Himes Speaks at Wilton Democratic Town Committee’s Annual Spring Breakfast
Wilton Bulletin , Monday, May 17, 2010
“This is a good time to be a Democrat,” said John Kalamarides, chair of Wilton’s Democratic Town Committee.
The town’s Democrats met for breakfast at Trackside Saturday morning, raising money for the campaigning this fall. Candidates for various positions in Hartford and Washington came to excite their prospective constituents with an eye towards November.
Rep. Peggy Reeves (D-143rd) said she’s enjoyed her time in Hartford and would love to go back for another term.
“It has been an amazing experience — the best job I’ve ever had,” she said.
Ms. Reeves reminded her constituents she helped raise the threshold for the estate tax — which she described as “onerous and burdensome” — from $2 million to $3.5 million.
“I basically eliminated the tax for most of my district,” she said, adding she didn’t vote to raise taxes either.
Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut’s attorney general who is running for U.S. Senate, anticipated a tough November for Democrats.
“This year is going to be a really tough one for Democrats” because “people are angry and frustrated,” he said. Nonetheless, he said he was “going to do anything necessary to win this race.”
“Anything necessary — within the law,” he said as the audience laughed.
Mr. Blumenthal said running for a seat in Washington is bittersweet, as Connecticut is his first love.
“I want to go to Washington and fight for you, and make sure Washington is our ally and not our adversary,” Mr. Blumenthal said. “There is a lot of work to be done, and I want to pledge to you that Connecticut and its people will always be my priority. I’m not going away. I’m going to be fighting for the people of Connecticut first, last and always.”
Rep. Jim Himes (D-4th) said when he first addressed the DTC at their breakfast in 2008, those in attendance likely asked themselves, “Who is this guy who thinks he can beat Chris Shays?” In 2009, he said, those in attendance said to themselves, “I can’t believe this is the guy who beat Chris Shays.” Now, in 2010, he said, those in attendance said to themselves, “Lord, he’s aged quite a bit.”
In all seriousness, Mr. Himes said he and his colleagues have gotten a lot done in the past two years — “without the slightest bit of Republican support — including health care reform, a task “100 years in the making.”
“Now, no parent will look at their child and say, ‘I can’t afford to cure my child,’” Mr. Himes said.
Mr. Himes said the hardest part of his job is coming home on Friday. He said his eldest daughter recently told him, “Daddy, I hope you lose because I want you here.”
“I don’t feel good about leaving those girls behind,” he said of his two daughters. “But you started and now we’ll complete the reformation and transformation of this country,” he said to thunderous applause.
Mr. Kalamarides said “there aren’t enough superlatives” to describe Mr. Himes and what he’s done in his first term.
Dan Malloy, the former mayor of Stamford who is seeking the governorship, said he is the first candidate to have raised $250,000 in small donations of $100 or less from private citizens. By doing so, he qualifies for up to $8.5 million in public financing.
“I have the people’s agenda,” he said. “There are no special interests.” For the first time, we Connecticut residents have the “ability to elect someone who’s our own, a people’s governor.”
Mr. Malloy said the state relies too much on property taxes to pay for education, and that the state needs to work on balancing budgets and living within its means.
Other speakers at the breakfast included George Jepsen, candidate for attorney general, and Nancy DiNardo, chair of Connecticut’s Democrats.
