Reddingites rub elbows at JJB gala
Wyden and Bonfanti share highlights from annual Democrat dinner
[June 2, 2009] Always exciting, the annual Jefferson Jackson Bailey Dinner glittered this year with national superstars of the Democratic Party. At the top of the bill were Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer and Connecticut's senior U.S. Senator Chris Dodd. Democratic Town Committee members Elaine Wyden and Peter Bonfanti (pictured below with Sen. Dodd) represented Redding at the event. Elaine was kind enough to bring back her delightful you-were-there impressions:
It was a terrific evening. Peter and I were seated at the same table as Rudy Marconi (first selectman in Ridgefield) Susan Coco (the head of Ridgefield's Democratic Committee, plus another Ridgefield DTC member, Nina (last name not known), along with some other people (from Naugatuck, I think.)
Peter and I spoke with Jim Himes, Dan Malloy (very much in evidence, as he runs for governor) and Ned Lamont. (Lamont told us on the escalator, leaving at the end of the evening, that he's still thinking about the Governor's race.) We caught a glimpse of Jason Bartlett, and other State officials.
Chris Dodd gave a strong talk about his re-election efforts, acknowledging that he has a hard campaign ahead, but he was, I thought, quite eloquent about why he would fight to be be elected again -- not for the sake of his job, but for the sake of the jobs of the people, and their serious needs for health care, credit card reform, etc. There were many, many people wearing Dodd buttons, and he received a very warm and enthusiastic response from the audience.
Sen. Chris Dodd, Elaine Wyden and Peter Bonfanti
The prime speaker of the evening was Brian Schweitzer, Governor of Montana. What a rousing talk he gave! He told lots of stories, including one about his illegal Irish immigrant grandmother, without whom, he wouldn't be in his position today. Moral of his tale: he's supportive of hard working illegal immigrants finding a path to citizenship.
At the end of his talk, he said if (formerly) "red state" Montana can now have two Democratic Senators, and a Democratic Governor -- what's wrong with Connecticut?! He launched the campaign to elect a Democrat as governor here by conducting an impromptu money-raising campaign by auctioning his bolo tie, wrapping up at the point when he got the bidding up to $4,000! (Photo above by Christine Stuart.)
We've all heard of chicken being the typical dish served at political dinners (I forget the term usually used to describe the chicken) but this was the pits! We all agreed that the food was the worst anyone could have imagined. But they made up for it (a little) with a sumptuous chocolate dessert!
I know that Peter and I both thank our Committee for funding the tickets that enabled us to attend. It was a great and interesting evening.
Elaine