Who is Angel Fernandez?

Candidate Angel Fernandez for the 100th

The post below was originally featured in the Hartford Courant:
"Fernandez, 45, is running for State Representative for the in the race for the 100th House District seat.

Fernandez  grew up in the North End of Hartford and has lived in Middletown for 17 years. He spent 18 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring in 2007 due to injury as a master-at-arms second class.
"Right now people are so disappointed with both parties," he said. "It's shocking how disconnected a lot of our politicians are with a lot of people."

Fernandez described himself as "a big Second Amendment guy" but stressed that his campaign is also focusing heavily on rolling back some Common Core education requirements and cutting taxes.

He said he felt laws already in place before new gun control laws were enacted – if they had been properly enforced – would have been sufficient to address gun violence. He also said the new laws did not address many concerns about mental health, and said as a state representative he would support the rights of gun owners.
Fernandez was served in Operation Desert Storm and was deployed four times to Iraq and Afghanistan in the recent conflicts as part of a military police unit and an anti-terrorism unit providing security.

By his view of the local political scene, elected officials are out of touch with the needs of low- and middle-income residents.

"I served and I fought for my country and I came home to find a mess," Fernandez said.
He is now the owner of Eleven Charlie, a consulting company he started with friends from the Navy. The firm provides threat assessments for corporate and public buildings. He also has volunteered as deputy director of emergency management for the city for five years.
Fernandez ran for common council in the 2013 municipal election, his first attempt at running for office, but drew one of the lowest vote tallies out of the 18 council candidates.
He faces a challenge to unseat Lesser, who is running for a fourth term in the heavily-Democratic district.

Middletown Events to Meet Your Candidates Election 2014!

Find out what you need to know about who is running to represent Middletown before Election Day November 4th! Ask the tough questions for yourself & Find out what's on the ballot for Middletown's Charter Revision

October 17: Legislative incumbents and challengers will discuss housing and homelessness at a breakfast Friday The Cross Street AME Zion Church at 440 West St. will host a candidates’ meeting from 8:15 until 10 a.m. The Middlesex County Coalition on Housing and Homelessness and the Middlesex Interagency Council are also contributing to the meeting, according to a press release from the Coalition.

October 22- Green Street Arts Center Meet the Candidate Night - evening at Green St Arts Center

October 27 - Westfield Residents Association Candidate Forum : See below

The annual meeting will begin at 6:30pm, with members of the Charter Revision Commission coming to speak about and answer questions pertaining to the following questions on the Nov. 4 ballot:

1. Shall the Charter be amended to provide for a term of four years for the following elected officials of the City of Middletown: the Mayor, Common Council, Treasurer, Board of Assessment Appeals and Registrars of Voters?
2. Shall the Charter be amended to raise the bond limit for which the Common Council can approve spending without going to referendum to $1,000,000?
3. Shall all other amendments to the Charter as approved by the Common Council from the Final Report of the Charter Revision Commission at its September 2, 2014 meeting be approved?

What Really Happened at Charter Review, Views from Committee Member Milardo

Below is a letter to the Editor from Attorney Joseph Milardo an appointed member of Middletown's Charter Revision Committee. Milardo gives a break down of thoughts on the process. Earlier we published a Letter to the Editor outlining the questions on the November 2014 ballot. http://www.middletowninsider.com/2014/10/middletown-charter-revision-ballot.html

Tony Petras, Mike Gaudino and I suggested a four year term for the Mayor, only if, 1) there was a 2 term limit, and 2) there would be no participation/vesting in the City pension fund.  First, the question of term limits was referred to the City Attorney and he confirmed what Tony, Mike and I already knew, that there is no prohibition on terms limits in CT, in fact, Stamford has provided limits for some offices.

Then all of the Dems and the other two republicans on the charter panel decided 4 years terms should be provided for all office holders and there should be no term limits. 

At that point, Tony, Mike and I pulled our support for the 4 year terms.  Although we would have  supported 4 years for the Registrars since any contests for that office are usually resolved in the nomination process and the two party nominees don't compete for that office in the general election. 

For any other contested elective office, a four year term makes no sense, delays voter correction opportunities for too long, and, would not really save election costs since the staggered terms we have now require two year voting for P&Z and Bd/Ed offices. 

The charter changes advanced by the dems and the other two republicans were so flawed they didn't even discuss whether election for 4 year terms would be staggered as Bd/Ed and P&Z elections are.

As for the bonding increase we only supported this if it provided for a super majority vote requirement for passage.

The rest of the Charter changes are nothing substantive and do not require passage at this time.

I will be urging anyone I speak with to vote NO on all questions.  Also, a reminder that we should vote NO on the State constitutional amendments.  I believe these to be dangerous to our political process since voting will be easier to influence/rig, and, they are designed to accomdate lazy, uninformed voters.  No ballot box should be open to votes weeks before election day.  The amendments scream "banana republic" with every word!

In summary, these charter reviision panel members were not up to the task of meaningful review at all.  I frankly don't know how or why the panel was formed.  There was no agenda, no clear purpose, and aside from Mike, Tony and I filing a memorandum of suggested changes which we reviewed with the TC Executive committee and the Council republicans, no one else raised any revisions which would make Middltown's government operations more accessible to the voters.

Joe Milardo

Middletown Charter Revision Ballot Questions: Why you should vote NO! NO! & NO!

A letter to the editor from resident Ken McClellan:

Election Day - Tuesday, November 4, 2014

In addition to state officers, there will be a referendum on Middletown ballots for a Charter Revision.

The questions on the ballot will be:

1. Shall the Charter be amended to provide for a term of four years for the following elected officials of the City of Middletown: the Mayor, Common Council, Treasurer, Board of Assessment Appeals and Registrars of Voters?

2. Shall the Charter be amended to raise the bond limit for which the Common Council can approve spending without going to referendum to $1,000,000?

3.  Shall all other amendments to the Charter as approved by the Common Council from the Final Report of the Charter Revision Commission at its September 2, 2014 meeting be approved?

The majority caucus on the council is pushing for these changes.  My opinion is that all of these revisions should be rejected.  

Question 1:  4 year terms.  This sounds like it might save the city money, by eliminating one election cycle. However, we can't eliminate that election.  The Board of Education and Planning and Zoning Commission are elected for 4 years on a 2-year alternating cycle.  1/2 the members up for election every two years.  If the Council were to do the same, I might support this proposal.  One statement made to justify 4-year terms is that it will allow the Council to concentrate on governing, rather than campaigning.  In the time I've lived in Middletown, I haven't seen campaigning take away anything from the amount of governing done.  I have seen the Democratic majority on our Common Council spend time debating topics over which they have no authority or control at the same when a city budget is due.  Unfortunately the budget did not get a lot of discussion.   Please vote NO on this question.

Question 2:  Bonding Limit.  The current bonding limit, the amount of money the Common Council can borrow without a referendum is $750,000.  The Democrats on the Council have found ways to fund multi-million dollar projects without letting the citizens know, by borrowing money in $750,000 increments.  This is not what I call open, transparent and honest government.  I'm sure that their justification is that they want to make sure projects get started, and can't wait for that tedious approval process.  Vote NO on this question.

Question 3:  Everything Else.  I just received a copy of the commission report and council changes today.  This report is not available on the city web-site.  It is not included in the minutes of the Charter Revision Commission or in the minutes of the Common Council meeting where the report was accepted.  I will make the Report and Amendments available on the MRTC website (www.middletownctgop.com).  Unless you read and understand all the changes:  Vote NO on this question.

We need your vote and the votes of all your friends and neighbors on November 4. Mark your calendar and get out and VOTE!

Thank you,
Ken McClellan
Chairman,
Middletown Republican Town Committee

Suzio Grand Opening of Headquarters Oct 2, 2014

Open house for HQ, on October 2nd. 

Headquarters is located in Meriden at 1231 East Main Street, in the Ocean State Job Lot Plaza, and is located next to Subway.

Our hours are M-F from Noon to 5 and staffed by volunteers

Phone is 203-630-2905

Check the Website  Suzio2014.com or visit the

Facebook Page Suzio2014 plenty of photos

 

We always need help, please contact us. Hope to see you at the Open House.