THE REPUBLICAN TOWN COMMITTEE
New Chair. elected - news here. Read of Weston RTC endorsements here.
November 2 Election - sunrise of the campaign!
N E W S
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Local information: .
CT Legislature:
The Governor;
Links.
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Gov. Rell's years in pictures here...
Imbalance of Power
Commentary by State Senator Toni Boucher
August 17, 2010
Where would we be now if Jodi Rell had not been our Governor for the last five years? Astute observers, watching her operate in the most one-sided state government environment in recent history, can attest that we would be in significantly worse shape.
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She attempted to slow the pace of an out of control bureaucracy but has been limited by the reality that as governor she could only propose a budget, not pass it. Only the legislature can approve it. Moreover, if one party controls both houses of the General Assembly by two thirds, they drive spending, taxes and borrowing. Newspaper editorials throughout the state have commented on a majority leadership intent on feeding its own special interests instead of responding responsibly to our severe protracted economic crisis.
As the super majority resisted calls for fiscal restraint and cuts, Fitch, CNBC, US News & World Report, Tax Foundation and Nonprofit Quarterly all pointed to Connecticut’s highest-in-the-nation tax burden, excessive debt, unfunded pension liabilities and to our last-in-the-nation job growth and business climate.
“Courage is the first of human qualities, because it is the quality that guarantees all others” -Churchill. In January 2005, Lt. Governor Rell reflected, “My imagination was never so vivid, my political ambitions never so grand, to think that I would be standing before you as the 87th Governor of Connecticut, delivering my first State of the State address”. That day she proclaimed that our state would come back from the sting of corruption in state government and restore its reputation. Under her honest and courageous leadership it did, making her one of most popular leaders in our country.
It has also been Jodi Rell’s courage and persistence in the face of a complete imbalance of power in the legislature that has kept the state from hitting rock bottom. Actions taken by the majority leadership in Hartford have assured us, however, that the budget problems we face today will be with us for some time.
The stakes are now very high. The outcome of this next election will have enormous consequences. With a two-thirds majority of both houses in the hands of those who see no limit to spending, taxing and borrowing, this next election will be monumental. It will take a future governor and a more balanced legislature with the courage and the fortitude to tackle the state’s spending and borrowing problems; and the integrity to use the power of the office for the good of regular citizens – the real job creators.
Yes, Governor Rell has persevered against great odds; a majority that refused to pass “no tax increase” budgets; a majority that spent even more during a recession; a majority that passed higher job killing taxes that have people fleeing the state; a majority that borrowed against future revenues so that reckless spending could continue.
We cannot say this enough Governor Rell, thank you for your service to Connecticut, for “fighting the good fight” against such tremendous odds.
Follow the Legislature: direct link to "Bulletins" showing when Committees are meeting, when Public Hearings are to take place...
Connecticut Legislature:
Weston's team in the Senate and House: tough year coming with CT finances at the brink...
Hon. Toni Boucher of Wilton (above, left) picks up where our long lime Senator Judi Freedman left off...
Senator McKinney
Representative Stripp
Weston divided for State Senate districts - #26 and #28;
NEWS
NOT IN WESTON - BUT HOUSING ON THE MOVE! Read about Sen. Boucher's work on this issue here.
Latest on Toni's list of accomplishments...
Senator Boucher's website
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No time off for Senator McKinney this summer - hard at work for Weston on many issues
and as Minority Leader of CT Senate, THE BUDGET impasse!!!
State Senator John McKinney. R-28.
R E A D O F O U R S E N A T O R ' S L E A D E R S H I P H E R E
On a beautiful Memorial Day, Representative John Stripp, grand marshal for 2010, waves to the crowds!
Weston's state Representative John Stripp: Stepping forward to honor vets
Weston FORUM
Written by Joyce Greene
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
When Weston’s Memorial Day parade organizers contacted John Stripp to ask him to be the grand marshal for this year’s event, he was a little surprised. While he spent seven years in the Air National Guard from 1960 to 1967, he hasn’t been deployed in war and doesn’t mention his military service on his biography.
So his initial thought was, “Why me? I’m not Audie Murphy [the most decorated American soldier in World War II]!”
But after some contemplation, Mr. Stripp accepted the Weston Volunteer Fire Department’s invitation to be grand marshal. “What we are trying to do is not to honor me, but to honor the veterans, some of whom are with us, and some of whom have paid the ultimate price,” he said.
Throughout his political career in the Connecticut Assembly, Mr. Stripp has done just that. And he will make his feelings about veterans clear during his remarks at Weston’s Memorial Day ceremonies.
“Whether you agree or disagree with the country going to war, don’t take it out on the veterans,” he said. “They were asked to go. They answered the call. Let’s honor them.”
Military family
Beyond his experience in the Air National Guard, Mr. Stripp’s family has a military history. His grandfather was in the U.S. Navy, sailing with President Theodore Roosevelt in the Great White Fleet, the U.S. Navy battle flotilla of 16 ships that circumnavigated the globe from 1907 to 1909 as a public demonstration of the nation’s military strength.
His father was in the reserve for four years, and was one of the half a million men in 19 Army divisions that participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers, military exercises held all over North Louisiana in August and September 1941 in preparation for America’s entry into World War II.
After the training, Mr. Stripp’s father shipped to California and returned from the war five years later after serving throughout the Pacific theater. His son was 8 years old. Mr. Stripp remembers a period of adjustment as his father returned to civilian life after the war.
Mr. Stripp received a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Pratt Institute and began working for a company that built elements of hardened launch silos for intercontinental ballistic missiles. As someone working with key military installations, he could easily have gotten a deferment from the draft board, but he really wanted to learn to fly, and he maintains an enduring interest in planes to this day.
But his dream of flying was never realized. Thanks to the Korean War, there were too many good pilots already. Instead, Mr. Stripp worked in the civil engineering section of the Air National Guard on Long Island at Floyd Bennett Naval Air Station.
Mr. Stripp was almost deployed twice, the first time in 1961, when tensions escalated between President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev over Berlin. His group in the 106th Rescue Wing of the Air National Guard was put on alert. Half his unit did go into service over the Berlin situation, but he was not among them.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, Mr. Stripp remembers driving around with his uniform and kit in a duffel bag, ready to go at 24 hours notice. He got out of the National Guard six months before the Tet offensive in January 1968.
106th Rescue Wing
Mr. Stripp is proud of the work of the 106th Rescue Wing, one of only three rescue units in the Air National Guard. In 1959, the unit was given a new mission and new aircraft when it became an aeromedical evacuation and transport group equipped with the Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar. In 1962 it was re-equipped with the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter, and Mr. Stripp recalled these huge planes taking supplies to Vietnam and ferrying wounded and dead back to the United States.
Throughout his political career, which began when he was first elected to the state House in 1992, Mr. Stripp has been active in veterans affairs. In 1998, he and Rob Simmons got the bridge on I-95 in Darien renamed the Purple Heart Bridge. He also sponsored a House act to proclaim March 30 as Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day. He was involved in the enactment of legislation that provides tuition payments for veterans who served during a period of war.
Mr. Stripp retires from political life this year — he will remain in his position at Fairfield County Bank — after 18 years in the state Assembly, where he serves as assistant Republican leader.
He has always been active in local and civic organizations. Mr. Stripp served from 1983 to 1992 on the Weston Board of Selectmen. He was a member of the Weston Board of Finance from 1973 to 1981, completing his service on the panel as chairman.
He also chaired the Weston Land Acquisition Committee from 1987 to 1989. Mr. Stripp was a member and former chairman of the Weston Republican Town Committee. He was vice chairman of Weston’s Ethics Committee, the body that drafted an ethics policy for the Town of Weston.
He and his wife, Judy, have two grown children, Dianne and Jeffrey, as well as four grandchildren.
It is those grandchildren who have prompted his retirement from politics, but not from the bank. It is a dream of Mr. Stripp’s to build a house on the water, where all his family can vacation together. In talking about this, he recalled that when he sought his first mortgage in Weston, he was refused because he was in the military — if he was called up, his pay would be less.
So despite his initial surprise, Mr. Stripp is proud of being invited to be Weston’s grand marshal.
“I love Weston and its wonderful people. I love the parade — it is always fun. I have missed just one or two over the past 20 years. It is a great honor,” he said.
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ISSUES FACING WESTON:
What to do in a financial downturn? Look to local government to set an example...
TRIAL ON LAWSUIT ON FAA OVER - NO APPEAL HEARD AT SUPREME COURT!
FAA re-routing of flights over CT
Transit Oriented Development (T.O.D.)
"Stimulous Package" focus on transportation - not much for Weston.
Congestion Pricing
First Selectman Woody Bliss was Chair. of the South Western Region Metropolitan Planning Organization- the "MPO". New Canaan First Selectman Jeb Walker now in charged there.
Energy, etc.:
What effect will Gulf oil spill have on these issues?
"Broadwater" issue...a victory handed down by New York State to opponents, but the fight goes on. Latest news
interesting...Islander East case in Federal Court goes in favor of Connecticut's position re: preserving natural value of L.I.S.
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This is not the official Weston RTC site. For the official Party line: http://www.westonrtc.org
Information links such as Town of Weston, State of Connecticut...
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