BOE Election Results
Comments (0) Heather Brandon has published the results of yesterday’s Board of Education election on her blog, Urban Compass.
Category: elections
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Vote on Tuesday for Board of Education
By Kerri Provost, November 1, 2009 3:24 pm
Just a reminder that the Board of Education election will be held this Tuesday from 6am to 8pm. For a list of polling places, go to the Registrar of Voters site. To read a detailed review of last week’s candidate forum, go to “BOE Candidates Forum: A Glance at Our Options.“
Become an Informed Voter
By Kerri Provost, October 27, 2009 6:05 am
Tonight is the Board of Education Candidates Forum at 6pm in the Hartford Public Library (main).
On November 3, 2009, Hartford voters will elect four members of the Hartford Board of Education. The Hartford Public School System is in the midst of significant reform efforts. Attend this forum to learn more about the candidates, their vision for Hartford schools, and their ideas and positions on the issues.
In a city where it seems most people make their voting choices entirely by which political party they belong to or by using second-hand information that is too often filtered by the media, it is especially important for the voters to actually meet and see the candidates in action.
If tonight’s forum is not an option for you, I would suggest checking out the BOE Candidate Focus series on Cityline, which has the candidates all responding to the same questions:
Achieve Hartford! has also compiled questions for the candidates. It is telling when candidates simply do not respond to such requests. Does this mean they have no answers? No time for explaining their perspectives to the public? No sense of commitment? Assumption that they’ll be carried by their political parties?
It’ll be interesting to see which candidates decide that the library forum is worth their time.
What Will We Know and When Will We Know It?
By Kerri Provost, November 5, 2008 3:47 pm
“Shall there be an ordinance amending the annual salary of members
of the Court of Common Council to ($26,650) effective January 1,
2012?”
This question was on the ballots for Hartford residents, thrown into a strange side column as sort of an afterthought. It was easy to miss, as it looked more like instructions than another item to vote on.
The Connecticut Secretary of State website has no information, though national and statewide results are posted.
updated: The Courant just announced that the pay raise was approved, though the CT Secretary of State site–where all other official election results are posted–has nothing.
To address their spin on it– yes, there are budget cuts happening in Hartford. Raising the pay of the City Council is in residents’ best interest, however. First, it makes the position more attractive to those who are not already in the middle class, who need to have an income that they can live off of. Want to change the power structure? Make the political jobs pay enough to entice concerned residents who actually represent the average Hartford resident–the working poor, or working lower middle class. Secondly, paying the council members more upfront might reduce the likelihood that they will take bribes. Third, even the members of council who are ineffective take on a lot of citizen ire at these public meetings. I would never take the job because of the pure, unfiltered rage that gets (rightfully or not) hurled at the reps every few weeks.
originally posted: 11/5/08 07:43
Another Interpretation
The City of Hartford website boasts that 311 received three times the regular number of phone calls yesterday, most related to the election.
(November 5, 2008)— Mayor Eddie A. Perez announced today that Hartford’s 3-1-1 Call Center handled more than 1500 inquiries from voters on Election Day, November 4th—that’s triple the volume of a normal day. Most of the calls were from residents inquiring about their registration status or polling location.
“I am proud that we were able to help people exercise one of their fundamental rights as citizens – the right to vote. Having voter information available by dialing one simple number – 311 – is a major step forward in making government information more accessible,” Mayor Perez said.
The 3-1-1 Call Center opened in September of 2006 in order to provide a centralized location for requesting non-emergency city services or information. Normal daily call volumes range from 300 to 500 calls per day. On Election Day, the center’s regular staff worked extra hours and was supplemented by staff from the Mayor’s office. The center was open from 6AM to 8PM to match the hours for voting.
Susan McMullen, Director of Constituent Services, manages the call center. “Our staff was excited to be part of the Election Day process,” she said. “We anticipated high call volumes because of the historic and exciting nature of this race, and we were not disappointed. Hartford voters were engaged and we were happy to help them exercise their voting rights.”
Any callers requiring more specific assistance or information were transferred to the Registrars of Voters office. “We enjoy our partnership with the Hartford Registrars on voting day,” McMullen added. “We look forward to supporting them for many elections to come.”
The 3-1-1 Call Center is open Monday through Friday from 8AM to 6PM. After hours callers may leave a message or access the 3-1-1 self-service portal at www.hartford.gov. Those unable to connect by dialing 3-1-1 can reach the Call Center by calling (860) 757-9311.
Are we supposed to interpret this as a positive thing? Seriously? If there was not so much misinformation on the City of Hartford website and the Connecticut Secretary of State website regarding polling places, then perhaps such phone calls would not have been necessary. To find out where I needed to vote (the information given on my registration card was correct, but what was posted on the websites was not), I made a phone call to the Registrar of Voters and waited a few minutes on the line before someone qualified gave me accurate information.
How to make government more accessible? Create a user-friendly website. Hire people for 311 who have customer service skills, or at the least, train the current staff.
Greetings from District #5
By Kerri Provost, November 4, 2008 9:05 am
I’m actually in District #8 (Parkville Community School), but I was sent this photo. I had only a five minute wait to vote. The photo represents an approximate two hours of waiting in line.
The Date Test
I devised a system for myself before I ever voted to determine who I would be willing to vote for. I’ll admit to not using it for local candidates or in smaller elections, only in presidential elections. It goes like this:
How would this candidate be in a relationship?
It sounds shallow, but it’s not.
The ideal candidate would be someone who shares my values, who is not afraid to be unpopular if it means being morally right, and who respects me. He (or she) would be willing and able to communicate. He would definitely be a good listener, who is also considerate of my own struggles. He would have to be reliable and have many people who could vouch for his authenticity. He should be creative, innovative. He can’t mince words.
So, someone might be attractive–physically or otherwise–but not make for a good relationship. Maybe he’s a charmer. He knows exactly what to say and when. He’s smooth. Okay, that’s more like a one-night stand than a long term relationship if he does not have substance. Right now, I think that a lot of people are crushing on Mr. Smooth, and are so distracted by his stark contrast to the soon-to-be ex that they are not demanding he have stronger, more carefully outlined, plans. What I’ve learned from relationships is to not let myself be stringed along by The Nice Person.
Someone could be a raving lunatic whose bursts of enthusiasm are conflated with emotion/patriotism. He’s the kind of person who ends up being a stalker or talking behind your back when things begin to sour. He might describe himself as unique, and would go out of his way to do so. Deep down, actually, not even that deep down, he’s only a more coherent version of the others that Americans have been going steady with.
Of course, there are others, but because they are not so polished, shiny, and popular, they are essentially ignored. But as we learn years after graduating high school, sometimes those nerds that nobody wants to talk to are right on the mark. They can even be cleaned up and put into nice suits.
Getting involved with someone simply because everyone insists you should is not the smartest move. “Oh, you two will hit it off,” “You’ll just love him,” “He’s so different from the others.” You should ask for solid reasons. You should demand background checks. Check out his past dating record. After all, you’re going to be the one stuck with him. You should at least know what it is you are signing on for.
Election Access
By Kerri Provost, November 2, 2008 10:15 pm
I don’t have a television. I survive quite well without it. Other than the playoffs and election night, I have little temptation to watch anyway. I don’t imagine that I am the only person without a television in her possession. Here are some places to go on Tuesday to watch coverage of the election:
La Paloma Sabanera
(corner of Babcock and Capitol Ave)
from 7am - 6pm.
Real Art Ways
(56 Arbor Street)
from 7pm - 1am
Union Station
(1 Union Place)
(this one is a specific pro-Obama party)
from 8pm - midnight
If there are any election-viewing gatherings/events/parties in Hartford that I have missed, please leave a note in the comment section.
Won’t Rant Won’t Rant Won’t Rant
By Kerri Provost, November 1, 2008 6:04 am
I find this upcoming presidential election to be less about hope and more about exclusion. While there appears to be diversity in terms of race and sex, there are still only two parties being discussed as viable candidates. Many are not aware that they have choices other than Obama and McCain. I hesitate to get on any rah-rah bandwagon because 1) I can’t get excited about these two frontrunners and 2) the American people are vastly disappointing me, as they are not taking full advantage of the democratic system that we have. By not insisting on an ethical process, by not voting one’s conscience, we allow ourselves to be represented by those who may not be qualified or desirable for the job.
Today, at 1pm, there will be a free screening of An Unreasonable Man, the Ralph Nader documentary. It is at 56 Arbor Street (to be shown at Real Art Ways, but is not sponsored by them). Before casting your vote, please research all of the candidates and look at their voting records and histories, not just at their commercials or their opponents’ mudslinging commercials. A democracy does not function the way it should when citizens are not informed.
The Morning After
By Kerri Provost, October 30, 2008 6:21 am
If the drama and constant chattering about the upcoming election has not made you hide from your neighbors yet, you might be interesting in talking about it even more the day after the vote.
Professor Derek Maxfield will be leading a discussion on the results of the elections and their significance on November 5th from noon until 1 in the Centinel Hill Hall at Capital Community College. The discussion is titled “Election Postmortem.” Like all of the lunchtime lecture series, this is free and open to the public.
