Opinion
New Britain Progressive Opinion Page
On this page, you will find Op-Ed pieces, news analysis and other opinion in which the authors seek to inform on topics of interest to the New Britain community. If you would like to send commentary for consideration, please email it to [email protected].
State League of Women Voters: Setting the Record Straight on Debates
It wasn’t that long ago, that … candidates eagerly awaited being invited to a League of Women Voters of Connecticut debate.
Why Trump’s Party Rallies In New Britain
Mayor Stewart’s former campaign HQ is one of 20 “RNC Community Centers” in the nation where “Stop The Steal” workshops are occurring By John McNamara Ronna McDaniel, the national Republican Party’s Chairperson and Donald Trump sycophant, made her way to New Britain this week to blast not one Democrat but all Democrats as favoring “greed, communism, and […]
Green Party Governor Candidate: Ballot Access Should Be Expanded
By Michelle Louise Bicking Equitable ballot access has long been a thorn in Connecticut’s side for decades. Despite the facade of deep blue progressive politicking and people-centered campaigns, Connecticut has the third most stringent ballot access laws anywhere in the country. “Stringent” is defined here as the least amount of time to petition for ballot […]
Does New Britain need a chief operating officer and a full time mayor?
Misleading Referendum Proposes High Level Patronage Job To Manage Municipal Government by John McNamara NEW BRITAIN – Creating a new chief operating officer to manage the municipality and making town clerk and tax collector jobs appointed instead of elected offices are big and very different questions for a referendum vote in November.Voters, however, won’t have […]
COO Patronage Job, End To Elections Of Clerk and Tax Collector Are On The Nov. 8 Ballot
Fuzzy Charter Question Will Keep Many Voters in the Dark by John McNamara New Britain voters will be deciding much more than who should be the Governor and making their picks for other elective offices on November 8th. City charter revisions will, if approved, make the biggest changes in a generation as to how Connecticut’s […]
Campaign cash soared in ’21 municipal election but voter turnout declined
By John McNamara “Money is the mother’s milk of politics” goes the observation first coined in the 1960s that applies to almost every state and federal election cycle as all kinds of committees and special interests raise billions in reported and anonymous donations. That old saying about money in politics applies less frequently to local elections where […]
New Britain NAACP Supports Remote Public Participation
The NAACP New Britain Branch would like to lend our support for the proposed resolution … to bring back remote public speaking…
Behind Mayor Stewart’s War On Supt. Sarra and the BOE
The vandalism and trouble that occurred at New Britain High School in September needlessly escalated the rift between Mayor Erin Stewart and New Britain School District leaders.
The Return of Tim Stewart: Ex-Mayor Chairs SBC As $50M School Project Begins
By John McNamara Former Mayor Tim Stewart is the new Chairperson of the School Building Committee, gaining reappointment by his daughter, Mayor Erin Stewart, just as the seven-member committee moves forward with expenditures on the $50 million major renovation at the Chamberlain Elementary School on the city’s East Side. The former four-term Mayor resigned from the […]
The Day After: Should Fireworks Be Free Or Come With A Fee?
By John McNamara The City’s Fourth of July Tab: $60K And $10 A Car Load No one can deny that fireworks on the Fourth of July brings a community together. It is America’s birthday tradition that can awe and delight children or the child in all of us. And after 15 months of social distancing […]