Disclosure: This is a perspective piece by someone who has an opinion but is trying in this article to hide it.
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The Westfield Residents Association has hosted a "Meet the candidates" night every year for over 20 years. At this event, which is held in the Fellowship Hall of theThird Congregational Church, city residents have a chance to ask questions of the men and women who wish to represent them in government.
The candidates for president were not invited this year, but they did make a cameo appearance in a question that I asked. I felt that since both Hillary Clinton (Democrat) and Donald Trump (Republican) have engendered passionate feelings of support in some, and opposition in others, it would be informative to know how each of the local candidates felt about the candidate that their party had selected.
Therefore, I asked each of the men and women hoping to represent our city in Hartford or Washington the simple "yes or no" question, "Do you support your party's candidate for president?" I contacted the few candidates who were not at the WRA meeting for their answer later in the week. The full list is below.
Out of 15 candidates, 14 gave an immediate and unconditional answer. Len Suzio was the sole exception, and his squirrelly evasion is the subject of a more opinionated piece to follow.
The Libertarian candidate supports Gary Johnson, all Democrats support Hillary Clinton, and all but one Republican support Donald Trump.
Anthony Moran was the sole candidate who said he would NOT be supporting his party's candidate, Donald Trump. Moran told me that although there had been some controversy within the Middletown Republican Town Committee over the issue of Trump, he had not faced difficulties for his personal opposition to the Republican presidential candidate.
Matthew Corey, a Republican running against John Larson in US Congress District 1 (which includes a tiny sliver of Middletown), elaborated on his support for Trump. He said that he was a "solid Trump supporter", because he did not cause all the problems we face now. Those problems include, he said, the problems of veterans, the problems of the Middle East, and the $19 trillion in debt.
Corey said of Trump, "He's speaking the language I want to hear."
The candidates on the ballot in our city are below, with their answer to the question, "Do you support your party's candidate for president?"
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US Senator
Dan Carter (Republican) YES
Richard Lion (Libertarian) YES
Richard Blumenthal (Democrat) YES
US Congress District 3
Rosa DeLauro (Democrat) YES
Angel Cadena (Republican) YES
US Congress District 1
John Larson (Democrat) YES
Matthew Corey (Republican) YES
State Senator District 9
Paul Doyle (Democrat) YES
Earle V. Roberts (Republican) YES
State Senator District 13
Danté Bartolomeo (Democrat) YES
Len Suzio (Republican) "I'm not going to answer that question"
State Representative District 33
Joseph Serra (Democrat) YES
Linda Szynkowicz (Republican) YES
State Representative District 100
Matthew Lesser (Democrat) YES
Anthony Moran (Republican) HELL NO
Suzio's non-answer is very telling.
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