Letter To The Editor: Stratford Dems Chair Talks Party Divisions

To the editor,

Back in March, when I was elected chair of the Stratford Democratic Town Committee, I knew that the biggest challenge facing us would be bringing everyone together and building an organization around common Democratic principles. The local Democratic Party had a pretty established track record for public displays of division and personal arguments spilling over.

As I’ve stated repeatedly, following the primary, we will support the Democratic victor. Today I was preparing several letters to go out advocating for unity and coming together by all Stratford Democrats following Tuesday’s upcoming primary.

Primaries are not inherently divisive; they are a cornerstone of a healthy American democracy and a civically engaged population and an opportunity for the people to choose which candidate they would like to represent their party on the November ballot.

So it’s disappointing that Rick Marcone … after running on his record as a Democrat, former party chair, Democrat of the year once upon a time … has chosen to run as a third party candidate in November should he lose the primary.

After failing to even seek the party endorsement, he then claimed he was snubbed. Now, with the primary still several days away, he has stated he will ignore the will of the voters and run as a third party candidate if the vote goes against him. This is not a desire for civil service, this is just hubris and ego. Rick might be a nice guy, and he may have gotten into local politics for all the right reasons once upon a time, but he just made himself the poster child for term limits and turnover. I encourage you to vote for Jim Simon, the only candidate committed to respecting your vote.

When we talk about the divisions in our party, there are surely some personalities and personal issues at play. The division in the Stratford party isn’t about ideology, it’s about the party of Us versus the party of Me. The division is between cynics interested in their own self-aggrandizement versus people with a desire to improve their community.

So Stratford Democrats, I’m going to put it out there that our party is moving in the right direction. We’re working together, we’re working to improve our community, and we’re working to let every member be heard. If those are the values that matter to you, we’d love to hear from you and work with you too.

And don’t let the noise about division rattle you. The folks hocking that narrative are showing they never cared what you thought anyway.

Steve Taccogna

Chairman

Stratford Democratic Town Committee