For some reason, municipal politicians and electorate that they seek votes from can't seem to get really fired up about campaign until after Labor Day.

That is when the door-to-door visits start in earnest and the lawn signs and the ... well, you know the drill. A two-month sprint that ends on the first Tuesday in November.

In Cheshire, Republican Councilman Andy Falvey said last week that he will wait until after Labor Day to announce whether he will remain on local GOP's Town Council ticket. During his party's caucus back in July, Falvey had said increased demands being made upon him at work were making it harder for him to find the time necessary to serve  his constituents the way he wants.

To the East in Wallingford, some candidates for elected office aren't waiting for Labor to come to begin preparing for November.

School board candidate Karen Hlavac was cited at a recent Board of Education. She is the lady in blue on the left in a photo from the Connecticut Department of Developmental Services web site.

There's nothing wrong in Hlavac doing a little homework on the current issues. But she's hardly a neophyte, having done a stint on the board before.

Jason Zandri, the Democratic mayoral candidate, had pens touting his candidacy ready when his Town Committee chose its slate in July. Now, Zandri (shown in photo at right) has got even more political swag: shirts.

Republican Councilman Craig Fishbein is seeking re-election. Fishbein (who is shown at left in a photo from his law practice)  is also getting any early jump on the start of the campaign,  launching his web site this weekend.

Zandri (who is shown at right) took a page from presidential campaigns by announcing his plan to challenge incumbent Mayor William Dickinson almost a full year before the vote. And Zandri's campaign web site has been up since ;last December.

Wallingford's annual fireworks display gets underway at around 9;20 p.m. at Mark T. Sheehan High School on Hope Hill Road.

Before we get into the details about parking, I'd like to commend Councilman Jason Zandri for leading the fundraising effort so that the town can have a holiday weekend fireworks display again this year.

Fireworks were cut from the town's budget several years ago and Zandri, working at first with fellow Councilor Craig Fishbein and later on his own, convinced The Campus at Greenhill to become a presenting sponsor.

Now, on to the important details if you're planning to attend.

Public parking for this year's Wallingford fireworks will be available at Moran Middle School, Sheehan High School, Highland Elementary School, and in the paved parking lot of Our Lady of Fatima Church. Lt. Anthony DeMaio with the Wallingford Police Department's Traffic Division says parking in fire lanes, on sidewalks, or on the grass is prohibited. 

Parking is also prohibited along Hope Hill Road, according to DeMaio, as well as on some side streets where police are posting temporary "No Parking" signs. Police will shutdown Hope Hill to through traffic once parking at all of the school lots is taken or by 8:30 p.m., whichever comes first.

Because of the large crowds expected for the event, use of any type of fireworks, including sparklers is prohibited. So is the use of  alcoholic beverages on town property.

   

At the conclusion of the event, there will be two northbound lanes of traffic on Hope Hill Road from the northern most driveways of Sheehan High School and Moran Middle School to Route 68.  There will be two southbound lanes on Hope Hill Road from the southern most driveways of Sheehan High School and Moran Middle School to the intersection of Parker Farms Road. 

Craig Fishbein, a Republican councilman from Wallingford, took a brave step politically this week.

He went public with a criticism of the Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in Wallingford, claiming leaders of the parish went too far when they began distributing fliers urging that resident not sign a petition that's being circulated. The petition is part of an effort to overturn a decision by the Town Council to apply for a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Small Cities Community Development Program that would be used to make improvements to private parking areas that are adjacent to the parish's Holy Trinity School.

Fisbein doesn't think that the church should be stifling the public's right to initiative and referendum.

On the hand, the church and the school have more than a passing interest in the outcome of this issue. Fixing the wall on its own could cost the Holy Trinity community a significant amount of money if the church was forced to pay for the repair or go to court to force someone else to do it

. A large portion of the money being sought in the grant - $100,000 according to Fishbein - would be used to repair a deteriorating retaining wall that separates the parking area from the school and fix drainage problems that caused the deterioration in the first place.

All of this begs the question: What should the role of churches be in the political process?  Consider this issue further as you look through the links I've included in this post.