Federal Social Security Office to find out if they were giving one person the number of another.

The FBI seized boxes of paperwork related to this.  The FBI has been waiting many years for a US or CT State Attorney General who is actually willing to prosecute these numerous cases of Fraud, Document Falsification, and possible Identity Theft.  Unfortunately, under both Bush and Obama Administrations, no such person could be found as charges of racism drown out calls for laws to actually be enforced.

Meanwhile, the comparatively few illegal immigrants arrested at the border have been found with instructions detailing how to go to Yale New Haven Medical Center for any treatment desired and then file for IDs from the New Haven Social Services Department.  Numerous attempts to get CT News reporters to investigate all these issues have been met with either yawns or accusations of racism.
Continued:

Video Part II Westfield Residents Candidate Forum: Suzio & Bartolomeo, Kleckowski & Lesser

Video Courtesty of Palin Smith.  Planning and Zoning Commissioner Dan Russo (D) gets rather nasty with Suzio about and the gas tax at the 20 second mark, but Suzio stands strong. Bartolomeo, along side Rep. Matt Lesser (D),  who was also present at the Reduced Gas event that Russo refers to does damage control. When challenged by an audience member about her presence at the event she so condemns, Bartolomeo attacks her constituents.

In the second video, Deborah Kleckowski talks gas taxes, small business owner taxes, and healthcare. She wishes to cut taxes and also reform education. Lesser attempts to hug every issue. Kleckowski reiterates the fact that she personally helped a number of families with special needs get justice and better education for their children during the events that lead to the ending of the contract with Superintendent Michael Frechette.

In the second part of the discussion, Kleckowski talks about the misconduct of the board of regents at Middlesex Community College and consolidation of services to cut costs to tax payers.

Insider Staff would like to thank the Westfield Residents Association and Jennifer Mahr who did a great job (moderator) for hosting this event. Thank you to Palin Smith for providing video.

For more videos from the event see Palin Smith's youtube channel at :http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5wsVsNCEygpfRXWa_4vUw5T3r4qeY1aW&feature=view_all

Guest Blog: All Politics are Local except when they are Not

All Politics are Local except when they are Not
Part of a series of articles on Political Events in Connecticut by Tim D. Enchanter

For many months, I have been walking the streets of my neighborhood as part of a health regimen. Once in a while, one or two of my neighbors will stop by and compliment me on both my resolve and the obvious weight loss. During one of these little talks, I received a little insight which inspired this series of articles.
During another chance meeting, Karen and Rick Patrick gave me permission to use their names and one of their business cards. They run a landscaping company named Garden Keeper. As a believer in Free Market Capitalism and in gratitude for the inspiration, I will give them a little free advertising here by giving you their website: www.GardenKeeperCT.com
     The inspiration came when we were discussing the Connecticut race for United States Senate and how Linda McMahon seems to be leading in the 2nd Congressional District. Rick asked me a question which got my mental gears running: “Wouldn't  it be interesting if Mitt Romney won this state on Linda McMahon’s coattails?”
     For those of you not familiar with political terminology, this refers to a candidate at the top of the ticket helping candidates further down the ticket. Imagine a formal gathering where the men are wearing tuxedos. The men’s coats are split in the back. Cartoons often draw analogies between tuxedos and penguins because of the similarity in appearance.
     Now imagine a political cartoon where an important man is entering an important event. His coattails are so long that they drag on the ground behind him. Sitting on those coattails are a couple of less important men who are riding into this event on the coattails of the more important man. Everyone is so happy to see the more important man that the lesser men benefit from his popularity and gain entrance as an afterthought.
Now look at the 2008 Presidential Election. The idea of voting for the First Black President gave Barack      Obama the kind of coattails the Democrats have been dreaming of for decades. People who normally would not vote came to vote for history. Because these people were not familiar with other races, they would just vote for all the other candidates on the same line of the same political party. That is what politicians refer to as coattails. People show up to vote for one candidate and vote for the entire political party. Those who cannot get people to come and vote for them hope to ride into office on someone else’s coattails.
     Those of us running that year as Republicans knew we were all running against Obama. Some of us hoped Sarah Palin would give us the coattails of the First Woman Republican Vice President. Eventually, it seemed that the National Race provided competing coattails that dragged so far along the ground as to affect every race down to the State General Assembly.
      To me, this became evident in Connecticut’s 13th State Senate District, involving the towns and cities of Cheshire, Meriden, Middlefield, Middletown, and Rockfall. Two seats in the General Assembly, the 100th and 103rd Districts, demonstrated this effect as two popular State Representatives lost to challengers benefitting from Obama’s coattails. Ray Kalinowski and Al Adinolfi lost their seats to challengers Matt Lesser and Elizabeth Esty.
     The temporary effect of these coattails became evident when Adinolfi won back his Assembly seat in 2010. http://cthousegop.com/al-adinolfi The voters in the 103rd District remembered the Representative who always cares about their welfare and the vacuum left by Obama’s absent coattails dragged Esty down in defeat.
     Esty is now the Democrat running for the 5th Congressional District, hoping that Obama’s Presidential coattails will help her enter the House of Representatives. Lesser, on the other hand, was able to solidify his power. He did this so well that I feel he deserves his own article. Read my opinions here and form your own:
CONTINUED:

Mudslinging Drew Condemns Suzio, Ignores Presence of Lesser & Bartolomeo

Mayor Drew and Mayor Rohde sling mud campaigning on the taxpayer's dime during work hours.

     Today Democratic Meriden Mayor Michael Rohde, Middletown Mayor Dan Drew, and Candidate & Town Councilwoman for Meriden Dante Bartolomeo held a joint press conference  to denounce state Sen. Len Suzio's campaign for re-election to the 13th District state senate seat as "dirty."
Rohde went on record at the press conference to accuse the Suzio campaign of using push polls as a campaign technique, but admitted he had no proof to tie the calls to the Suzio campaign. Suzio stated the calls did not come from his campaign and he does not condone such calls. Rohde asked Suzio to in some way make it stop, however had no suggestions as to where the calls originated from. Mayor Drew joined in in the false accusations.
It seems Drew has taken to slinging mud  along side candidates even when he himself is not up for election, all at the expense of tax payers who pay his salary. Why Drew has so much time on his hands to campaign for others during the work day, when he should be devoting it to his job, is unclear. While speaking to residents last night at the Westfield Residents Association's candidate forum, Drew ,who was asked to explain upcoming referendum items only, managed to name drop & thank Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D) 3x during his explanation of the Mattabasset Sewer district referendum.

At 1:30 pm today Drew and Governor Malloy will campaign with DeLauro during an appearance at a re-dedication ceremony for the Arrigoni Bridge in Portland. This was not announced until this morning, and only state Democrats were invited.

     Bartolomeo issued a campaign press release stating the conference was a joint effort (text copied below).  At the press conference today, Drew made no mention of the fact that Lesser was caught on video at the $1.84 a gallon gas rally held by American's for Prosperity last week. The State Democratic Committee chair filed a complaint against Suzio for alleged vote buying with the State Elections Enforcement Commission. Suzio's challenger for the 13th District Dante Bartolomeo gave a video interview to the New Haven Register at the gas event as well, yet was not named in the complaint.
 ________________________________________________________________________

Suzio Launches inaccurate Push Poll in Effort to Deceive Voters 

WHO:     Middletown Mayor Dan Drew

   Meriden Mayor Michael Rohde

   Dante´ Bartolomeo, City Councilor and State Senate Candidate  

WHAT:    State Senator Len Suzio has stooped to dirty tricks as he attempts to hold onto his Senate seat. The Mayors of Meriden and Middletown will condemn Senator Suzio's tactics, which most recently include resorting to misleading push polling in an attempt to deceive the voters of the 13^th Senate District.

WHERE:   Steps of Meriden City Hall

      142 East Main Street, Meriden, CT 06450

 WHEN:    Tuesday, October 23^rd; 11:30 A.M.

--

Jared D. Savas

Campaign Director

Dante for State Senate

(339) 237-0635

Paid for by "Danté For State Senate"    Kieren M. Moore, Treasurer      Approved by Danté Bartolomeo

Suzio Speaks Out: End Early Release of Violent Felons

Suzio at Ct Department of Correction, photo from Suzio website

Press Release from Suzio website: http://ctsenaterepublicans.com/2012/10/sen-suzio-victims-advocates-demand-suspension-of-controversial-early-prison-release-program/#.UH7Ym67AHU0

"Sen. Len Suzio (at microphone) was joined by violent crime victims at a Tuesday, Oct. 16 press conference in front of the Connecticut Department of Correction in Wethersfield to call on Gov. Malloy to suspend the state’s new policy which enable violent felons to be released from prison early.
Sen. Suzio also called upon the Malloy Administration to reappoint the state’s non-partisan, independent State Victim Advocate Michelle Cruz to another term. Cruz has been outspoken against the Malloy Administration’s new early release plan, which enables violent felons such as rapists, arsonists, child molesters and animal abusers to become eligible for early prison release under the Risk Reduction Earned Credits program.
“For months, we have been asking the Governor to suspend the Early Release Program as it applies to violent criminals and sexual predators and to order an investigation of the readily apparent failure to adequately protect the public,” Sen. Suzio said. “We already know of two murders associated with Early Release criminals. We know of a rape that was reported last week in Vernon. We know of a carjacking of an elderly lady this month in New Britain and we know of the sexual harassment of a 14-year old on a Middletown bus last month by an Early Release convict who had 28 convictions including rape at knifepoint.
“This week, we learned of the shooting of a 16-month old baby in New Haven by an Early Release graduate. How many murders, rapes and shootings of infants must take place before the Governor suspends this program? Enough is enough.
“We also are here to acknowledge the incredible courage and dedication of the State’s Victim Advocate, Michelle Cruz. Michelle has shown the light of truth on the disastrous Early Release Program. In so doing, she has demonstrated one of the rare characteristics of a political appointee today: the courage to stand up to the powers-that-be and say what the most powerful politicians in the state don’t want to hear. This Program is dangerous and should be suspended immediately. This program is a betrayal of the justice due to the victims of violent crime and their families. Continued:

Join Senator Suzio for $1.87 Gas Thursday

Suzio at a Gas Tax Rally in Middletown held in spring of 2012, one of many held state wide by the senator.
Currently CT's state gas tax is 47 cents per gallon. The gross receipts tax that is 7.5% on the is in addition to the state flat tax of 25 cents on each gallon of gasoline.

The Connecticut chapter of the national group Americans for Prosperity is holding “a gas rollback event,” Thursday October 17, 2012 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Danby’s Gulf Express on E. Main Street.

American's for Prosperity ties the price per gallon is tied to the level of gas prices before President Barack Obama took office.
          13th District State Sen. Len Suzio is attending an event sponsored by American's for Prosperity Thursday October 18th in Meriden to make a statement about the state's rising gas prices. Suzio has lead the charge in the state to reduce the state’s gas taxes. This was voted down by Democrats earlier this year. Customers will be able to purchase up to 15 gallons of gas at a reduced $1.84 price for a 2 hour period at the gas station.
Currently CT's state gas tax is 47 cents per gallon. The gross receipts tax that is 7.5% on the is in addition to the state flat tax of 25 cents on each gallon of gasoline.
     JR Romano, the CT Director for American's for Prosperity stated in a press release earlier this week: “We are pleased to provide this opportunity for hard working CT residents to see some much-needed relief at the pump. The rise in the price of gasoline is just one example of how President Obama and Congressman Chris Murphy’s out-of-control tax and spend policies are hurting CT families.”

Suzio is running for re-election in the 13th District which represents parts of Middletown, Meriden, and Middlefield.
http://www.middletowninsider.com/2012/02/gas-tax-cap-rally-success.html

Letter to the Editor: Suzio is Fearless

To the Editors of the Insider:

I strongly encourage all voters residing in the 13th state senate district to vote for Sen. Len Suzio (R-13) in the upcoming election. Sen. Suzio has seemed to be everywhere as our state senator.
He is fearless, challenging the way the state does business, and is unafraid to expose why failed state policies need to be changed.
Tireless, passionate, business-friendly legislators are few and far between in Hartford.
Vote for Len Suzio. He will continue to make us proud.

Sincerely,

David Furgess, Middletown

Your Daily Spin from the Middletown Mess: Liar Liar Pants on Fire

   Earlier in the week the Middletown Mess (aka Press) published a piece about Fire Opps 101, a class by the MFD to demonstrate to City officials what goes into their daily routine of fire rescue. While there is no doubt these men and women are heroes, instead of show casing them, the Mess took it as an opportunity to sell out to the Democratic propaganda machine and over emphasize the role of their buddy Democrats.

The article was written by Middletown Democratic Town Committee pal Mess editor Viktoria Sundqvist. Other City officials attended and participated in all four demonstrations offered, including Republican Coucilwoman and Candidate for State Rep for the 100th Deborah Kleckowski and Incumbent Candidate for State Senate Len Suzio, however, only Councilman Phil Pessina (R), Mayoral Aide (or Grant Chief of Staff as he unilaterally changed his title to), Joseph Samolis, and Mayor Drew were mentioned repeatedly in Sundqvist's article. As a sitting Councilman, Drew chose not to attend and to instead campaign, but as Mayor he made sure he came for the photo opt published by Sundqvist.
      Sundqvist's article goes on to describe the heat of the fire, the color, the smoke, in trite analogies, with ridiculous verbiage by Drew. Despite the chaos she describes she manages, in full gear, to quote Drew in the article, she writes:
"Drew said two firefighters were added into the budget for the 2011-12 year when he was on the Common Council, and as mayor, he added another two for the 2012-13 year. He has also been in contact with
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro’s office about applying for a SAFER grant, which would allow the department to pay for more officers for a limited period of time. “My administration is making a concerted effort to increase the staffing in both the fire and police department,” Drew said.  “We have
a responsibility for the public’s safety.” "
      Here Drew blatantly tries to take credit for work of the past administration, which he criticized and ultimately then voted against!
      Last year,  Councilwoman Deborah Kleckowski, Personnel Director Debra Milardo, Councilman Bob Santangelo, Hillary Federico from the Press, Representative Matt Lesser (wearing a Malloy t-shirt, again always campaigning & making himself the focus) and Mayor Sebastian Giuliano  participated in Fire Ops 101. Drew did not participant though eligible as a councilman (we get to why below). Participants past and present performed four tasks while wearing full gear:
1. Break down a door using special equipment, then crawl up a smoke filled, dark stairwell to search for and recover a "victim". Participants  had to drag the victim (a 200 lb. dummy) to safety.
2. Fire attack and knockdown. City officials dragged a charged fire hose into a dark, smoke filled - and burning - structure.
3. Participants were instructed to carry a chainsaw up a ladder to the roof of a burning structure and cut a hole in it to ventilate and release the heat.
4. Cut up a Ford Taurus using the Hurst tool (the "Jaws of Life").
    Although  no doubt hyper-ventilating, as anyone in 700 degree heat would, Drew remembers to name-drop for DeLauro, who was not on  hand. Although the Insider does not support nor pretend to endorse the subsequent claim, Insider has observed that rumors circulating on various websites run by conservative critics and bloggers suspect her rumored "declining health" for her absence on the campaign trail and as a reason for her failure to debate opponent Wayne Winsley. A Patch contributor, Middletown resident Bill Boyd comments on DeLauro's lack of response to Winsley a letter here: When questioned about debating Winsley DeLauro appears very confused- see the video from blogger Palin Smith here:
      Mayor Drew, who never fails in these articles, especially those written by pal Viktoria Sundqvist to brag about himself did in fact apply for a SAFER grant just like every administration before him did as well however; there is a catch to the grant. This grant is all well and good as long as Middletown then commits to the higher staffing levels after the grant expire as is mandated in the rules for application of the SAFER grant. If it is in the budget,  necessary and affordable, then by all means increase Fire and Police staffing, but this is a decision for tax payers. Once again the Drew has put the cart before the horse and committed City money - your tax dollars- before its even in the bank!  Ironically, when the previous administration and Republican's on Common Council advocated to increase staffing at the Fire Departments, Democrats criticized it.  
     Like this year, last year was no different: Middletown Fire Department invited the entire Common Council to participate; only Kleckowski and Santangelo took them up on it.  
At the time of last year's Fire Ops class, Drew was running for mayor, but couldn't tear himself away from his campaign to do it - (kind of sounds like a certain President of the U.S. who couldn't fore-go a Las Vegas fundraiser in the face of a terrorist attack on our consulate in Lybia. If you remember, Dan Drew couldn't find time to help out at the shelter during either of the two weather events that took place last year.)  
     Well, Drew did show up at the  Emergency Shelter at the High School on Halloween night 2011 for about 10 minutes to hand out candy, at 8 pm at night to children who we were trying to get to calm down. Thanks a bunch, Dan; you're such a help! Thanks for making a mockery of our heroic Fire Department and using this as an opportunity to campaign for Delauro & yourself rather than showcase the real heroes.