Since the summer, many of us have had a difficult time figuring out what exactly Republicans were talking about with all this blight, blight, blight business.
It seemed then like rhetoric to most people, and no one could even figure out where the graffiti that Matt Peak kept spewing about was. Three months after winning the majority, the Republicans have still not mentioned anything about the graffiti removal program that Peak kept promising during the election.
And there is a reason:
THERE IS ALMOST NO GRAFFITI IN MANCHESTER!
The Republican campaign message has been shown to be pure rhetoric. They clearly invented a problem and then, by repeating it often enough, convinced voters that they could fix this figment of their imagination. They even sent out a mailer with 6 photos of some graffiti on different objects, supposedly around Manchester. The problem was that no one could figure out where those photos were taken. Five of the six were utterly and completely unrecognizable locations.
Turns out that Town staff have had just as much difficulty finding blighted properties in Manchester too! After an exhaustive, three-month search, 18 properties were finally found. Eighteen.
18 out of 20,000! That’s got to be a joke, right? Nope. Kim Phillips reported on the numbers last week in the JI.
This was a shameful representation of Manchester by Republicans, and citizens should not stand for them painting the city in such negative light. This is a town that needs to attract new residents, not set them running to other towns. This false depiction of Manchester by politicians in order to get elected should be condemned publicly. By continually repeating falsehoods, they do a disservice to Manchester. It serves absolutely no one except their own political careers. In order to get elected, this Republican majority has actively worked to give Manchester a negative image in the media and in voters’ minds. That is shameful.
It’s time for our politicians to stand up for Manchester, promote a positive image of the city, and let the people of Connecticut know exactly how wonderful a town this is.
The Republicans clearly misled voters about a problem of blight in Manchester, and this can only have negative consequences for Manchester. And now they are wasting tax-dollars with a landlord registration act “to combat blight” that will be applicable to far fewer than 18 properties!
The truth is that only 0.0009% of Manchester is “blighted.” 99.9991% of this great town contains no blight at all. That has got to be a better percentage than West Hartford!
I don’t know about you, but I say it’s time we start talking about Manchester positively. The Republicans need to stop lying to voters just to get in office. It has very negative consequences for homeowners. It’s time to be proud of our town and send a positive message to prospective residents.
The truth, when you cut through their rhetorical shenanigans, is simple:
THERE IS NEARLY ZERO BLIGHT IN MANCHESTER!
Posted by blueblogger 
