{news} Colin Bennett in Pictorial Gazette

[David Bedell]

It's not easy being Green

Tue 09/28/04
by Michael Miller

Pictorial Gazette (Old Saybrook, CT)

WESTBROOK - Most political candidates aspire to be like their favorite world 
leaders.

Colin D. Bennett, as an underdog in this year's 33rd District state senate 
race, offers a much more unique analogy - but one which may fit his campaign 
message perfectly.

"I think I feel the same way about Connecticut as Woody Allen does about New 
York," the Green Party candidate says, during a break from teaching fourth 
grade at St. Mary's Star of the Sea School in New London. "The bottom line 
is that I love Connecticut. I wish I were more prepared for this election, 
but I'm not an experienced politician."

Westbrook resident Eileen Daily, a Democrat, has held the 33rd District seat 
for six terms. The 33rd District comprises Chester, Clinton, Colchester, 
Deep River, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Lyme, Old Saybrook, 
Portland and Westbrook.

Bennett, who ran unsuccessfully for the Westbrook Board of Education last 
year, is no experienced politician, but he is an experienced citizen of 
Connecticut. Only 25 years old, he has lived in Westbrook since 1995 and 
racked up a shopping list of credentials: volunteer fireman, member of the 
Forest Commission, marine science technician in the U.S. Coast Guard 
Reserve. He admits that, as a small party candidate, he has only a marginal 
chance of winning. But victory or not, he sees the campaign as a chance to 
make voices heard - both his own, and others.

A few weeks ago, when Bennett first sought a place on the ballot, he had to 
petition for 333 signatures from registered voters in the district. With a 
group of supporters from the Shoreline Chapter of the Connecticut Green 
Party, he set up camp outside supermarkets and other businesses, introducing 
himself and his position to shoppers. By mid-September, he had accumulated 
nearly 400 names on his petition. Moreover, he says, he encouraged half a 
dozen young people to register to vote.

As a candidate, change is part of his image. "I don't know anything about 
Eileen Daily personally," Bennett says, "except that she's in her sixth 
term, and I think that's too long to be in the state senate. I think new 
ideas and new people should always be brought into the legislature."

Now, Bennett appears on the ballot next to candidates more than twice his 
age: Daily, of Westbrook, and Republican Manuel Misenti, of Moodus, a former 
town selectman. Jason A. Potts, also of Moodus, fills the fourth slot as the 
Working Family Party candidate. Bennett, in fact, almost didn't run for the 
senate at all. "I was thinking about running for state representative," he 
says, "but I would have been up against Brian O'Connor in the 35th District. 
He's someone I admire a lot, so I didn't want to compete."

Regardless of the race, Bennett is passionate about three issues: the 
environment, education and election reform. As state senator, he wants to 
curb development of open space and provide tax relief to landowners who are 
under pressure to sell to developers. Education runs naturally in his 
family. While Bennett teaches at St. Mary's and advises a student 
environmental group at Saint Bernard High School, his father and brother 
both work as school administrators.

His edgiest idea is to convert Connecticut to an instant runoff voting 
system, in which voters can rank the candidates in order and pass the nod to 
their second choice if the first doesn't win a majority. "Most Green Party 
members are in favor of it, but a lot of others haven't heard of it," he 
says. "If people are in power, they want to stay in power, so it's hard to 
get election reforms passed."

Those who know Bennett well mark him as a caring, conscientious figure - and 
their main concern is how well he can use his people skills on a government 
level. "I think he's a highly principled man, and that's important," says 
St. Mary's Principal Linda Corona. "You don't find that many honest 
politicians, but I think Colin can stay honest. If you can communicate well 
with kids, you can communicate with anybody."

As a Green Party candidate, of course, Bennett is clinging to one partisan 
ethic: campaigning with no corporate donors. Any support that he receives 
over the next month will come through volunteering and word of mouth - 
processes that he suspects, in a four-party race, might help. "The more 
people running, the better," Bennett opines. "It gives the voters more 
choice. I hope to raise issues in this campaign even if I don't win, so 
it'll be a good learning experience."

©Pictorial Gazette 2004

_________________________________________________________________
Don’t just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! 
http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/