Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Money
  • Election 2020
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Money
    Election 2020
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Working Families gives Democrats another base

  • by Mark Pazniokas
  • October 29, 2010
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

With pollsters predicting tight gubernatorial and congressional elections, a cross-endorsement by the Working Families Party could be pivotal for the first time in a high-profile Connecticut race.

The labor-backed party, which is trying to transplant New York’s tradition of fusion politics to the state, has cross-endorsed top Democrats, beginning with the gubernatorial nominee, Dan Malloy.

In a year when the electorate appears to be tilting right, the left-leaning Working Families hopes to deliver the margin of victory Tuesday for Malloy and other Democratic allies.

Malloy is a backer of the minor party’s top legislative priority, a law mandating paid sick days. And with polls showing the tightest gubernatorial election in decades, the cross-endorsement could be decisive.

Larson-Working Families

U.S. Rep. John B. Larson at the Working Families Party. (CT Mirror)

Malloy and many other Democrats will appear twice on the ballot, on the Democratic and Working Families lines. In past years, the Working Families has provided the margin of victory for several state legislators.

Unlike other minor parties, the Working Families Party is closely associated with Democrats, although it does cross-endorse some Republicans and has run its own nominees.

Offering voters a chance to cast “a protest vote that counts,” Working Families pitches itself as a way for voters turned off by the major parties to still cast a vote for Democrats.

A recent poll by Suffolk University found that many voters who intend to cast a vote for a Working Families candidate would not mark their ballots for the same candidate on the Democratic line.

Jon Green, the party’s executive director, said Working Families has been focusing its door-to-door canvassers on working-class neighborhoods with high percentages of unaffiliated voters.

“The response is pretty good,” Green said.

U.S. Rep. John B. Larson, D-1st District, delivered a pep talk Thursday before the canvassers fanned out from its Hartford headquarters for another day of door-knocking.

Larson said the door-to-door campaigning is an “old-school” counterbalance to “the obscene amount of money that’s been spent” in the 2010 races for Congress and statewide office in Connecticut.

“The only way that we’ll succeed is by doing it the old-fashioned way, getting them out to vote,” Larson said. “So, after all the money that’s been spent, and everything that goes down, it all comes down to the next several days in getting the vote out.”

Larson said later he was not bothered that part of Working Families’ appeal is to voters who are turned off by the major parties.

The Working Families Party, which has brought New York’s tradition of fusion politics to Connecticut, has cross-endorsed the top of the Democratic ticket, starting with the nominee for governor, Dan Malloy.

Larson said he views the Working Families as one of many branches of the Democratic coalition that ranges from organized labor to the conservative Blue Dog Democrats.

“It’s like another caucus of the Democratic Party. Their instincts are all Democratic, but they want to make sure they’ve got a spot at the table,” Larson said. “I get it. I understand it. We’re a big tent.”

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Pazniokas

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
With limited supply, Lamont asks for patience on COVID vaccine
by Mark Pazniokas

Nearly 1.4 million Connecticut residents will be eligible for vaccination next, but the state only gets 45,000 doses a week.

Lamont: ‘I don’t want to build Killingly’ Energy Center
by Jan Ellen Spiegel

The governor hinted at slowing permitting and being able to “play some games there.”

Advocates call for closure of Northern Correctional, reinvestment in community supports
by Kelan Lyons

The coalition says the $19 million spent annually to run the prison can help provide housing services and employment.

Miguel Cardona’s ideas about education were forged in Meriden, CT. Now he will bring them to Washington, D.C.
by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas and Adria Watson

Miguel Cardona's experiences in Meriden will likely be front-of-mind as he coordinates policy as U.S. Secretary of Education.

State Rep. Scanlon launches tax fairness debate with proposed $450M break for poor, middle class families
by Keith M. Phaneuf

A new proposal Tuesday would give middle class families with children their largest state income tax break in a decade.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion The change in leadership must not lead to complacency
by Jenna Van Donselaar

We are beginning 2021, and most people are far done with election talk. Sure, the polls are closed, and the results are in, and it is time to move on. I am weary from the hours I spent texting voters this fall, and I’d like to think all my efforts were worth it. But the work is far from done.

Opinion Treason is in the air
by David Holahan

Abraham Lincoln had been elected but had yet to assume the presidency when southern states started seceding from the Union in the months before his March 4, 1961 inauguration. Four others would follow that spring. American soldiers —like Robert E. Lee, who had taken an oath of loyalty to the nation that he had served since 1825— defected to the Confederacy. By joining the rebellion Lee and fellow travellers became, in effect, traitors.

Opinion Trump’s reaction to defeat further confirms urgency for school focus on social emotional skills 
by Sandra M. Chafouleas 

Imagine what would happen if a preschooler didn’t “use their words” when they got upset about sharing, instead stomping around yelling while adults simply observed in silence. Think about what the school climate would feel like if a student punched another during recess while others watched without seeking help.  Now consider the actions – and inactions – by Trump Jan. 6 as the electoral vote counts occurred at the U.S. Capitol.

Opinion Is Trump leading a cult?
by Elena Sada

My experience as a former cult member and researcher in the field of Social Sciences earned me the ability to identify narcissism and cultish tendencies. Furthermore, as a former  New York City resident who kept abreast of interviews with the city’s apparent “movers and shakers,” I often questioned Trump’s qualifications as a leader, let alone as national presidential leader.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO