City Votes Mirror Those of State (Mostly)

Middletown vote totals closely tracked those in the state as a whole, as did the voter turnout.

Democrats

Middletown has 10,645 registered Democrats, and 26% of them cast a ballot in the governor's race between Daniel Malloy and Ned Lamont. Malloy won 60% of the Middletown votes. The other statewide winners, Wyman (Lieutenant Governor), Merrill (Secretary of State), and Lembo (State Comptroller) each won in Middletown by an almost 2 to 1 margin over their respective opponents.

In the "factoid which may only interest me" category, the only voting district in which Malloy did not beat Lamont was the 5th, where they each received 70 votes. The 5th District is roughly a 3 square mile area surrounding Moody School on Country Club Road. The polling I did among registered Democrats in one house in this district accurately predicted the exactly split vote.

Republicans

Middletown has 3,272 registered Republicans, and 29% of them cast a ballot in the governor's race between Tom Foley, Michael Fedele, and Oz Griebel. Foley won 42% of the votes, compared to 35% for Fedele and 23% for Griebel. In the U.S. Senate race, Linda McMahon won 44% of the Middletown votes, compared to 33% for Simmons and 22% for Schiff.

The only race in which Middletown results did not match those of the state was the Republican race for Attorney General. Statewide, Martha Dean soundly defeated Ross Garber, winning 60% of the votes. However, in Middletown Dean lost by 9 votes; Garber tallied 463 votes to Dean's 454. Garber is married to Gail Bysiewicz, who grew up on her family's farm on East Street together with her sister, former Democratic candidate for Attorney General, Susan Bysiewicz.

Middletown's Vitals

Comment/Analysis

Last month's discussion of how we should vote (at large versus districts) prompted thoughts - in my twisted mind anyway - about population distribution in Middletown. Most of our council-folk hail from the newer outlying ('suburban' and 'rural', to use the PCD terms) neighborhoods in town - at least, based on the addresses listed on the 'common council' page on the city website (I'm not sure how accurate or up-to-date this page is and would be happy to hear comments on this or, of course, any other aspect of this post). Two or at most three live within or fairly close to the older 'urban' core of the city, depending on how you define 'urban'. The question of how our councilmember distribution stacks up against the distribution of people in Middletown led me to ask Bill Warner, Director of the city's Planning, Conservation, and Development Department (PCD), whether his office had any maps of town that show current population density and distribution. It turns out that this can be visually represented with the GIS software, and Bill provided an interesting map which I have reproduced above (with permission). I still haven't figured out what it all means, especially in the context of voting and council representation, but it sure is pretty. I've had a long-standing interest in Middletown's historical demography, so this map is serious eye-candy for me (thanks Bill, and thanks for answering all my questions about the map).

The 'urban', 'suburban', and 'rural' areas of the city, as defined in the current draft Plan of Conserv-ation and Develop-ment, may be seen in this map (Map A from the 'Plan'). (You may need to click on the map itself to get the text to appear legibly.) Note that the text in the map refers to 'planning tools to promote sustainable development'. Such planning tools include bike paths, the purchase and preservation of open space in rural areas, the increase (within reasonable limits) of population density in the downtown, enhanced pedestrianization, alternative transportation, etc. Bill Warner noted in a follow-up email that the city has been successful in preserving open space, developing the downtown commercial potential, and in allowing increased density where infrastructure (sewer lines, roads, electricity, etc.) exists.

On how to read the density map, Bill Warner pointed out that it is only as good as the data, and the data come from the 2000 census. According to the draft 'Plan of Conservation and Development' (see both chapter 2 on 'Population', esp. section 2.3, and chapter 8 on the 'Addressing the Urban Dilemma'), the 2000 census indicated a precipitous decline in population in the core census tracks of the city between 1990 and 2000. How accurate is this decline? I recall from conversations a few years ago that there had been questions raised about the accuracy of the 2000 census count in the downtown, particularly in the area between Wesleyan University and Main Street. Doubts revolved around the timing of the count and whether students were away during the census operations or were not included in the count for definitional reasons. In any case, according to the discussion in chapter 2 of the draft 'Plan', while the overall population of Middletown increased by 6.5% between 1990 and 2000, the downtown or 'urban' census tracts 5411, 5415 and 5416 have lost, on average, 35% of their populations. The biggest decline was in 5416, which lost about half of its population (from about 2700 to 1300 people). Meanwhile Westfield (census tract 5414) saw the greatest increase, at 15% (from about 6700 to 7700). (Note that these population number estimates by me are based on an 'eyeballing' of the bar charts in the draft 'Plan'; the exact percentages are from the 'Plan' itself).

For those policy wonks among you, the census tracts 5411, 5415, and 5416 refer to:

5411 - most of the 'North End' and the Miller-Bridge area
5415 - Wesleyan University, a little of the 'Village District' and the 'North End', and the area down to Bretton Road
5416 - the downtown, a little of the 'North End', and the eastern portion of the 'Village District'.

Census tract 5417, which is also included in the 'urban' area on the map above and pockets of which are also identified in the 'Addressing the Urban Dilemma' chapter as posing key challenges, is bounded by William Street and the river to the north, Eastern Drive on the east, and Mill Street on the south - essentially the old 'South Farms' village. (This is the census tract that I live in, though I'm on the boundary of 5415 too.)

Having a tough time keeping all this straight? Me too. These images may help:


Census Tract 5411











Census Tract 5415












Census Tract 5416












Census Tract 5417












Is your house or apartment not in one of these tracts? Not to worry. The federal government is here to help. You can map your census tract courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau.

As readers will have noted, the 'Plan of Conservation and Development' is currently being re-drafted. If anyone is interested - and frankly, everyone should be, since the 'Plan' will essentially inform spending decisions in a variety of city departments over the coming decade(s) - there are plenty of opportunities to learn more and express your thoughts. The entire draft is up on the PCD webpage. And the portions of the 'Plan' will be presented and discussed at several upcoming meetings, including two this week:

Design Review and Preservation Board-
Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 5:30 PM, B-20
&
Planning and Zoning Commission-
Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 7:00 PM, Room 208 [correction, 3/08/09: the 'Plan' is on the agenda and the P&Z commission welcomes public comment, but the full agenda suggests it will not be 'presented' as such. If any P&Z commissioner could clarify this in the comments section, that would be great.]

The agenda for each meeting is listed on the PCD webpage and on the right column of the Middletown Eye, under 'This Week: Meetings and Events'. The Design Review and Preservation Board meeting looks to be particularly interesting. You can view the extra-detailed agenda at the DRPB blog (kudos to Michiel Wackers).

In addition, P&Z Commissioner Catherine Johnson has organized a series of 'input sessions' at Russell Library over the coming months. They are scheduled for 6:30 pm in the Hubbard Room, Russell Library:

March 18 Wednesday [correction 3/08/09: was rescheduled for the 19th, but changed back to the 18th]
April 16 Thursday
May 21 Thursday
June 17 Wednesday

So, fellow readers, we have no excuse. Opportunities abound to shape the future of our fair city. We must show up to one or more of these meetings, learn about the challenges facing Middletown, and add our voices to the mix.

Election Day Report - South District Firehouse and Farm Hill

“Change” was the theme at District 11, Farm Hill Elementary School on Ridge Road, the major force bringing voters out to the polls. For many, it is a change in the economy they crave. One gentleman, when asked exactly what about the economy brought him out to vote, answered simply, “It sucks.” Another said that he, despite the sentiments of many financial analysts he has heard, believes strongly that the nation is in a recession. “I’m just looking for some change,” he said. “Put the money back where it belongs.” In his pocket? I teased. He smiled. “Exactly.”

Despite the negative feelings regarding the current state of the country, the atmosphere was jovial at both the Farm Hill and Randolph Road fire station voting sites earlier this morning. Perhaps it was the presence of PTO bake sales at both locations?



Lori Salazar, Keigwen Middle School PTO Co-President, who had manned the bake sale at South District Firehouse, expressed amazement at the line of “60 or 70 people,” when she arrived to set up before 7 AM. The flow of voters had been steady since then, and Salazar and her team of student volunteers, earning volunteer hours towards qualification for student of the month, remained in high spirits about the economy of their sale. Said Salazar, “We’re making good profit.” At least someone is!



The scene at Farm Hill was a bit more politically charged, with campaign volunteers lining the pathway to the school, staying well beyond the 75 foot mandatory boundary. Molly Nolan, a volunteer with Love Makes a Family, chose to pass out fliers asking voters to “Vote No to Question #1” in Middletown rather than her own voting site in Durham, due to the accessibility to voters. “Here I can be available to interact directly with voters and answer questions,” said Nolan, who warned that reversing the Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality in Connecticut would reduce gay and lesbian residents to “2nd class citizenship.” A straight, married woman herself, Nolan has been working with Love Makes a Family for years because, “It’s the right thing to do.”

Other campaign volunteers at the site included Bob Fox, a 27 ½ year member of the Connecticut Employee Union Independent and a Connecticut Valley Hospital employee, who held a tall sign indicating the union’s slate of endorsed candidates but hid when I took his picture. “I’m not photogenic,” he claimed.

Josh (who requested I not use his last name), an organizer for Service Employees International Union out of Hartford, posted outside of the school in order to support candidates he believed would support union negotiated collective bargaining agreements, which he says will guarantee certain rights to union members, including layoff and pay rate protections.

Other volunteers were a bit less partisan. Dashaun Outlaw and Tony Woolard, both 11th graders at Middletown High School, had been at Farm Hill since 5:45 AM checking names of voters. The students were volunteering at the site through a school project for Ms. Adams’ American Politics class, which requires all students to work a certain number of hours for a political campaign, or involved in the voting process. Outlaw and Woolard began originally volunteering for the campaign of Matt Lesser, and then were given the opportunity to work the voting site.



The response to the new voting system, paper fill-in ballots rather than levers, was fairly even, with most voters saying that they preferred the levers, but understood the reason for the change. Craig Nenninger, who voted with wife Donna and 6-year-old twins Nicole and Matthew, said he liked the idea that the paper ballots kept a record in the event of a problem.




In all, turnout was higher than ever at both sites, and all present seemed hopeful that elections results would create a much needed change on both a local and national level.