“Get off the sidelines” is a sports metaphor that means, “get into the action” or “get in the driver’s seat” or “take charge” or “get onto the field.”

Is Greenwich really on the sidelines?  Well, yes.

Hartford is taking our lunch money.  And not giving it back.  And we’re letting them.

The view from the sidelines. Greenwich deserves to be on the field and in the huddle,
calling our own plays that work for our own town.

As a town, we make a huge financial contribution to the state’s budget and get back pennies on the dollar.

They see us the “gold coast” or the “golden goose” or the “cash cow.”

What’s worse is that instead of Hartford being appreciative, we get pushed around.  For example, the state canceled the funding for the necessary improvements at our Nathaniel Witherell Rehabilitation and Nursing Center with no warning or apparent cause.  And like a bully in the lunchroom, they said, “What are you gonna do about it?”  The results said, “Nothing.”

Our legislative delegation insisted they “tried their best.”  But they didn’t succeed.  They didn’t get results.  They didn’t get our lunch money back.  But voters want accountability.

As valuable as we are to Connecticut, our town ought to have more influence in Hartford.  We deserve to have more of a say.  We could be taking a leadership position in solving the tough, difficult challenges that face our state, which affect Greenwich.  We should be taking charge.

If you had Babe Ruth on your team, would you keep him in the dugout during the World Series?  If you had Michael Jordan on your team, would you keep him on the bench during the NBA Finals?  If you had Greenwich High School alum and Football Hall of Fame member Steve Young on your team, would you keep him on the sidelines?

Of course not!  Those are your most valuable players!

You would get them off the sidelines and into the action as soon as possible, so they could begin making a difference in the outcome for your team.

But as it stands now, Greenwich is on the sidelines.  We are not part of the action.  We are not included in the legislative agenda in Hartford. We are not in the key meetings. 

The reason for this influence gap is that representatives of the Democratic Party hold a very large majority of our state’s General Assembly seats. Republicans hold so few seats that they just give up in defeat before even making any real effort. Then they come back to Greenwich full of complaints and disdain but still empty-handed and without results, once again leaving us on the sidelines.

Our own Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives — the highest ranking and most influential member of the state’s General Assembly — said he had “never heard of the Witherell” until I invited him to tour that wonderful facility.  Didn’t our town’s incumbent Republican delegation say they “tried everything” and went to “the highest levels?”

In fact the Speaker Donovan had never been invited to Greenwich for any legislative reason. And no one can remember the last time a speaker was down here. He told me he only stops in Greenwich for gas, if at all. How could that be? 

“I think he has a lot more on his plate than coming down here and injecting himself in an issue that he knows he has nothing to do with,” said my opponent.

Our town has become isolated because of this kind of nonsense.

It’s been a one way street for too long. It’s time to take charge.  We should be in the huddle.  We ought to be in the the driver’s seat.  We could be at the helm. We ought to be calling our own plays that work for our own town.

There’s only one thing worse than being kept on the sidelines and that’s choosing to stay there. So let’s not make that choice.

The way to take charge — to get Greenwich off the sidelines — is to elect a Democrat who thinks like a no-nonsense problem solver, who is a tough-minded motivator, who brings people together, who pursues prudent and efficient government, who grasps the complex and difficult challenges facing our state, who sees the big picture, who is committed to Greenwich and our townspeople, and who cares about the next generation of taxpayers.

That’s what you’ll get if you elect Claude Johnson for State Representative on November 2.