Guess Who Else Is From New Britain?

Mary Glassman came to town early Thursday to chat it up with chamber types over some coffee. She's a Democrat and is Simsbury's first selectman and hopes to win the party's nomination for governor.
A UConn grad who put herself through college and law school, Glassman focused on education, and noted that her kids are students at three prestigious schools: Yale, Tufts and soon, Johns Hopkins. She said none of her children or their friends has any interest in living in Connecticut, which she said is losing its best and brightest minds for lack of opportunity.
Along with education, Glassman cited regionalization of town services, affordable housing, transportation and fiscal discipline as important to Connecticut’s future.
As for the rail vs. busway issue, she said she's been a big proponent of rail going back to 1991. After some years of pushing and not getting the rail projet they wanted, she and others from the Capitol Region Council of Governments heard from the DOT that if they ever wanted any project to go forward, they better give up on rail and get on board the busway. The rail project they wanted at the time was a line from the Hartford-Springfield airport to downtown Hartford. It was a fascinating tale. She said she still would rather see rail than a busway and if elected, would move the funds if it is possible.

Another interesting moment this morning came right away, when Glassman, who is originally from New Britain, introduced herself and asked the small crowd at the chamber if anyone else hailed from her hometown.
Only former Mayor Bill Stortz raised his hand.
“Nobody usually admits that,” said Glassman.

Lt. Gov. Takes a Pro-Rail Stand

Lt. Gov. Mike Fedele jumped on the pro-rail train, along with Dan Malloy and Ned Lamont. Wonder who will be next to see that taking a good look at the wisdom of spending almost half a billion dollars on a nine mile road between New Britain and Hartford is a good use of all those clams.
I wrote about what Fedele had to say about the rail and other things at this morning's chamber of commerce coffee chat. You can read all about it in The Bristol Press on Friday (www.bristolpress.com).
Steve Collins, who gets more comments than I do, not that I'm jealous of The Bristol Blog, wrote about Malloy. I wrote about Lamont's stand last week.
Momentum for rail is growing, which can only be good for Bristol and, dare I say, it the future of our state.

Nicastro Offers Alternative Plan

Mike Nicastro, the president of the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce, had a big op-ed piece in the Hartford Courant this morning. He's fighting, with a lot of residents and chamber members behind him and with growing support from political leaders in the state, to stop the $600 million busway that would connect New Britain and Hartford. Instead, Nicastro wrote, the limited transportation funds that Connecticut has should be used for the benefit of all the towns in the region, at a far lower price by restoring commuter rail between Waterbury and Hartford. The track would include stops in Bristol and New Britain, among other places. It would also offer a way to move freight. As Nicastro points out, the busway may take a few cars off I-84, but it won't do a thing about the trucks, while rail could.

Nicastro's piece on the opinion page is worth reading.