Welcome to the newsletter of the Sherman Democratic Town Committee. Our goal is to share with local Democrats, news and resources to help us stay involved for positive change on a state and local level. We are committed to working for and with the citizens of Sherman to promote issues, initiatives, and candidates that will make Sherman a better place to live and work.
Upcoming Events!
Sherman Democratic Town Committee Events:
Sherman Democratic Town Committee Regular Monthly Meeting
All registered Democrats from the town of Sherman are invited to attend our monthly meetings.
Sherman Town Government Events:
Democracy depends on citizens getting involved: Please support your community by attending meetings, particularly Town Meetings and Board of Selectmen Meetings, to learn more about the many issues that are important in Sherman:
Contact Your Representatives!
Sherman is lucky to be represented by two Democratic senators and a Democratic representative in Congress–but don’t think that your phone calls in support of their votes and actions do not matter. Senator Chris Murphy, speaking recently at a campaign-training event, made it clear that tallying up those supportive calls from his constituents helps him maintain a strong case for his positions. Sherman’s state-level representatives are both Republicans.
Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty
(860) 223-8412 (202) 225-4476
Senator Chris Murphy
(860) 549-8463 (202) 224-4041
Senator Richard Blumenthal
(860) 258-6940 (203) 330-0598 (202) 224-2823
State Senator Michael McLachlan Senate District 24
(860) 240-0068
State Representative Richard Smith House District 108
(860) 240-8700
Sherman Alerts!
SHERMAN DEMOCRATS WANT YOU!
There is nothing more important to the quality of life in our town than the
participation of its citizens. The Sherman Democratic Town Committee seeks
interested townspeople to serve on our town Boards and Commissions. Looking
forward to this fall’s municipal election, civic-minded residents are
encouraged to consider running for elected positions including Board of
Selectmen, Planning and Zoning Commission, Board of Education, Zoning Board
of Appeals, Board of Assessment Appeals and Constable.
As the party of inclusion we encourage any Sherman Democrat to consider
running for an elected position but we also will support unaffiliated
citizens who might want to serve. We believe that a wide variety of talent
is present in our town and hope to recruit the best folks available.
Your knowledge, drive and skills are needed, and an array of duties and
responsibilities are available to citizens interested in local government.
Any registered Democrat or Unaffiliated voter with a desire to make a
positive difference in Sherman’s town government should contact Joel
Bruzinski at shermandems@gmail.com or 203-313-9056 . For more information, visit other areas of this website or find us on Facebook and Twitter.
Please step up and help get Sherman back on track.
Hartford Alerts!
Two bills affecting families and especially women have been introduced into
the General Assembly. One would protect pregnant women from job
discrimination. The other provides for paid family and medical leave. *We
urge you to call Representative Smith and Senator McLachlan to urge them to
support both bills.*
House Bill 6668 expands the employment protections provided to pregnant
women under the state’s anti-discrimination law. It requires employers to
provide reasonable workplace accommodations for pregnant employee unless
the employer demonstrates that the accommodation would be an undue
hardship. The bill also prohibits employers from actions that would deprive
a pregnant employee of employment opportunities due to her pregnancy or
force a pregnant employee or applicant to accept a reasonable accommodation
if she does not need one.
House Bill 6212/Senate Bill 1 Sets would requires employers to provide up
to 12 weeks leave over a one-year period at full pay (up to $1000/week).
Connecticut was the first state to enact a family and medical leave bill
(nearly 30 years ago), but it does not call for paid leave and leaves many
employees uncovered. By one estimate, without paid leave more than 40% of
new others either quit their job or are let go after having a new child,
and one in seven of these women end up on public assistance. The leave
would be financed by employee payments into a trust fund. (For a similar
bill proposed last year, estimates were than the cost would be 0.54% of
earnings, or about $4/week for someone earning $40,000/year). There is no
cost to employers. The law would cover most full time workers, many part
time workers. Self employed people if they elect to make contributions into
the fund. Leaves to care for siblings, parents and children, grandparents
and grandchildren of the employee are covered.
Washington Alerts!
Like air and water pollution and global warming? The Trump Administration and the Republican-controlled Congress have made clear their determination to weaken environmental protections. The President’s budget calls for dramatic cuts in the Environmental Protection Agency, and proposed or actual executive orders would gut the Clean Power Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Clean Air Act, and would eliminate American efforts to realize international goals with respect to climate change.
The “HONEST ACT” (the Honest and Open New EPA Science Treatment Act of 2017) passed the House in late March and is now before the Senate. *We urge you to call Senators Blumenthal and Murphy and urge them to oppose this bill*.
Superficially, the proposed law demands more transparency, balance, and scientific integrity from the EPA. It would prevent the EPA from developing rules unless all the information it used was “publicly available online in a manner that is sufficient for independent analysis and substantial reproduction of research results.” That means that the agency can only rely on studies whose methods, materials, software code, and data are open and accessible.
Sounds good, but the proposed rules would actually bar the EPA from using many kinds of important scientific evidence. For example, it would stop the EPA from crafting public health protections based on studies that use medical records, which are confidential and cannot be legally released. The law does permit the EPA to edit studies to protect personally identifiable information, trade secrets, and other confidential information, but this would be a huge job. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that a version of the HONEST Act introduced in the past would have cost the EPA $250 million a year to enforce, but the new version only allocates an extra $1 million to pay for this —all while Trump is planning to cut the EPA’s budget cut the EPA’s budget.
Tasked with doing more with less, the agency would be paralyzed.
Despite its name, the “HONEST ACT” is actually an effort to hamstring the
Environmental Protection Agency and strangle it in costly bureaucracy.
Ways to Take Action!
This is a rotating selection of a handful of the many resources available to Sherman Democrats who wish to work for our shared values to make state and local communities better.
*March For Science*
On Earth Day, April 22, thousands of concerned citizens will march in Washington DC and around the country “to acknowledge and voice the critical role that science plays in each of our lives.” At a time when science, scientists, and evidence-based policy making have come under attack, it is imperative that we take a public stand and be counted. There will be
marches in New Haven and in Hartford. Information at www.MarchForScience.com.
*Peoples Climate March*
The Peoples Climate Movement organizes the Peoples Climate March each year
on April 29 – the 100th day of the new administration. Not be confused with the March for Science, which is focused on the funding accessibility of science, the Peoples Climate March is focused on standing up for social, economic, and climate justice. The Western Connecticut Civic Action group is holding a sister Peoples Climate March on the April 29 on the southern end of the New Milford Green, from noon – 2 PM. More information can be
found at www.peoplesclimate.org.
*GovTrack.US*
An effective advocate is a well-informed advocate: If you haven’t checked out GovTrack, you’re missing out an excellent resource. This website is an easily searchable database of all the legislation being debated in the U.S. Congress, and a deep record of where every federal legislator stands. Concerned about the condition of recreational water bodies in Connecticut, for example? Search by issue “Environmental Policy” and then choose “Water Quality.” There, among other bills, you will find S.675, the Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Act. You can read the entire bill, and you can research the voting record of NY Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who sponsored it. You can even find out that, unfortunately, this bill has a 23% chance.
About Us
We are an organization of inclusion, not exclusion. We have a longstanding
history of attracting both Democratic and unaffiliated voters and endorsing
both Democratic and unaffiliated candidates. We work to represent the wide
variety of Sherman citizens who hold many different viewpoints and
opinions.
Copyright © 2017 Sherman Democratic Town Committee, All rights reserved.
Paid for by the Sherman Democratic Town Committee, Thomas Conley Treasurer
Editor: Some of the original newsletter has been edited to fit properly.