Greenwich Dems gather for a ‘virtual picnic’
GREENWICH — With their usual plans sidelined by the coronavirus, Greenwich Democrats went virtual Wednesday night for their annual picnic, dispensing with the big crowd over hot dogs and hamburgers and instead bringing the candidates and their views into people’s homes via Zoom.
In past years, the picnic served as the kickoff to the key final weeks of the election season and energized the Democratic Party’s base.
This year, the Democratic ticket for the legislative races was front and center during the online event.
State Sen. Alex Kasser, D-36, and state Rep. Stephen Meskers, D-150, are seeking reelection. And Board of Education Vice Chair Kathleen Stowe is running in the 149th House District and Representative Town Meeting member Hector Arzeno is challenging in the 151st House District.
“We truly are in the fight of our lives, and I would say
we are fighting for our lives,” said Kasser, who wore a T-shirt supporting Joe Biden for president. “For many of us this is personal. This really is personal.”
Behind her, Kasser had “Democracy” by Harvard professor David Moss on display along with a portrait of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“Everything that Justice Ginsburg represents and everything she spent her life
Gov. Ned Lamont and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, both of whom are Greenwich residents, offered support to the local Democratic ticket, as did Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, Attorney General William Tong, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, State Treasurer Shawn Wooden and Comptroller Kevin Lembo.
fighting for is literally on the line,” Kasser said. “It could be reversed by the Supreme Court, and that’s why we need state legislators to hold fast and be the line of defense for all of the rights that are so important to people and to me, the right of reproductive choice, the right to marry whomever you choose and whomever you love and the right of transgender girls to be treated as girls. It adds up to who we are as Americans and how we function as a democracy.”
A first-term senator, Kasser is facing a challenge from Republican Ryan Fazio, a member of the RTM.
Meskers, the first Democratic state representative elected in town in more than a century, called the Democratic team at the virtual picnic “a group of caring, sensitive adults who bring so much to the table.”
“We are facing tremendous challenges,” he said. “Effective participation in this race is key. We need to
reach out to residents to encourage them to vote and encourage them to vote blue in a productive and constructive way. There are people who are confused and sitting on the moderate side watching you know which channels and not getting the appropriate news. They need to understand who they’re dealing with and what the candidates bring to the table and the national and local focus we bring to this race.”
Republican Board of Education member Joe Kelly is running against Meskers.
Democratic Town Committee Chair Joe Angland said Arzeno, who is challenging Republican state Rep. Harry Arora in the 151st, has “immersed himself in the community” in his three decades in town. Arzeno is one of the few RTM members who shows up for Board of Estimate and Taxation budget hearings, the chairman said, and he gives tours of Greenwich High to families considering a move to town.
“I love this town and I can’t wait to represent all of
us well in Hartford in a fiscally and socially responsible way if I am elected,” Arzeno said. “My team and I are working very, very hard and we will keep doing this until Nov. 2.”
And then as Stowe spoke about bicycling through town to meet with voters, she was interrupted by her 10-year-old daughter Caroline, who walked into the webcam frame holding up a campaign sign in support of her mother.
“One of the themes of my campaign is strengthening our community,” Stowe said. “That’s based on strong schools as I have pushed for on the Board of Education. It’s based on having a strong environment and it is based on having as strong state and local economy. That’s where I have the experience in my two decades in finance. Hector and I really want to win, just like Steve and Alex did, and we need everyone’s help.”
Stowe is running in the 149th District against Republican Kimberly Fiorello, a member of the RTM. Livvy Floren, a Republican who held the seat for two decades, is not running for
reelection.
U.S Rep. Jim Himes did not delve into his challenge from Republican Jonathan Riddle in the Fourth District, but spoke instead about the need for high voter turnout.
“We need to deliver a defeat to our Republican friends ... that is so unconditional and so stinging that they get back to what they used to be, which was a traditional conservative party with values that we as Democrats didn’t necessarily agree with but which engaged constructively with us to help govern this country,” Himes said. “That’s not what they are right now. Right now they are a cult of personality, which is bad enough but when the personality at the center of that cult is Donald Trump, it is appalling. And the silence of our Republican friends in the Senate of the United States to Lake Avenue and North Street in Greenwich needs to be reversed.”
Gov. Ned Lamont and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, both of whom are Greenwich residents, offered support to the local Democratic ticket, as did
Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, Attorney General William Tong, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, State Treasurer Shawn Wooden and Comptroller Kevin Lembo.
COVID-19 also forced the cancellation of the annual Republican Town Committee Clambake at Greenwich Point. Chair Dan Quigley said the RTC had considered a virtual event but ultimately felt it the time was not right with resident out of work or struggling due to the pandemic.
On Wednesday, Quigley said the GOP candidates are thinking outside the box when it comes to campaigning.
“The candidates have been so awesome to work with and each has used
Zoom, social media platforms and socially distant meet and greets effectively with their constituents,” he said. “Even traditional door-to-doors have been retooled to conform to distancing standards, but despite that, door-to-door remains an essential component of campaigning.”
Quigley said the Republican candidates are “wellpositioned” to win in November, with many residents saying they want new representatives in Hartford to “help turn our state around.”
“Democrats have had a decade to do it, and they have not gotten the job done,” Quigley said.