Rell, DeStefano, Other Candidates

Will Respond To Concerned Parents

MIDDLETOWN — Governor Jodi Rell and New Haven Mayor John DeStefano will meet with concerned parents in a Candidate’s Forum to be held at Middlesex Community College on Saturday September 30, from 9 to 11:30 am. The forum, organized by CT Parent Power (CPP), will provide an opportunity for hundreds of parents to meet with candidates and raise issues such as school funding, access to health care and the availability of quality childcare programming.

The forum, the first of its kind to be held in the state, will bring together a wide cross-section of parents to engage in dialogue with candidates about how Connecticut can be a better place to raise families. It will demonstrate the need for elected officials to answer to parents on matters pertaining to children and families as well as deliver solutions.

In addition to Ms Rell and Mr DeStefano, Green Party candidate for Governor Cliff Thorton, Representative Rob Simmons, Simmons’ opponent Joe Courtney, and State Senator Chris Murphy are scheduled to participate in the event.

“The next governor will have power to make changes in child care, education, health care and other issues that affect parents,” said Debbie Kievits, mother of two children in Norwich and a delegate to CPP. “It’s important for candidates to see that parents have power and that we have a voice.”

Connecticut Parent Power is a parent-led organization that engages, empowers and mobilizes parents across the state to advocate on children’s issues. The organization’s delegates are from urban and suburban communities.

“Parents are the drivers for children’s programs and policies,” says Elaine Zimmerman, Executive Director of the Connecticut Commission on Children.  “They need to be the key informants on what is and is not working and what children need.” 

“This forum will give a powerful message to candidates — that organized parents are stepping up and expressing the needs of our kids,” said Sheneane Ragin, parent from New Haven and delegate to CPP.

For more information about the CT Parent Power Candidates Forum, call Ann Pratt at 860-209-1234 or Tauna Idone at 203-645-6702.