In what was apparently meant to be a proud declaration of endorsement, James Craven of the New Britain Herald recently reported that the Working Families Party has endorsed Mayoral Candidate Tim O'Brien, Town and City Clerk Candidate Suzanne Bielinski, Tax Collector Candidate Greg Gerrantana, Alderman-At-Large Candidates Michael Trueworthy , Paul Catanzaro, Marie Laush for alderman in Ward one, and finally Ward Four Alderman Candidate Phil Sherwood.
According to the political watchdog web site Discoverthenetworks.org, The Working Families Party is a front group of ACORN, is an outgrowth of the socialist New Party, and acts as a political party in Connecticut and New York to run radical candidates who conceal their extremism beneath a veneer of populist rhetoric, promising bread-and-butter issues designed to appeal to union voters. The site quotes Bertha Lewis, who moonlights as both WFP Co-Chair and New York ACORN Executive Director as saying "Candidates know that when they're on our line, they're committed to certain things."
In my opinion it is exactly these radical commitments that should concern each and every one of us. Anyone who would accept the endorsement of such a radical organization is a candidate who has publicly demonstrated a commitment to a radical agenda that in general is pro-government, anti-business, and generally supports the power of government over the power of individual citizens. Accepting this endorsement is a statement that as a candidate, you stand for bigger government, higher taxes, and the so-called nanny state of government controlling all of our lives and providing everything for us from the cradle to the grave, in simpler terms: SOCIALISM.
I believe the best interests of New Britain and America in general would be served by avoiding any candidate that has publicly accepted the endorsement of these radicals. Instead, vote for candidates who support good old fashioned American values.
Since socialism is only the means of delivering a society into communism, is this just a nice way to say they're all communists?
ReplyDeleteIf they represent a bunch of people who don't work, how can they call themselves the party of "working families"?
ReplyDeleteConflicts of interest stop further HUD funds
ReplyDeleteFriday, November 21, 2008 11:40 PM EST
By RICK GUINNESS
Herald staff
NEW BRITAIN — Although the federal agency has released $1.9 million to the city that it had frozen for months,the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says several members of the Common Council still have conflicts of interest, according to a HUD report.
Those conflicts will not allow the agency to reconsider its rejection of two of the eight requested programs.
The report says some council members in decision-making positions related to organizations seeking HUD funding could open the door to reconsideration should they leave those positions.
Cited in the report — authored by HUD field officer Julie Fagan — are Alderman Paul Catanzaro and Majority Leader Michael Trueworthy for having been involved with HUD-funded organizations such as the Human Resources Agency of New Britain as well as Republicans Alphonse Wright and Kevin Nodell as members of the Commission on Community and Neighborhood Development.
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Catanzaro serves as president of HRA and Trueworthy’s wife, Elena, works for the agency. Catanzaro did not return calls for comment.
The fact that Catanzaro has taken no action to remove himself from HRA, forces HUD to deny reconsideration of funding rejections, the report concludes.
Trueworthy must not vote on any matter involving his wife’s organization; HUD acknowledges he did not. However, HUD report says that even if he doesn’t vote, just being a member of the Common Council fosters an improper appearance that may constitute a conflict.
Nodell had a personal conflict under HUD’s rules regarding the Emergency Shelter Grant. Wright in his capacity as a member of the CCND had voted to recommend the Common Council allocate emergency shelter funds to HRA eviction and foreclosure mediation.
Both were on CCND and HRA, but they did not recuse themselves on votes regarding each other’s organization’s funding proposal.
“We found the conflicts involving the Eviction and Mediation Program operated by HRA to be particularly serious because four individuals [two aldermen and two members of the Commission on Community Development] are in conflict with the regulations due to their relationship with HUD; therefore we have grouped their requests for an exception and rendered a single determination,” the report said.
Those programs were the only ones not funded and the HUD report vindicated that action.
In late summer, Wright quit HRA but remained a CCND board member and Nodell quit CCND but remained on HRA.
Trueworthy spoke up for them both, saying the report — in the end — approved six out of eight requests.
Furthermore, he stressed that HUD did not take any of the money back, rather it will be up to the council to re-allocate those funds to other organizations.
“This will change the way we do things,” Trueworthy said.
He said he did not have an opinion on what Catanzaro should or shouldn’t do.
“That is for Paul to decide,” Trueworthy said.
Trueworthy recalled how he publicly he asked Corporation Counsel Genarro Bizzarro if everything was OK with the resolution that went before the council.
And the answer was yes, despite Lou Salvio’s protestations. Salvio is the one who advised HUD there were conflicts of interest.
Alderman Phil Sherwood said, “Every alderperson did exactly what the city attorneys told them to do, when they told them to do it — and in the future we are still trying to figure it out.”
“We have to be more sensitive than ever before: ethics in government has evolved,” he added. “All you need is the appearance of impropriety.”
“I am thankful that Mayor Stewart worked with HUD to make sure the city got the money that HUD had promised,” Sherwood said.
2008 is old news. HUD sited Ald. Trueworthy, again, for this year's HUD request. MORE federal dollars withheld.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said
ReplyDeleteFrank:
The Radical candidates that are running for office seem very socialistic and I will not vote for them this November.
In 1998 in New York, ACORN founded the Working Families Party (WFP), which endorses candidates for political office. WFP endorsed Hillary Clinton in her 2000 Senate race. Canvassers from ACORN and its sister groups launched a statewide voter-mobilization drive that proved influential in Clinton's victory. In November 2001, a coalition of radical politicians led by ACORN-sponsored candidates running on the WFP ticket won a veto-proof majority on the New York City Council, giving ACORN de facto control of the New York City government.
ReplyDeleteACORN's current platform in New York calls for a rollback of welfare reforms; a crackdown on NYC police, including a ban on "racial and ethnic profiling"; and the appointment of a politicized Civilian Review Board newly empowered to prosecute police officers. ACORN also seeks to use its influence to raise corporate taxes, increase regulation, and empower unions with an array of new rights. Moreover, ACORN aims to prevent any corporation from being free to leave New York without first obtaining an "exit visa" from the City Council.
An organization called "The Working Family Party" has been organizing bus trips to the homes of AIG execs so they can conduct protests there.
ReplyDeleteI support the right for all protests, but targeting private homes reeks of intimidation and class conflict..
Here is their official site advertising such trips..
We're all mad at AIG. Their executives bear a large share of the responsibility for bringing the economy to it's knees, and now the same folks are getting hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses -- at our expense. Join us for a field trip to bring them the message.
Schedule:
CAN'T MAKE IT?
You can't come on the bus trip? Be sure to sign the letter we're going to be handing to AIG CEOs here.
10AM: Pick up in Hartford
(Working Families Headquarters - 30 Arbor St.)
11AM: Pick up in Bridgeport
(ACORN Offices 2320 Main St.)
Tour and Protest
AIG Financial Products headquarters, executives' houses.
2:30: Return to Bridgeport
3:30: Return to Hartford
Is it safe to call these candidates, the ACORN CANDIDATES?
ReplyDeleteConnecticut Working Families Party and ACORN Hartford share the same suite and fax number at 30 Arbor Street. They do have different phone numbers, probably so that the secretary can answer with the different name?
Connecticut Working Families. 30 Arbor St, Suite #210, Hartford CT, 06106.
Phone (860) 523 1699. Fax (860) 523 1611.
Hartford ACORN
30 Arbor St. Suite 210
Hartford, CT 06106
Phone: 860-232-2675
Fax: 860-523-1611
Is it also just a coincidence that CCAG is in the same building?
A Tour of CT Working Familes Party
ReplyDeleteMarch 21, 2009
I have been reviewing the mob-mentality being generated by the Obama administration and the Democrat-led Congress today. One of the more interesting developments is that a group leading a tour to harass fellow American citizens is Connecticut Working Families Party, which is co-founded by ACORN. ACORN is a radical group, with a strong anti-capitalist agenda that perpetrated voter fraud in the November Presidential Election.
Hillary Clinton, George Soros, ACORN Tied to Working Families Party Targeting AIG Workers at Home
ReplyDeleteFriday, March 20, 2009 | Kristinn
Posted on Friday, March 20, 2009 2:23:20 PM by kristinn
The Working Families Party that is organizing a bus tour protest this Saturday at the homes of AIG employees has deep ties to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, billionaire leftist financier George Soros and the radical group ACORN.
A 2005 article by Richard Poe published at Discover the Networks details the connections:
The Working Families Party (WFP) is a front group for the radical cult ACORN. It functions as a political party in New York State and Connecticut, promoting ACORN-friendly candidates. Unlike conventional political parties, WFP charges its members dues – about $60 per year – a policy characteristic of ACORN and its affiliates.
The ACORN Short Bus RIDES AGAIN!
ReplyDeleteBy The Blogshevik • March 22, 2009
Recently, my good friend and compadre, A Responsible American, wrote a piece about ACORN’S bussing of “tourists” to the homes owned by AIG executives. These tourists are members of The Connecticut Working Families Party, a coalition of disenchanted losers who find fault in the success of others. Their rolls are filled with individuals who have failed miserably in life and instead of pulling themselves up by the jack-booted-bootstraps, have decided to attack those who can afford to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
What is the liberal “work ethic”? It isn’t producing wealth, that is a conservative principle. It isn’t sitting around collecting welfare….that is being a leech.
ReplyDeleteThe liberal “work ethic” is the effort they put into TRANSFERRING wealth from the producers to the leeches. It really isn’t “work” at all….it is simply a way for the scum of society to have an effect on society with the least amount of effort and avoiding getting their hands dirty.
As the non-producing mobs are turned loose on the producers of society, the liberals hide behind the medias misrepresentation of the facts.
CCAG, ACORN, The Working Families Party, & Tim O'Brien all together in one statement??????????????????
ReplyDelete...Connecticut Citizens Action Group Deputy Director Phil Sherwood said he’s “not sure Americans will sleep better tonight knowing these CEO’s get to keep their yachts.” He said “we need to be honest about how we got here, if we want middle class America to pay for it.”
Without any oversight or regulation, Sherwood said it looks like “we’re rewarding bad behavior.”
Tom Swan, executive director of CCAG, said if these companies expect us to bail them out then we want to see some protections for homeowners. “We must discourage additional foreclosures,” he said.
State Rep. Tim O’Brien, D-New Britain, said if the credit markets tighten up these companies that the average American bailed out need to make sure people can still get home and car loans.
Jon Green, executive director of the Working Families Party, said in a press release that “Any bailout passed by Congress must also actually help the homeowners who were the victims of these predatory practices, and also regulate the practices that got us into this crisis in the first place.”
To this end CCAG, Acorn, and the Working Families Party are asking people to call 1-800-473-6711 and let Congress know that the bailout should include a number of reforms to protect American public.
The Nationwide Recess Rally takes place on Saturday, August 22nd, 2009. If you believe your liberty, your hard earned money and your way of life is under attack through dangerous healthcare legislation currently being proposed, get to your local Representative office on August 22nd and make sure he/she knows.
ReplyDeleteRepresentative Chris Murphy (D – 05)
114 West Main Street, Suite 206
New Britain, CT 06051
Voice: 860-223-8412
FAX: 860-827-9009
What we all have to understand is there is no Democrat Party anymore. I prefer to call it the party of elitists, liars, tax cheats and thieves. They care nothing about you and I, Capitalism, or our Constitution. One of the greatest freedoms we have, is the freedom to assemble, to speak out, to protest against, or for something that we the people believe in. Now understand, its OK and a good thing when the libs do it to support and try to ram their agenda down our throats using SEIU, Acorn and Union thugs, but god forbid it when honest hard working real Americans who care about our freedoms and capitalism do it, we're labeled racist, evil mongers, right-wing radical extremists etc. The so-called party for the children, the old, the less fortunate, its all a big pile of crap folks. The democrat party of today is about two things, Power and total government control of everything and everybody period. If we don't continue to speak out against healthcare, as well as the cap and tax/trade bill these pathetic so-called public servants will continue to strip the Constitution to threads and the once most prosperous, hard working, charity giving, God loving societies ever created by man will be nothing but a memory. Socialism, and Communism doesn't work, never has, never will and for me, I want nothing to do with it.
ReplyDeletehow can you be the party of working families if most of your members don't work?
ReplyDeleteDon't they work hard at allowing people to continue living on the dole?
ReplyDeleteWe work and pay taxes so that others can sit on their fat butts and live high off the hog off socialist programs rammed through by liberals like O'Brien.
ReplyDelete