Crisci Double Dog Dares Democrats

Iam going to start with a sentence that will probably get me a few phone calls from my own side of the aisle. Ready? Here it is: I like Democrats. There, I said it

You know what else? I like independents. I like unaffiliated voters, not just Republicans. For the most part, I like just about everybody, and I care about everyone in Branford. I do not sort people by the letter next to their name on a voter list. I sort them by the character of who they are, which I think is something we have all lost, and I hope that you will consider when it comes to me this election. The people I am talking about are the ones teaching my grandson how to kick a soccer ball and the ones who work in this town every day. They are not the enemy of anything.

Politics has always been rough, complicated, and at times flat-out dirty. That is not new. What is new, over the last eight or ten years, is that it stopped being about ideas and started reaching into the soul of neighborhoods and families. People stopped talking at Thanksgiving. Friendships of thirty years went quiet.

We have turned ourselves into the Hatfields and the McCoys, except at least they could tell you what started it. To many, the easy target is Donald Trump. But if we are being honest, this runs deeper than one man and has been simmering for decades. And if we are being really honest, the algorithm on your phone and the designer news we each pick have been pulling us apart on purpose. That is not a conspiracy theory. That is a fact. No two people get the same feed. Yours is built from your frustrations and mine from mine. We are not being shown the same country.

When somebody tries to reach across the aisle, the far left or the far right shows up within ten minutes to spin it. The hand gets slapped down by the people who benefit most from the fight. Anger is easy to raise money on. Agreement is not.

The problem underneath all of it is not policy. It is communication, and we stopped doing it.

So, I am going to fix it the only way I know how, by putting pizza on a table and seeing who sits down.

I am Paul Crisci, running for State Representative in the 102nd District. I am a moderate Republican with no interest in yelling at anybody. What I have is an olive branch.

On Wednesday, September 23rd, from 6 to 8 p.m., I will be at NEBCO in Branford for two hours of Pizza with Paul. I am buying. Here is the part that makes it a dare.

This one is for Democrats, unaffiliated voters, and independents. Republicans, please do not be offended, and please do not come. I appreciate you, I want your vote, and I will earn your trust on a separate night just for you. But if both crowds show up, the room turns into an argument instead of a conversation, and nobody learns a thing. This is not a vent session. It is about letting the other side see that I am human, that I am knowledgeable, and that I care about the greater good of Branford, not the politics of Washington.

For every registered Democrat, independent, or unaffiliated voter who comes and talks Branford with me, I will donate 25 dollars to the Branford Community Dining Room and another 25 to the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter. Show up, have a slice, and tell me what you love about Branford and where you think a representative can help improve it.

And bring your friends. Too many people have stopped paying attention and just vote for the line they always have.Tell them to come. Every one of you who walks in feeds somebody in Branford who needs it and helps our furry friends at Cosgrove. The ground rules are short.

This is not about Washington. If you want to spend two hours telling me how you feel about the President, I understand the impulse, but it will not help one family here. This is about Branford. Taxes. Overdevelopment. Who is deciding how this town grows? Our schools, our seniors, and our veterans. Our young people who finish school and leave because they cannot afford to stay. And affordability, which every family in this town feels every month. Some of that runs through Hartford, but the subject of the evening is this town.

And to my opponent. Representative Robin Comey, come sit down next to me and let the town ask questions of both of us. This is not a debate. It is a town hall, and if you show up, your party asks all the questions. Every one of them. The voters hear two opposing views side by side and decide for themselves. I believe we both owe them that. The donation stands whether you come or not.

You do not have to agree with me. You just have to show up. I will listen more than I talk, which anyone who knows me will tell you does not come easy.

If I am elected, I intend to work with every leader who touches this town, Democrat and Republican alike. I have no special agenda. I am not here to serve half of Branford, or a special interest, or a party line. I am here to serve all of it. Running for office is not a war. It is a job interview. My job is to be a servant leader to the people who hire me, and to the ones who do not.

And if nobody comes? Fine. The pizza goes to the Branford Police and Fire Departments. But I would much rather write two large checks and shake a hundred hands.

So consider yourself dared. Double dog dared.

Do not let Washington or a party label stop us from doing what is best for where we live. I will be the one by the pizza. Come find me.