Editor’s note: following is an opinion submitted by Michelle Mechanic, the Chair of Westport’s Democratic Town Committee
We have a Democratic primary in Connecticut, and it’s a biggie! Unfortunately, most of our residents don’t even know it’s happening. On Tuesday, August 11th, Democratic voters will decide between our current moderate Governor, Ned Lamont, and Democratic Socialist State Representative Josh Elliott as our candidate for the general election. Sound familiar? We’re watching this phenomenon unfold across the country at a rapid pace.
The outcome of this gubernatorial primary is incredibly consequential for our state and for Westport. It will determine everything from our tax rates to the level of autonomy we have over our schools, healthcare, labor laws, and frankly, what we mean when we say, “I am a Democrat.” As the Chair of our Democratic Town Committee (DTC), it is my duty to inform our residents about the impact this primary will have on our community—particularly since our bylaws obligate the DTC to represent the values of the Democratic community here at home. Consequently, at the Democratic State Convention, our delegates unanimously endorsed our incumbent Governor, Ned Lamont.
You would be hard-pressed to find a Democrat here in Westport who doesn’t believe in helping our neighbors, supporting equal rights for all, providing access to quality healthcare and education, protecting reproductive freedom, and making the state more affordable. These are universal Democratic principles, but how we go about achieving them is starkly contrasted by the candidates on the ballot. I receive increasingly frequent calls from Westport residents who feel pushed out by a far-left movement they don’t feel represents their values. Folks are worried about the Democratic Socialist movement and its deviation from the political party to which they intended to belong. Do we have Democratic Socialists living and voting in Westport? Of course we do. But in my observation, the overwhelming majority of our residents are not.
Do not sit out this primary. Governor Lamont and Representative Elliott offer very different platforms, messages, and visions for our future. Having worked in politics for the past ten years, I’ve begun to roll my eyes anytime a politician or pundit uses the term “inflection point.” It’s overused and hackneyed. That said, we are absolutely at an inflection point in Connecticut. Our votes are crucial in determining not just our leadership, but also the direction and ideology of the Democratic Party in our state.
Please take the time to learn more about each candidate’s platform on the official Ned Lamont for Governor Website and the Josh Elliott for Governor Website. Early voting takes place on August 3rd – August 9th, and you can request an absentee ballot on the state portal here. We can’t afford to sit this one out, folks.
Michelle Mechanic
Chair
Democratic Town Committee
Hey, Michelle, thanks for warning us about these Democratic Socialists hiding behind rocks and under beds throughout Westport. What can we do about these scourges who disdain billionaires, high electric bills, and genocide?
Have you seen any “in the wild”? Do they look more like Bigfoot or the Walking Dead? Keebler Elves or bridge trolls? Are the streets safe? Is brunch outdoors at Terrain a good idea, or should we just eat our avocado toast at home?
The operative word here is “Democrat”. Zohran Mamdani seems to be doing a fine job in New York City. The shared values can indeed be shared. I wouldn’t go bogeyman, Michelle, on Josh Elliott. He’s a Democrat, so focus on that. Whether it’s Lamont or Elliott, come November I’m voting for the Democrat. Either one is preferable to the alternative.
So the chairman of the Westport DTC is using GOP scare tactics to go after Democratic primary candidates running from the left?
This is tone deaf. Progressive populism is winning primaries throughout blue states and will help return the Senate and House to Democratic control.
Establishment Democrats are always looking to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Garbage leadership within the party is what has lost elections and thrown control of the national government into the hands of GOP crazies.
The primary process asks all voters registered as either Democrat or Republican to make their choice. I happen to like this process. I shall vote for Ned Lamont but I respect voters who may have a differing opinion. Ned has done a nice recovery job for our State and has stood up to the absurdities of the Trump and his loyal congressional colleagues. Thanks to Ned for wanting to continue. Being Governor is an exhausting assignment in the current environment.
Democrats, please vote your choice whatever that may be.
“[Lamont] was one of only two Democratic governors who went to Trump’s second inauguration. He ordered the flags in this state lowered to half staff for Charlie Kirk because Trump told him to. He went to the White House in February, weeks after federal agents shot people in the street, and what he asked the president was what he had learned from it. Where is the accountability in that?”
—Josh Elliott
I guess that’s the spirit of ‘reaching across the aisle’ that the Westport DTC leadership supports.
The “crossroads” is that Democrats can continue to vote for candidates that kind of shrug off the loss of reproductive rights, the loss of health insurance, and continue to support a war in Iran that serves none of our interests. Or they can support candidates who will actually be active in working for and listening to their constituents?
Remember when Jim Himes addressed last Fall’s budget deal (which made insurance premiums skyrocket, with the end of federal subsidies). It was going to be brought up in the new year and Democrats would have the leverage to get the federal subsidies restored. We’re waiting.
When have the establishment Democrats done anything proactive? They’ve done nothing. Only the activist wing is speaking up. And it is safe to say that the DTC endorsed candidates represent anything but the activist wing.
Might as well vote for the Republicans in the State races. The Democrats will still hold control, but maybe then local leadership will grasp that they aren’t listening to their constituents at all. And their constituents have noticed.