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Showing posts from February, 2024

Enfield's five best things? No Kings protest makes the list

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  Someone was telling me yesterday about a group effort to list the five best things about Enfield. The first was Costco. Everyone struggled after that. Then there was a suggestion to add Raising Cane's. ​ Enfield doesn't have a movie theater, much in the way of parks, a mall, or a downtown. Our main library hasn't been renovated in decades and has more videos than Blockbuster. Too many of our restaurants are fast food. The fastest-growing occupation in town may be takeout delivery drivers. You need your car for everything. But the town does have a civic spirit. ​ Saturday's No King’s protest was my third one. Similar to the others, it attracted a good number of people. Perhaps not as many as the first one, but a lively turnout. ​ It was a chance to strike up random conversations and meet new people, something that is hard to do in Enfield. One fellow I met turned out to be an EHS grad from my era. I graduated in 1972, and my newfound friend in 1973. He had a rally-free...

Enfield Democrats are in big trouble

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Despite leading in voter registrations, the Enfield Democratic Town Committee seems to lack a winning election strategy. Until the 2021 election, the Republicans had controlled the Town Council for 14 years straight. But in that year, the Democrats secured seven of the 11 council seats, a significant victory. However, last November, voters reinstated the Republicans to control the Town Council. The Democrats have not fully come to terms with the magnitude of this loss. Some Democrats claim they lost the election by about one percent—a figure apparently obtained by aggregating all votes cast for every candidate, from Council to Constable. This perspective, however, amounts to self-deception. The Democrats were decisively defeated in the Town Council election, with a voting margin exceeding 8%. In essence, they were soundly beaten, but the situation is even more dire. In their most recent campaign finance filing, the Democrats reported contributions totaling $12,485. In contrast, the Rep...