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Two more Democrats - former federal prosecutor Chris Mattei and former West Hartford Mayor Jonathan Harris are formally exploring runs for governor in 2018, joining an increasingly crowded field of potential candidates from both sides of the aisle.

Less than a week after Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy declared he will not seek a third term, Mattei and Harris announced their intention to file paperwork with state elections officials to create exploratory committees. They joined Democratic Mayor Dan Drew of Middletown, who began his exploratory campaign in January, and Jacey Wyatt of Branford.

In a nearly three minute video posted on YouTube, Mattei outlined his reasons for running. "We've arrived at a troubled time,'' he said. "It seems that the values that I grew up with and that so many of us share are being put to the test every day."

A Windsor native who was the former chief of the financial fraud and public corruption unit for the U.S. Attorney's office, Mattei is best known as the prosecutor who won a conviction against former Gov. John G. Rowland, who is currently serving time in federal prison. Mattei, who lives in Hartford's West End, is an outsider to electoral politics, at least compared with some of his potential rivals who have served as mayors or legislators.

Joe Visconti of West Hartford, who ran twice as a Republican, also filed papers on Wednesday for a 2018 governor's run. He said he plans to bypass the state party convention and go straight to a primary, which requires collecting 8,500 Republican signatures. His move would be a repeat of 2014 when he garnered enough signatures to run against Malloy and Greenwich business executive Tom Foley.

In his video, Mattei, 38, makes a play for Democrats who are newly energized by the election of President Donald Trump. "This is a time for citizenship,'' he said. "What I believe is that if we are to resist what's happening in Washington, that work starts right here at home."

In another move prompted by Malloy's announcement, Harris stepped down as commissioner of the state Department of Consumer Protection earlier this week in a move that frees him up to raise money for a campaign. The Democrat, who served as state senator and state representative in addition to mayor, said Tuesday that he is considering a gubernatorial bid.

"I'll be filing an exploratory committee for statewide office with the goal of running for governor,'' Harris said.

While he plans his political future, Harris will be working as a lawyer at Feiner Wolfson LLC, a Hartford law firm.

But Harris reiterated his intention to sit out the 2018 governor's race if Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman runs. Wyman, who turns 71 on Friday, has not publicly announced her plans yet.

Although Wyman has remained silent on her future plans, Capitol insiders say they doubt that Harris would have quit his high-paying, secure state job if Wyman was going to jump into the race.

On Wednesday, Wyman declined to comment to The Courant.

State Sen. Ted Kennedy said he had not made any final decisions about running for the open seat either, but is leaving the possibility open.

"I'm thinking about it,'' Kennedy told The Courant.

Even before Malloy announced his decision, more than a half dozen Republicans had expressed interest in a gubernatorial run. The list of declared candidates includes Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti, U.S. Army veteran Micah Welintukonis of Coventry and state Rep. Prasad Srinivasan of Glastonbury. Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker, Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst, attorney Peter Lumaj, and Fairfield County business executive Steve Obsitnik are among the candidates who have formed exploratory committees for a possible gubernatorial campaign.

House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz of Berlin, who is not running for governor, said he hopes the governor's race will have no impact on the General Assembly as lawmakers wrestle with important bills before the legislative session wraps up June 7.

"In all sincerity, hopefully none,'' Aresimowicz said when asked Wednesday by The Courant. "This is not a time when we can put our political ambitions ahead of what we need to do for the state of Connecticut. ... It's going to require anyone who is interested in a future office to play it straight, to come to the table, be honest, and not come in, drop a bomb and then go out and do a press conference. I pledge not to do that. I pledge to stay at the table around the clock for however long it takes.''

He added, "We can't do it if people are playing political games.''

Originally posted here:
Two More Democrats and a Republican Interested in Running for Governor - Hartford Courant

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) is the current darling of the left which tells you just how crazy Democrats have gotten.

CNNPolitics reports, accurately, Waters is having a moment with the biggest online buzz since Bernie Sanders. Elle dubbed her The Millennials Political Rock Star.

Yet shes every bit the over-the-top lefty shes been for decades. Indeed, shes winning all the praise by calling for President Trumps impeachment.

On the record, at least 25 times.

Last week, she told the Los Angeles Press Club, I want this president impeached. She spent the weekend leading a crowd of activists in an Impeach 45! chant.

But MSNBCs Craig Melvin pressed her on the issue Tuesday, and she quickly insisted, I have not called for impeachment.

No, she claimed, she wants the Russian-collusion stuff investigated first: We need the facts in order to do the impeachment. And Im going to work every day to try and help get those facts and to reveal them to our public until, of course, impeachment has taken place.

Waters, in short, cant be bothered to make sense and thats why they love her.

The rest is here:
Democrats' all-too-telling love for Maxine Waters - New York Post

Common Dreams

What are the Super-Rich Democrats Waiting For? Common Dreams Democratic Party loyalists are always complaining about the big-money fat cats behind the Republican Party's candidates and platform. Over the last few election cycles, the Democratic Party has lost most state legislatures, governorships, the US Senate ... and more »

Read the original here:
What are the Super-Rich Democrats Waiting For? - Common Dreams

For the last 40 years, elected officials in Washington have repeatedly tried to secure our nations southern border and fix our broken immigration system, but every attempt at comprehensive reform legislation has failed.

While some falsely assume that this prolonged failure only affects border communities, the reality is that it has also created disastrous repercussions for the rest of the nation.

The most deadly consequence of Washingtons failure to secure the southern border has been the rise of dangerous narcoterrorist organizations that operate within the confines of both Mexico and the United States.

This in turn has exacerbated the heroin and opioid epidemic that is devastating virtually all communities in every corner of our country. Heroin overdoses took the lives of more than 30,000 Americans in just a three year period from 2013 to 2015.

The vast majority of heroin in the United States comes from Central and South America, as cartels smuggle the drugs across our border, store them at stash houses, and then distribute them to cities across our country.

In addition to profiting from poisoning Americans with addictive and lethal drugs, narcoterrorist cartels are also making lucrative profits from human smuggling. Most people who illegally enter through the Southern border rely on coyotes or human smugglers to assist them. Many of these smugglers are affiliated with or work directly for a cartel, and give them a large chunk of their earnings.

The human smugglers and cartels have no regard for the lives of the families and unaccompanied children they escort to the border, abandoning them at the first sign of a law enforcement official, bad weather, or a simple health ailment of one of the travelers. Hundreds die every year during the treacherous journey to American soil.

One ranch I visited on the Texas-Mexico border has recovered more than 100 dead bodies on the property over the last ten years, reflecting the real, tragic danger for migrants. The cruel twist is that the ranch is only half a mile away from a rescue beacon run by border patrol, where agents are ready to provide help and safety.

Some migrants have also been killed at the direct hands of the cartels, with one of the most notorious examples being the 2010 massacre in which Los Zetas narcoterrorists executed 72 men and women and buried their bodies in a mass grave after they refused to pay extortion fees to cross the border.

Its clear that our unsecured border is the source of both a humanitarian crisis and a major national security vulnerability. We need to start focusing on practical solutions that will secure our border once and for all.

We need to recognize that a continuous wall from one end of our Southern border to the other is neither feasible nor effective. Its basic geology. A 20-foot wall on a 3,000-foot sheer cliff will not stop human crossings or drug trafficking, and neither will a 20-foot wall on the Rio Grande River, where the winding river and soft soil make construction extremely difficult and expensive.

However, we can still effectively achieve a secure border through major strategic investments in three resources: personnel, technology, and infrastructure.

We need more boots on the ground to patrol the border, which means hiring more Customs and Border Protection agents to apprehend those attempting to illegally enter our country. This is easier said than done, as the agency has faced staffing difficulties and low morale in recent years. These issues must be addressed head-on, with a focus on ways to decrease the attrition rate and significantly increase the number of qualified men and women to serve as agents.

Technology will also play a critical role in assisting efforts to keep our border secure. This includes making investments in sensors, remote video and monitoring surveillance systems, forward looking infrared, and thermal acquisition monocular systems.

Beefing up infrastructure is also a necessity. There are many areas along the border where we can utilize a combination of fencing, watch towers, and other physical barriers that will ultimately increase the speed and effectiveness of apprehending illegal entrants.

We must also improve security and infrastructure at ports and bridges of entry and exit, where the majority of narcotics, counterfeit goods, and other illicit products are smuggled into the United States. This must include expanding and improving the resources available to Customs and Border Protection agents.

Above all else, the personnel, technology, and infrastructure that we invest in and utilize must be targeted to the unique needs of specific areas along the border. We must rely on the experience, knowledge and insight of local leadership.

I believe that a practical and effective approach to border security can gain the support of the Trump administration and both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Moving forward, border security should initiate the first phase of a methodical, step by step process to immigration reform that will also strengthen interior enforcement, reform our legal immigration system, and address the undocumented population in the United States in a fair and compassionate way.

Securing our border and reforming our broken immigration system will require all sides to demonstrate a willingness to work together and refuse to allow the perfect to become the enemy of good solutions.

The views expressed by this author are their own and are not the views of The Hill.

Originally posted here:
Securing our border must be first step in immigration reform - The Hill (blog)

Steve Marcus

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev) listens to a question during a town hall meeting at Las Vegas City Council Chambers Tuesday, April 18,2017.

By Chris Kudialis (contact)

Published Tuesday, April 18, 2017 | 8:30 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, April 18, 2017 | 11:45 p.m.

U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto fielded questions from dozens of Nevada residents Tuesday night at Las Vegas City Hall, touching on topics of immigration, organized labor and President Donald Trump's proposed skinny budget.

We are a multicolored fabric of immigrants that build this country, Cortez Masto said when asked whether she would support an initiative to protect undocumented immigrants by making Nevada a sanctuary" state. The ones that I have met are working hard and are contributing to our economy.

The nearly two-hour town hall featured about 450 attendees, mostly supporters of the Democratic senator. Attendees applauded, shouted and gave a standing ovation when Cortez Masto was introduced. The applause continued throughout the evening as Cortez Masto answered questions.

Cortez Masto argued that a budget proposed by Trump will result in the loss of so many agencies that are a benefit to our community. She cited proposed cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency as well as the proposed elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities as devastating.

Its top-lined, but it doesnt give specifics, she said of the federal budget, which at 53 pages was the smallest budget released by any U.S. president during the past presidential administrations.

The U.S. senator also blamed the president for his negative rhetoric toward media outlets and suggested that the arrest of KLAS Channel 8 cameraman Neb Solomon on Saturday during a peaceful protest outside of Trumps namesake Las Vegas hotel was a product of Trump's efforts to denigrate the press.

Cortez Masto doubled-down on her support of voter-approved legalized marijuana in Nevada, saying she was against federal intervention proposed by the Trump administration and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

I will continue to fight for the states right to legalize medical and recreational marijuana, she said.

The first-term U.S. senator and former Nevada attorney general added to a group of five audience members holding up signs in favor of $15 hourly minimum wages that she supported raising the wage, but did not outline any legislation.

I want the American Dream for everyone, but I need your help, she said.

She reaffirmed her support for organized labor, telling UNLV student Matt Kimball that she would support pro-labor candidates in the 2018 midterm elections.

Many of those asking questions represented political organizations in Nevada, like Hispanic activist group Mi Familia Vota and the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. Over a dozen people asking questions also thanked the senator for her presence at the event and asked what they or their respective organizations could do to work more collaboratively with her office.

Tuesdays Cortez Masto town hall took place one day after fellow U.S. Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Mark Amodei spoke in front of angry crowds in Reno on Monday.

Cortez Masto took note of the strong turnout, telling attendees their energy was incredible. She encouraged them to continue to make their voices heard for the end game of the 2018 elections.

The senator was not asked specifically about professional sports in Las Vegas. But she did express her disapproval for a projected $750 million of public funds set to be included in the $1.9 billion budget for the new Las Vegas Raiders stadium as part of a separate question on public spending.

I dont think public money should be used to build the stadium, she said.

Cortez Mastos town hall came just hours after she toured the Boulder Solar 1 facility in the Eldorado Valley on Tuesday morning. The senator joined Boulder City Mayor Rod Woodbury and representatives from NV Energy and Sunrun for the tour.

Originally posted here:
Cortez Masto talks Trump budget, immigration reform and labor ... - Las Vegas Sun