Letter: The Values That Led Me to Live in West Hartford
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To the Editor
Mayor Shari Cantor opened her September 21st Letter to the Editor with a thought-provoking question she asks voters, “What Made You Choose to Live in West Hartford?”
For my wife and me, it’s the decency of the people here. We see it daily – through librarians like Maura at Noah Webster Library, our emergency management team’s proactive safety efforts like fall risk assessments, and organizations like Friends of Feeney supporting those in need. Decency runs through our community and is the heart of what makes West Hartford a great place to live, and that decency reflects our local leadership.
Decency is exhibited by town council members like Deputy Mayor Ben Wenograd who recognized the dignity of aging in place and prioritized efforts to make it an option for more citizens of West Hartford. Councilor Deb Polun, as chair of the human and community services committee, worked to secure a new van for our senior centers and expanded West Hartford’s baseball fields for our kids. Mayor Shari Cantor has committed to improving road safety, and the results are already apparent with bollards to create curb extensions or improved crosswalks (shout out to the town engineer Parker and town manager Rick for doing such a great job on this work). Councilor Barry Walters has worked tirelessly to cultivate community events that allow people from not just West Hartford, but surrounding towns, to feel safe and welcome. Councilor Tiffani McGinnis put her heart into repurposing properties into housing for families looking for a safe place to build a life in West Hartford.
The sense of decency that courses through our town took generations to develop, and it takes work to preserve. All we must do is turn on the national news to see what happens when we compromise decency for empty political promises from Republicans. We can look at the divisive way in which West Hartford Republicans are running their campaigns this fall and see the writing on the wall about how they will govern. They are more interested in conspiracy theories surrounding teenagers messing with yard signs than running a campaign rooted in community engagement.
Your vote for Row A in the municipal election this fall is a vote to continue efforts like aging in place, road safety, inclusive community events, or thoughtful, affordable housing. Beyond that, your vote for Row A is a vote to preserve our decency, values, and community in West Hartford. Early voting begins October 20th.
Best,
Christopher Tanski
West Hartford
“ They ( republicans) are more interested in conspiracy theories surrounding teenagers messing with yard signs than running a campaign rooted in community engagement” is yet another ignorant response that denies the reality of antisemitism. I find this offensive to Jewish communities in our wonderful West Hartford!
The sentence is about political yard signs, as the whole letter is focused on the municipal election.
But what you don’t understand Christopher is by and large the Democrats don’t want to call this stuff out because they don’t want to offend the significant wing of their party that are “Humus” supporters. It can’t be overlooked. We can agree that the parties have some different ideas, but to say that the Republican candidates are not decent people – is a stretch. If you recall it was a a member of the majority party who had an absolute hissy fit back in July about one of the issues you mentioned.
And what you don’t understand, Kevin, beside the correct spelling of “Hamas” (humus is a soil component made from decomposed organic material) is that groups like the Klan, Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, and individuals like Kevin MacDonald, and Richard Spencer, Donald Black, all anti-semitic, as well as being racist, support Trumpism, which has replaced good old fashioned Republicanism. And those groups and people are from the ADL watchlist, not from some DNC newsletter. You and the town GOP want to be taken seriously by independents such as myself you better disavow Trumpism, but you won’t, because your letters and responses indicate that you are, as one other respondent pointed out, very much an example of the Dunning-Kruger effect.