WILTON — Though it falls short of an actual endorsement, the Wilton Democratic Town Committee resolved in May that Senator Chris Dodd would make a "great president."
Since then, at least five other towns have used the resolution as a model for their own shows of support, and 73 town committees have supported Dodd in total.
Ted Hoffstatter, chairman of the democratic town committee, said while the majority of the committee would have approved a "straight-up endorsement," everyone was in favor of the resolution of support.
"Even people who were undecided had no problems saying he'd make a great president," Hoffstatter said.
Norwalk used some of the language of Wilton's proposal in a petition supporting Dodd. Roughly 20 people signed the statement, according to Stuart Wells, chairman of the Democratic Party Committee for Norwalk Ward E. . . .
Connecticut
MIDDLETOWN - U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd now has another group supporting him: the Middletown Democrats.
Dan Russo, the chairman of the Middletown Democratic Town Committee, said the committee voted unanimously Thursday night to support Dodd in his run for the presidency.
"He is our senator and we would love him to see him as our president," Russo said.
Russo said State Rep. Joseph Serra, D-33rd District, made the motion that the committee support Dodd.
It was quickly supported by Common Council Deputy Majority Leader Gerald E. Daley, Democratic Registrar Sandra L. Faraci, Board of Education member and Vice-chairman Theodore V. Raczka and Hank Novicki.
Dodd is the state's senior senator and has been a senator since 1980.
In January 2007, he announced he was throwing his hat in to become the Democratic nominee for president. Dodd will have to beat out Democratic candidates Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards.
He is currently a senior member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and is the senior Democrat on its Education and Early Childhood Development Subcommittee.
He also is the senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics. He serves on the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, and is the senior Democrat on its Securities and Investment Subcommittee.
Dodd's father is the late Senator Thomas J. Dodd.
Dodd first ran for Congress in the 2nd District and campaigned in Middletown 32 years ago. Dodd served three terms as a U.S. Representative and had an office in Middletown.
One of the men who worked with Dodd in Middletown then and has continued to work with him is Ed Mann. He was present at the meeting Thursday.
"There are many ties between Middletown and Chris Dodd," Russo said - and Mann is just one of them.
He said people on the committee are already talking about helping the Dodd campaign in the New Hampshire primary in February, 2008.
"People are impressed by him," Russo said. "Experience and knowledge - that's what we should have in a president."
Russo said many town committee members are glad that Dodd is taking a stand against President Bush.
He added many members are glad that "he is different (from) the Bush administration."
Russo said Dodd supports the troops, but does not support how the war in Iraq is being fought.
Dodd was one of the first people to demand the government reimburse men and women in the armed forces who bought their own body armor.
"While he is supporting the troops, he is not supporting the administration and how they are running this war," Russo said.
He added that Dodd supports early childhood education, and is very knowledgeable about foreign policy issues, especially issues involving South and Central America.
To contact Joseph Wenzel IV, call him at (860) 347-3331, Ext. 222, or e-mail him at jwenzel@middletownpress.com.
As he formally announced his candidacy for president on Thursday, Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut said he saw himself as the “dark horse” in the expanding Democratic field, an “unknown quantity with experience.”
He made his announcement on “Imus in the Morning,” a nationally syndicated radio and cable television show featuring Don Imus, and later, in an interview, he said this would be a one-time shot at the White House.
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As Senator Christopher J. Dodd prepares to take over the leadership of the Senate Banking Committee while also considering a run for the presidency, lobbyists and lawmakers are all asking the same question.
“Does he become a populist champion on issues that broadly affect the middle class” asked Travis B. Plunkett, the legislative director of the Consumer Federation of America, “or does he shrink from controversial issues that offend huge donors?”
It is a question facing not only Mr. Dodd, but the Democratic Party more generally as it assumes control of Congress.
In his case, Mr. Dodd has shown through a 25-year record in the Senate that he is adept at going both ways. He has, at various times, broken with big corporate interests in support of a principle. At other times, he has broken ranks with his more liberal party peers to advance causes associated with corporate patrons.
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With the Democrats taking control of the U.S Senate, Connecticut's Senior Senator is in line for a major committee chairmanship.
Senator Chris Dodd will be chairman of the senate banking committee. It's considered a very important position because of Connecticut's high concentration of banking and financial services business. But since Dodd supported Ned Lamont in the election,will he be able to patch things up with his Senate colleague Joe Lieberman?
Senator Chris Dodd says the election results were a message to both political parties from the voters to get things done.
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