Here is the press release sent out about yesterday’s 1st congressional debate. #maryfay4congress. #timeforachange
Newington CT, 7:30pm Saturday
Contact, Tasha Bentley tasha.ivybound@gmail.com
Saturday's Candidate debate in Newington featured the first CT in-person Congressional debate for 2020. The three Hartford area candidates,
John Larson - Democratic Party
Mary Fay - Republican Party, and
Tom McCormick - Green Party
were invited by TGIF (The Government Information Forums) for a 60 minute session that turned to nearly 90 minutes.
"We are not yet "Lincoln v. Douglas" oratory, but we are getting close", said Mark Stewart Greenstein, who has been hosting TGIF debates since the early days of the 2017-2018 governor's race. TGIF focuses on issues and not candidates' past acts or statements. Saturday's audience, in person and on Zoom, was able to hear and see candidates address issues of
environmental protection,
the causes of crime,
federal budgeting,
school budgeting,
welfare,
unionism,
term limits,
socialism,
transportation,
energy policy,
the F-35
job training,
the dignity of work,
and
Supply-Side economics (Reaganomics).
At issue throughout was Connecticut's representation in Washington D.C. Ms. Fay frequently pointed out how incumbent John Larson is part of a Democrat party whose leaders have priorities out of synch with those of Connecticut families. Mr. McCormick did not directly criticize Larson, but pointed to the federal government's wasteful priorities on the F-35 fighter and poor use of funds for people with lower capacity to earn a good living.
Both candidates agreed that police should not be defunded, a position Mr. Larson's Democrat leaders do not embrace. Mr. Larson backed out of the debates, though he was invited by TGIF's organizers to send a spokesperson or do a phone-in to this debate. He thus did not address any of these assues for the attendees. Those in the audience and watching on Zoom saw an empty chair for Mr. Larson while Ms. Fay and Mr. McCormick parried questions posed by moderator Gary Byron, a Newington native and civics-oriented radio host.
TGIF uses a unique format, allowing candidates to hold up green and red cards to silently show agreement or disagreement with the speaking candidate. There was a suprisingly high amount of cross-candidate approvals from these nominees. The Green Party is traditionally seen as fiercely pro-government action while the Republicans stand more for individualism. The frequent agreement Saturday in Newington owed to both candidates being "mavericks" for their parties. Ms. Fay twice stated that she has been criticized by her party's "elders" for some of her positions, and Mr. McCormick confided afterwards that his support for most police activities has caused ire mong Green Party officials. Mr. Greenstein, a Democrat, concluded that "angering your own political party is salubrious -- Connecticut voters should want more representatives who shun their party's orthodoxy."
TGIF format also allows "front-and-center" participants to hoist green and red approval / disapproval cards. These came forth frequently, including from the high schoolers and even the elementary school (age 9) participant. Mr. Byron remarked afterwards that frequent audience red-card-hoisting is healthy - "it means the candidates are not just giving meaningless fluff".
Participants at TGIF Forums are allowed to fill out surveys wherein they rank each candidate on issues important to them, along with "Character", "Competence", and "Civility". TGIF accumulated the tallies in the turned in surveys; attendees ranked Ms. Fay highest, at +23, and Mr. McCormick next, at +8.5. Mr. Larson received 0 on all turned in surveys.
TGIF holds a final in-person candidate debate in Hartford next Friday at 12:30pm outside the Hartford Library. It is across the street from City Hall, where balloting is open to registered voters, and where new voters can register almost instantaneously.
More info:
Tasha Bentley - TGIF, www.tgifvoter.org
Supporters,
I’ve had the chance to review some high level results from last week's election. While the secretary of state website leaves a lot to be desired, it had some basic info I was able to pull off.
My campaign was completely grass roots. We worked extremely hard and accomplished much. My small team was 100% volunteer based, the campaign lasted 5 months (I was recruited late!), was run on a shoe string and was efficiently run with every penny stretched, We had great social media and web, Did well in the debates. I will always be proud of how I ran my campaign, my team, and our accomplishments.
As you know, Republicans did not fare well this cycle. Not one Republican candidate was elected to congress, we lost republican seats in the CT house and senate, and Trump is far from a sure thing. That's the reality we face, despite poor representation of CT at the federal level, and CT falling further and further into the abyss. The first district has been gerrymandered to death, and considered the safest Dem seat in the country. I was up for the challenge!
Enough of the bad news. The final result does not tell the full story. Here are some highlights of my results as your candidate for Congress:
1. I received over 122,000 votes, and 35% of the total. That is more/better than any candidate has done against Larson since 2000, 20 years and every re-election cycle since.
2. Despite spending a ton of money, $1.5 MM of her own, Streicker and everyone but David Sullivan did no better. Sullivan was running against a rookie congresswoman, not an entrenched DC politician like Larson, and barely got above 40%.
3. Of the 27 towns in the district, I won 7 towns outright, and approached 50% in 10 towns. We did not fare well in the cities and big towns.
4. We had good voter engagement and participation in the towns. We need to get our message to cities. With more time and people, we can do that.
5. I’m proud of our team, the purple crew, and our volunteers. We just need more people to be able to cover this very large and expansive district. Lots more. We also need RTC engagement where we had none.
6. We built a solid foundation and I am considering another run. I’m also open to other options/opportunities. No decision will be made immediately. If I do run again, I'd like to assess the viability. If We did this much in 5 months, imagine what We can do in 18 months or more. I’d like to get a feel for how many more volunteers and gaps we can fill to add to the team. I know many of you have reached out to express your disappointment in not winning this seat to make the change we all need.
If you want to join our team, please go on my website www.maryfay4congress.com and hit the volunteer button to get on our list. More time and more resources can move the dial.
For those of you who stepped up, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!! I am grateful beyond measure.
I'll be soliciting input from a wide range of people, including you, and looking at next steps. It was a hard fought battle, but I remain optimistic that we can make CT and America better. God Bless CT and America!
Best,
Mary
It’s a new day. Last night was tough. We fought the good fight, and believed deeply in our cause. Thank you again, to my family, my team the purple crew, my friends, supporters, and everyone who helped, donated, and voted for me. I will always be eternally grateful. It was an incredible journey, I met so many wonderful people, and made many new friends. I do not regret one single thing. In a district that Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 3:1, we did fine. I’m just sorry that we could not deliver victory to the people who saw the huge need for change. Congratulations to Congressman Larson. God Bless America, and God Bless the state of Connecticut.
Mother of 4, entrepreneur, educator. Always takes care...
