Election day outlook for school bond, local races

Image
A strong turnout — and that seems likely — may bode well for the $89 million school bond. The JFK bond provides some insights. In 2017, the JFK bond failed during a municipal election. The town reduced the project cost, and it returned to the ballot in the 2018 election. But 2018 was a gubernatorial race, with a much stronger turnout. The turnout in the 2017 race was less than half of the 2018 overall election turnout. The rest of the ticket: Without local polling, it’s hard to predict how any local race will turn out. But comparing the races to 2024 does provide some insights. — State Sen. John Kissel won 54% of the vote in 2024. He won in every town but Windsor. He is facing Democrat challenger Davide Kiner. For what it is worth, in my Southwood Acres neighborhood, Kiner signs are abundant. But even if Kiner wins Enfield, the problem will be in more Republican leaning towns that make up this district. Somers, for instance, has 2,100 registered Republicans, 1,218 registered Democrats...

How great is the Enfield Public Library? Truly great




I just love the Enfield Public Library. Everything about it. The catalog system is easy to use. You can get books from regional libraries if Enfield doesn’t have it. Its research page is very useful, especially is you need to use newspaper archives. The staff is super, and they have done a great job managing the pandemic. 

I’ve been using the curbside pickup mostly. For those unfamiliar, you put in reserve and when the book is ready, give them a call. You then arrange for a pickup time and the book will be waiting in a paper bag on a table. How great is that?

But a week ago, I went inside the library, the first time since March. Wonderful. The pandemic has taken so much of our old normal away, that any little slice of it seems like gold. 

They have set up plexiglass screens to protect the librarians at the checkout, but otherwise, all seemed unchanged. You can browse books. 

The Pearl Street library is more restricted, it seems, based on this sign out front. Haven’t been in that library since the 1970s. Someday.

If you aren’t a regular user of the public library, give it a try. It’s one of the best things about living in this town.

Comments