Nick Menapace Mops Up for Martha Marx
- Guest Writer
- Apr 7
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 8
Martha Marx's mid-session community forum, advertised for April 3, 2025 at the East Lyme town hall, was actually held at the East Lyme Senior Center. Those of us waiting at town hall hurried over to the center for a puzzling evening.
We arrived to find Nick Menapace sitting with Marx, which was lucky for her. Nick came prepared with information sheets and gave well expressed, but party-line, answers. He also provided clarifications for Marx's sometimes confusing replies. Empty handed, Martha repeatedly urged us to contact her aide, Nick's aide, or Nick for help.
When asked about DOGE, Martha implied that Trump had already cut funds for Connecticut programs. Menapace made the save, saying that the Democrats are watching and planning responses while waiting to see which cuts might affect Connecticut. He also gave follow-up answers regarding the proposed data center in Waterford, and handled a few other topics for Martha as well.
But Nick couldn't help with the personal stories. For example, Marx recounted a long narrative, sprinkled with numerous backtracks, about a woman who could not get her benefits, because her husband's death certificate - he had died six years before - had no cause of death filled in. While I bemusedly pondered the idea of any town clerk filing such a DC, Martha rambled, eventually correcting herself. Apparently, the DC did not have the correct cause of death. Marx eventually noted that she convinced the head of Yale Hospital to correct or amend the DC, because they (Yale) don't want to tangle with her. Marx concluded by criticizing Yale for cutting programs she liked, which surprised me in light of her previous statement.
Committing a serious political faux pas, Marx publicly revealed a deep split in the state Democratic party. She referred to our "rich Governor Lamont" living in Greenwich surrounded by wealthy friends and neighbors. (This is where I found a bit of common ground.) Martha stated that she did not care about rich people in the western end of the state who resist paying more taxes. Some of them, she claimed, could pay $20 million more and not miss it, whether as a group or individually, she didn't say. And if Democrats pushed the taxes too high and the rich left, Marx didn't care. Other people would buy the big houses. Martha must not be privy to the list of the party doners currently living in those big houses.
Toward the end of the forum, when Martha recieved what she anticipated as a difficult question she jumped in, voice raised. You can hear a discussion of that interlude Thursday, April 10th, Thirty With Tony, https://www.youtube.com/@ConnecticutMorning1
Nick and Martha fully embraced their party's policies: Connecticut must consider taking down the fiscal guard rails; Republicans are suppressing the vote, particularly women's, because women change their names and don't have the documents required for an ID; and demonstrators must reach the 5.2% tipping point. I don't agree with Nick and Martha, but admired their ability to cynically flip the suppression narrative from people of color not having the wherewithal to get an ID to women being the victims. (Clearly, the party knows that the majority of black Americans support voter ID.) Sadly, after someone called out that Musk was unelected, neither grabbed the teachable moment. It would have been a public service, since there had been some confusion at the forum about municipal v. state v. federal responsibilities and other factual matters. I wished Nick or Martha had had the courage to explain that heads of government agencies have always been unelected, no matter who is in the White House.
The forum ended as it had begun, Nick handing out information. Martha urging us to contact her hardworking aide or Nick and his aide. I kind of felt sorry for those aides.
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