No images? Click here MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Thursday, June 3, 2021: Edition #4 Shawn Daly Dear , It certainly has been a month of change. I can't tell you how excited I am about the changes and how they have invigorated and energized our party. While we face challenges from a new party this election, I'm more confident than ever that with your support, our future is bright! As you can imagine, your West Hartford Republican Town Committee has been very busy and there is much to cover in this month's newsletter. As many of you may know, Mark Merritt resigned as Chairman of the West Hartford Republican Town Committee (RTC). Both he and Lee Gold have left the party and will be looking to run as Town Council candidates under Lowell Weicker's old, "A Connecticut Party." Pursuant to the By-Laws of the West Hartford RTC, I have taken over as temporary Chairman. Our Treasurer, Ari Shell, is also resigning. So, the West Hartford RTC will be voting on a new Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Treasurer for the West Hartford RTC at our meeting on Monday, June 21, 2021. For the upcoming municipal elections in November, we are putting together a slate of candidates and have received inquiries and commitments from several potential candidates. We are working on the vetting process and will be announcing our slate after the Republican caucus, forthcoming in July. See below to learn more if you are interested in being a candidate and running for municipal office this November. Also, in our newsletter, is our announcement about Mary Fay being named as the new Minority Leader for the West Hartford Town Council. Mary shares our platform and vision and we're confident she will be able to help us execute our platform in a more expedited fashion than our previous leadership. Mary has also been very busy on the radio and in the press, promoting our party and our ideals. In this issue, you'll be able to hear her recent interviews on the radio as well as read some recent articles in the press. The RTC has been busy volunteering as well. Read below about how we've resurrected a former event with our recent support of the American Legion and Scouts by planting American Flags on verteran's gravesites in West Hartford's Fairview Cemetery. We also want to bring to your attention information from CT 169 Strong with information about zoning and the proposed House Bill HB6107. In addition, please sign the petition to put a stop to the proposed Gas Tax. These bills continue to make living in Connecticut an unsustainable and challenging task. We've even made many changes to our website and added an office phone number for the West Hartford RTC, in case you have ideas, questions or issues that you'd like to bring to our attention. Our new office phone number is 860-840-7430 for future reference. Of course, as always, you'll also hear from our Town Council, Board of Ed, Registrar of Voters and State Central representatives. Please remember, we can’t do this without your support of time and financial donations. This allows us to reach more members of our community and share our vision. If you have any questions, feedback or if you need additional information, please feel free to call the West Hartford RTC office at 860-840-7430 or email me at chair@whgop.org. Take care, Shawn Daly
We Need Your Donations Now!With a new party being added this year, competition for municipal elections seats are going to be challenging. Your donations are critical to our continued success and are more important now than ever. Our municipal and state elections are coming up very soon. We need your donations to help get our candidates elected and implement our platform to enhance the resident experience in town. Please click on the button below and help by donating to the West Hartford Republican Town Committee. Any donation amount is helpful and appreciated. Your Contribution Will Make A DifferenceThe West Hartford Republican Town Committee Seeks Candidates to Run for Town, State OfficeHave you considered running for the West Hartford Town Council, the West Hartford Board of Education or the Connecticut State Legislature? Do you think you can help make changes with Republican values that are right for our town? The West Hartford Republican Town Committee is now accepting requests of interests from those who may be interested in running for municipal or state elected office for this November's election. Let us help you create a winning campaign this year! If you're interested in being considered by the Town Committee, please click on the button below and send an email to our Chairman, Shawn Daly, to receive an application so you may be considered. WeHa Republicans Name New Minority LeaderThe West Hartford Republican Town Committee is so proud to announce Mary Fay as our new Minority Leader on the West Hartford Town Council. She has been a beacon of strength for years in service to our Town and our party. We know that Mary shares the vision of our platform and her leadership will help expedite our platform to enhance the future resident experience for all citizens of West Hartford. Click on the buttons below to see articles in the press about the Minority Leader change.
Mary Fay on the RadioMary has certainly been busy since moving into the role of Minority Leader of the West Hartford Town Council. Recently, on May 19. she was on WTIC-1080 AM Radio being interviewed by Joe Markley. Then, later that week on May 21, she was on WDRC-1360 AM Radio being interviewed by Gary Byron on "The Talk of Connecticut." Click the buttons below to listen to her interviews!
WeHa RTC Supports American Legion, Scouts with Memorial Day Flag Planting at Fairview CemeteryOn Saturday, May 22, the West Hartford RTC revived a former tradition of supporting the American Legion Hayes-Velhage Post 96 and several scout troops honoring veterans by planting American flags on the gravesites of veterans at Fairview Cemetery in West Hartford. Click on the button below to read the We-Ha.com article about the event. Blue Back Square Under New OwnershipEarlier in May, Starwood Realty Partners sold the Blue Back Square property in West Hartford Center to new owners. The transaction will bring the property under new ownership with roots in Connecticut. Click below to see the full story in We-Ha.com. Zoning Bill HB 6107 Passes CT HouseOn May 20, the Connecticut State House of Representatives started the ball rolling towards of dangerous initiative for the State to takeover much of the individual, municipal zoning regulations in towns like West Hartford. Click on the link below to read about the bill and what you can do to keep zoning local in West Hartford. Sign the Petition - Stop the New Gas/Food Tax!We are encouraging all Connecticut residents, especially West Hartford residents to please sign the petition to stop the Gas/Food tax in Connecticut. The Governor and Democratic lawmakers in our state want a $200 million tax added on gas and mileage. There objective is raise revenue with a regressive tax that will hurt lower income families while forcing residents that can afford to do so, to abandon their gas automobiles.The intended and unintended consequences this presents is detrimental to the sustainability of our state. This will not solve any issues and will only add to the strain on our electric grid. State Democrats must learn to control their spending. Please click on the button below to sign the petition! Town Council ReportThis week, the Town Council adopted a $308.4 million budget (an increase in spending of $8.195 million) which increases the Town's Mill rate to 42.42. According to the Town, the average single family home with two vehicles will now pay $10,570.00 in local property taxes pursuant to this budget. To put that into context, on March 20, 2015, the Town's CFO stated that the average West Hartford Tax Payer was paying $8,334.00. Thats' an unsustainable increase of $2,236.00 or 27% over a very short period of time. I did not support this budget and neither did Mary Fay. All other members of the Town Council voted in favor of the budget The Town received 25 million in American Rescue Act funds. Only approximately 4 - 5 million is being used in this budget – the balance to be used for a plethora of items over the next few years. The Town considered – but ultimately rejected - using up to 8 million of these funds in this budget – which would have resulted in a near no budget increase – but the Town elected not to citing, among other reasons, a desire to avoid creating structural deficits in the budget in the out years. To this position, my response as I articulated the other night was that using the ARA funds more generously this year would have given taxpayers a well-deserved tax break as many of us have experienced lay-offs, furlough days or pay cuts over the last year. Using the 8 million would have left a full 17 million to smooth any potential structural deficits moving forward. From my perspective I think we should focus on also not creating structural deficits on the year to year budget end.
The fact remains West Hartford is unique in that it has high property values and one of the highest mill rates in the state – it has both. This is distinctive to West Hartford. This is not sustainable or affordable. Indeed, whether it's offering a developer a tax abatement to develop in town (or otherwise risk losing the development) or allowing accessory dwelling units in an attempt to make residences more affordable, the Democratic Majority on the Town Council has acknowledged West Hartford’s unsustainable budget trends. That said, these steps are mere policies designed to address the symptoms of unaffordability rather than cure its underlying cause – which is our unsustainable budget increases. Unaffordability in West Hartford is here, and its here to stay, unless things change. Given their voting history, neither the Democratic Majority nor the Connecticut Party have any interest whatsoever in changing the unsustainable economic trajectory of West Hartford. Board of Education ReportAs the end of the school year comes to an end, most things wind down while others ramp up. The big drivers this time of year is graduation and planning for the school schedules getting back to pre-pandemic normals. Our amended school budget was accepted and passed by the town council, and although we fought for more cuts, we were able to cut it down by more than $700,000. We recently applied for the third set of federal relief funds, ESSR lll funding at $9.7 million, which turned out lower than expected and should be fully funded by August. Overall, this was the most challenging school year in recent history and I can confidently say, we as a whole, came through it better than most, not only in Connecticut but the country, to date there are still many schools still at 100% remote. Following the school year calendar, our last Board of Ed meeting is June 2nd and as customary, we will not meet again until September.
Registrar of Voters ReportHello West Hartford! With a municipal election coming up on November 2nd, I thought I would share some valuable online resources regarding voting in our town. As always, feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions. Online Resources for West Hartford Voters1. West Hartford Registrar of Voters website https://www.westhartfordct.gov/town-departments/registrars-of-voters 2. Connecticut Secretary of the State website 3. To check if you are registered to vote https://portaldir.ct.gov/sots/lookup.aspx 4. To check voter eligibility requirements https://portal.ct.gov/SOTS/Election-Services/Voter-Information/Voting-Eligibility 5. To register to vote https://voterregistration.ct.gov/OLVR/welcome.do 6. To change party affiliation https://voterregistration.ct.gov/OLVR/welcome.do 7. To see voter registration deadlines https://portal.ct.gov/SOTS/Election-Services/Registration-Deadlines/Registration-Deadlines 8. To check where you vote https://www.westhartfordct.gov/town-departments/registrars-of-voters/polling-locations 9. To see maps of Voting Districts https://www.westhartfordct.gov/town-departments/registrars-of-voters/polling-locations 10. To check voter ID requirements https://portal.ct.gov/SOTS/Election-Services/FAQ/FAQ---Voter-Identification 11. To learn about options for voting using handicapped-accessible equipment 12. To apply for an absentee ballot https://www.westhartfordct.gov/town-departments/townl-clerk/absentee-ballots 13. To see immediate election results https://ctemspublic.pcctg.net/#/selectTown 14. To see historic election results https://www.westhartfordct.gov/town-departments/registrars-of-voters/election-results 15. To apply to work at the polls https://www.westhartfordct.gov/town-departments/registrars-of-voters/poll-worker-information 16. To see list of Federal & State Elected Officials https://www.westhartfordct.gov/town-departments/registrars-of-voters/elected-officals
State Central ReportThe State Central monthly Meeting was Tuesday May 25th. Ron Kaufman the Treasurer of the Republican National Committee was the guest speaker. Ron gave a spirited and uplifting message about the state of the GOP which is in great shape. Ron Kaufman is a Senior Advisor in the Public Policy and Regulation practice at Dentons. He focuses on providing government affairs services to public and private sector clients nationwide. Mr. Kaufman is a highly experienced political strategist who has served as a senior advisor to US Presidents, Governors, Members of Congress, and a host of elected and appointed officials at every level of government. After having helped lay the political foundation for his successful 1988 presidential campaign, Mr. Kaufman served in the Administration of President George H.W. Bush, initially as White House Personnel Director and then as Assistant to the President and the White House Political Director. Previously, Mr. Kaufman served President Ronald Reagan as Regional and then National Political Director of the Republican National Committee. Most recently, Mr. Kaufman served as a senior advisor to Governor Mitt Romney during his 2012 presidential campaign. In addition to his distinguished public service career, Mr. Kaufman has served as chairman of a leading multidisciplinary government affairs firm in Washington, DC. Mr. Kaufman currently serves as Treasurer of the Republican National Committee and the elected Republican National Committeeman for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as well as a member of the Rules Committee, Executive Committee, and Chaired the 2020 RNC Convention Site Selection Committee. He is also active with the Republican Governors Association, where he has served as the Co-Chair of the Finance Committee. Ron is the proud father to daughter Carly and husband Richard, two grandchildren Orin and Paul, and daughter Katie and husband Will, and their three, Gravin, Summer and Eljah. Your State GOP is determined to stop the gas and food tax. There are rallies that are occurring across the state. Please consider attending these rallies and signing the petition to stop this tax. https://ctsenaterepublicans.com/action-senate-republicans/ Also, June 22nd is the CTGOP Chairman's reception. We need to support the state GOP. Please join us for what will be a great event. For more information, click on the button below to see the Facebook invitation for this fundraising event. Want to See the WeHa RTC Proposed Platform?The objective of the West Hartford Republican Town Committee is help enhance the resident experience for all West Hartford citizens in an economically sustainable manner while helping candidates get elected who share that vision. If you haven't seen our newsletter before or haven't had a chance to look at the West Hartford Republican Town Committee Platform, please click on the button below to download your copy from our website. How Do I Get Involved?Would you like an opportunity to really contribute to the town? We have a few spots still available for membership on the West Hartford Republican Town Committee. Please click on the button below to see how to join our committee. If you're interested in attending one of our Town Committee meetings, please email our Town Committee Chairman, Shawn Daly at chair@whgop.org and he will provide you with the details. How Can I Get Even More InformationClick on the buttons below to visit our West Hartford Republican Town Committee Website or you can click on the button to learn about our volunteer opportunities or donate to the West Hartford RTC.
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