Wesleyan Argus & Wesleying.org Election Articles of Note

Off the more traveled path of web reading this week besides the Press, the Patch, & the Eye, the Wesleyan Argus & Wesleying.org blog have had articles pertaining to similar election issues regarding registration of students to vote locally. With the issues this surrounding the registration of students and use of a p.o box vs. a physical address that took place earlier this week, several news sources have published articles of note about the issue. Ben Forshiem, president of the Wesleyan Democrats wrote a response to the letter by Eye writer & candidate Molly Salafia. Forshiem's response is published in the Wesleyan Argus & on the Middletown Patch that can be found here. Forshiem also elaborated in more detail in addition to his letter about his thoughts and stated he agreed with another commenter in a response to the issue on the Wesleying.org blog here.

BOE candidate and Eye write Ed McKeon wrote a response on the Wesleying.org blog, an independent student run blog a commentary on the issue worth reading. It can be found here:

http://wesleying.org/2011/10/27/community-voice-ed-mckeon-voting-with-the-townies/.

Eye writer and Wesleyan Biology Professor Stephen Devoto (Fishmuscle) wrote an article discussing student voters, and also asking them to take a closer look at 3 municipal candidates- all of which are locally running as Republicans ( Sebastian Giuliano, Debra Kleckowski, and Molly Salafia) he praised and asked readers to take a look at because "I think deserve strong consideration from left-leaning voters."

His article can be found here: http://wesleyanargus.com/2011/10/27/to-the-nearly-500-students-who-registered-to-vote-in-middletown/.

Salafia, McKeon, Devote, & Forshiem all discuss the same issue of voting locally from different perspectives. Forshiem, who is a student, wants students to vote locally. Interestingly,Salafia, McKeon, & Devoto, the Eye notes, all are in consensus regarding Wesleyan students voting in their current city of Middletown. All three approach this in a similar way; they support college student's of Middletown voting in the municipal elections so long as they educate themselves with the relevant local issues. While each response to the issue is unique pointing out various ramifications; all three advocate researching all candidates to better understand not only the needs of their university that the candidates propose to meet, but also how the candidate will meet the needs of the other citizens of Middletown.

Last Chance to Register to Vote Next Tuesday

There are only a few days left to register as a voter for the municipal elections on November 3^rd! The deadline to register to vote in-person at your Registrar of Voters Office is Tuesday October 27^th at 8:00 p.m.

Critical decisions on the city budget, on the city schools, and on how to develop and protect city land will be made by the people elected on Tuesday November 3^rd. If you wish to influence these decisions, make sure you are registered and then get out and vote!

The Secretary of the State has registration forms available in both English and in Spanish. Fill them out, and bring to the Registrar of Voters in City Hall, 245 Dekoven Dr.

You can find out more about voter registration here.

Democracy Forum Wednesday

On Wednesday, October 8th at 6:30pm at the Green Street Arts Center, The North End Action Team and its youth leadership group, the Teen Dreams Society, will be hosting a Democracy Forum, featuring panelists State Senator Paul Doyle, Common Counselor, Grady Faulkner, Rich Lion,of the CT Libertarian Party and Ken Hiscoe, who was the District Director for Nancy Johnson.

The forum is open to the public, and the goal is to educate you about the political process and understand why civic engagement is important for everyday people. This is part of NEAT's broader voter registration campaign, and hope to not only increase voter registration and participation, but also help people understand their role in the political process and demystify the roles of politicians. It is important that residents know who they are voting for and why. That said, this is not a debate. It is a conversation about civic engagement and the political process. Save the Date!!

Childcare will be provided and there will be pizza for the kids.

Hitting the road to register voters

(Avivah Malin prepares to register voters with her dad, Yonaton)

Supporters of Barack Obama gathered Saturday to walk the neighborhoods of Middletown registering voters for the fall election.

Alex Lopez, director of the campaign for Matt Lesser, candidate for state representative, addressed the volunteers and indicated that more than 50 volunteers had signed up for the effort.


(Obama campaigner, Pia Pyles instructs volunteers)

While Middletown residents like Yonaton Malin, and his daughter Avivah, and Jonathan Vinci were anxious to help the voter drive, the registration drive also drew volunteers from New Haven, West Hartford, Tolland and Wethersfield among other Connecticut towns.

Vinci, who recently moved back to town from Nevada, said that this election was crucial, and that he had already worked on voter registration efforts in Las Vegas. He's worked on campaing efforts since a Middletown High School History teacher, Mr. Bransfield, convinced him of the importance of political involvement.

Avivah is an Obama supporter who said, "It's important to get as many people to vote as possible." He's already worked on registration efforts in New Hampshire.

Phoebe Boyer, from New Haven, volunteered because she considers Barack Obama, "the best candidate I've seen in my adult life."

Matt Lesser hopes the registration of new voters will encourage Middletown voters to consider voting for a new candidate, who is addressing the issues.

"My Republican opponent just released a mailing to all registered voters, and it avoids the issues, and concentrates on personality," he said. "I'm hoping a door to door effort, in which we discuss the issues will counter the name-calling."

Democratic state candidate sponsors voter registration drive

On Saturday, September 13th, the Barack Obama Campaign and Matt Lesser for State Representative Campaign will be joining together for a voter registration drive in Middletown. Both campaigns will be meeting at 12p.m. at 955 S. Main St., Middletown. From there, over 25 volunteers will be heading out into neighborhoods with lower voter registration rates in order to register new voters for the upcoming elections.

Alex Lopez, Campaign Manager for State Representative Candidate Matt Lesser said that all volunteers are welcome, and that volunteers are not limited by age.

"In fact," Lopez emphasized, "There will be high school and college students who aren't eligible to vote, who will be working their tails off to register new voters."

All completed voter registration cards will be delivered to Middletown's registrar of voters on Monday.


What: Voter Registration Drive
Who: The Barack Obama and Matt Lesser Campaigns
When: Saturday, September 13th
What time: 12p.m. - 4 p.m.
Where: Matt Lesser for State Representative Headquarters. 955 S. Main St., Middletown, CT