upcoming eventS: ELECTIONS and FORUM ON 'ELECTORAL DYSFUNCTION' MARCH 20, 2013
The Southeast Connecticut Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut will hold a forum March 20 at the Waterford Public Library entitled "Electoral Dysfunction and Some Possible Remedies." The event is co-sponsored by Common Cause Connecticut and the League of Women Voters of Southeastern Connecticut. Four distinguished panelists will explain electoral reform ideas, including instant runoff voting and the national popular vote. The panelists are:
- Caleb Kleppner of TrueBallot, a former Senior Analyst for FairVote who specializes in election administration;
- Cheri Quickmire, Executive Director of Common Cause Connecticut;
- Andy Schatz, President of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut and a member of the national ACLU board and Executive Committee;
- Luther Weeks, Executive Director of CTVotersCount.
Former State Rep. Claire Sauer will serve as moderator and Barbara Brockhurst of the League of Women Voters will be timekeeper. The forum will run from 7 to 8:30 p.m., and will be free and open to the public. The library is at 49 Rope Ferry Road in Waterford.
A chapter meeting will precede the forum, at 6:30 p.m., to elect board officers for the fiscal year beginning April 1.
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Previous Events
The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v Federal Election Commission was the topic of a forum sponsored by the Southeast Connecticut Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut and the League of Women Voters of Southeastern Connecticut on October 3, 2012 at the Waterford Public Library, 49 Rope Ferry Road Waterford. The panelists were Associate Attorney General Perry Zinn-Rowthorn, who supervises litigation and investigations from all departments of the Office of the Attorney General; James Spallone, who was appointed Deputy Secretary of the State by Secretary Denise Merrill in 2011, after he served 10 years as a state representative; and Andy Schatz, who is President of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut and a member of the Board and Executive Committee of the national ACLU. Former State Representative Claire Sauer was moderator.
-- The chapter held a public forum entitled The Patriot Act at 10 on Oct. 4, 2011 at the Groton Public Library. David McGuire, Staff Attorney for the ACLU of Connecticut, and Norm Pattis, a Connecticut lawyer specializing in civil rights and serious criminal cases, discussed the Patriot Act with Capt. Glenn Sulmasy, Chairman of the Humanities Department and Professor of Law at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and Paul McConnell, Assistant U.S. Attorney of the National Security and Major Crime Section of the Connecticut U.S. Attorney's Office. former state Rep. Claire Sauer served as moderator. About 30 people attended to hear the panel discussion and ask questions.
--The chapter hosted a Forum on Marijuana Reform held on Wednesday February 9, 2011. Panelists Joe Brooks (LEAP), Jason Ortiz (SSDP & ACLU), and Cliff Thornton (Efficacy) were eloquent and offered personal views as well as facts and resources reinforcing their opinions. My thanks to them and also to Claire Sauer who acted as moderator and Barbara Brockhurst, the time keeper.
Panelists discussed medicalization, decriminalization and legalization of marijuana and the potential outcome of each variation, including; effects on the prison population, the police and the state budget. Panelists also addressed the myths around drug policy reform and the future of drug reform in Connecticut. For more information on this event, see article in the New London Patch
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