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To the Editor:

As evidenced by their signs on Farmington Avenue, Trout Brook Drive, and elsewhere, which are big enough to be seen from low-earth orbit, and a digital billboard on I-84, A Connecticut Party is spending big bucks to sell itself as a moderate and reasonable alternative to the two major parties in West Hartford.

To those who are fed up with the deeply polarized nature of politics these days, a promise of compromise can be very seductive. In this instance, however, it is also what my high school social studies teacher, the late Jeremiah J. Jerome, would call “bunkum.” A Connecticut Party is the GOP in new packaging. Its candidates’ defection from the Party of Trump occurred only when it became politically convenient – as in, after the January 6 assault on our nation’s capital – and not one moment sooner. I find that troubling.

ACP candidates say they can reduce taxes without cutting the services West Hartford residents depend on – a standard Republican campaign tactic. They’ve also proposed closing Hall and Conard to build some new mega high school in the Buena Vista neighborhood. You didn’t read about that on their last mailer because they’ve discovered the plan is a political landmine.

Democrats are running on a track record of indisputable success and a vision of continued economic growth and opportunity for West Hartford residents. Town Council candidates Shari Cantor, Leon Davidoff, Carol Anderson Blanks, Liam Sweeney, Ben Wenograd, and Adrienne “Ace” Billings-Smith, along with the Board of Education slate of Deb Polun, Jason Chang, Clare Taylor Neserella, and Lorna Thomas-Farquharson will balance the need for fiscal responsibility with residents’ desire for great schools and quality services. Keeping West Hartford affordable while maintaining those services is NOT easy, but our Democratic elected officials have proven that they are up to the task.

Adam Raider
West Hartford