{news} Colin Bennett in the Clinton Recorder

[David Bedell]

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13153716

Diverse candidates offer voters a choice

The Clinton Recorder
By: Stan Fisher , Special to the Recorder 10/15/2004

CLINTON - Like a politician's version of the menu at fabled Alice's
Restaurant, the race for the 33rd District's state senate seat this year
offers pretty much anything a voter might want in its diverse and crowded
field of candidates.

There's Jason Potts of Moodus, who has never run for any elective office and
is carrying the banner of the Working Families Party, a new political entity
assembled by a coalition of labor unions and grass roots organizations.

There's Colin Bennett, a young school teacher from Westbrook and the Green
Party's candidate in the 33rd, looks to bring a fresh perspective, and a
message about the environment and education, to the state legislature.

There's Republican Emanuel "Manny" Misenti, also from the Moodus section of
East Haddam, campaigning for legislative reform that unequivocally demands
ethical conduct in state government.

And there's the 33rd District's incumbent state senator, Eileen Daily, a
Democrat whose legislative experience includes six terms in the legislature
and 15 years as an elected official in her hometown of Westbrook.

After 12 years in office, Daily says she finds motivation to continue her
work from the sense of obligation instilled in her by her parents to
contribute to the well-being of one's community, and a view that six terms
of legislative experience enhances her ability to do so.

Chairwoman of the legislature's Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee,
Daily sees the stabilization of revenues from corporate, sales and income
taxes as among the critical issues for Connecticut's economic welfare.

Because of continual variations in the way some of those taxes are applied,
the legislature needs to study the overall tax system to find a way of
measuring their effectiveness and equity to state revenues, she says.

Beyond that endeavor, Daily sees support for public education, the physical
and financial well-being of senior citizens and the protection of the
environment as her principal concerns for the state.

Misenti, an electrical contractor currently serving on the East Haddam
school board and a member of the Republican state central committee, also
has served as selectman and as chairman of the Republican committee.

Inspired to public service by his family, friends and community, Misenti is
so well known as "Manny" that his nickname is included in the listing of his
name on the ballot.

Reform of state campaign financing heads his list of priorities for the
legislature, but he is also pushing for "clear and strict" ethics
regulations - with substantial penalties for their violation - as well as
legislative oversight of contractors, state employees and all others on the
state payroll.
With his own district in mind, Misenti also wants a revamping of the
distribution of state revenues to bring what he calls "a fair shake" for the
budgets of smaller towns.

A teacher at St. Mary's School in New London and an elected member of the
Westbrook Forest Commission, Bennett is a marine science technician in the
U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, a volunteer with the Westbrook fire service, and
founder and president of Great Land Conservation Trust, Inc., among civic
endeavors.

His affiliation with the Green Party stems in part from his work on Ralph
Nader's presidential campaign in 2000, but more from his sense that the two
established political parties offer little opportunity for change and
progress in the country.

His campaign for the senate is driven by a desire to work for change in
Connecticut, with a particular emphasis on the environment and the need to
remedy poor air quality, to protect water quality and to continue the
preservation of open space and the variety of benefits it provides.

In education, Bennett wants a greater degree of parity in the funding levels
for state universities and community colleges, and in tax reform, he looks
for relief from the dependence on property tax revenues to pay for town
budgets.

A meat manager at the Shaw's Supermarket in West Hartford, Potts has been a
Moodus resident for seven years. He serves as a volunteer at the East Haddam
Dog Pound and is an active member of the Connecticut Bass Federation.

A member of his labor union's executive board, Potts says his affiliation
with the union-based Working Families Party is a natural progression from
workplace concerns.

Potts lists wages that fail to keep pace with living costs as a major
concern, followed by the impact of the ever-increasing cost of health
insurance on both employees and companies, and increasing property taxes.

©Clinton Recorder 2004