Let's try something new. I've been getting some interesting ideas from readers through email, and I just don't have the time to do them all justice. So, on the weekends, I will post an "open forum" where you can discuss anything that catches your fancy. You can post anything from blatant blog plugs to insightful political analysis to the lousy weather we've been having.
I just ask that it be at least tangentially Connecticut-related, and that you not post offensive material. If this seems like something people like, it'll become a regular thing.
4 comments:
Genghis -
Love the site. Came looking for the municipal exec map, which I coulda sworn you had up. Where did it go?
Can you talk about how you created these maps (technically I mean)?
Here is are two sites with some local interest:
http://www.CT05.net
http://www.2cd.lonseidman.com
The "Town Council Control" map may be what you're looking for. See the sidebar, or click this link. I don't record who the first selectman/mayor of each town is, because usually the mayor or first selectman's powers aren't greater than the council or board or selectmen as a whole. Control of the council/board by a party is much more informative when trying to determine the political inclinations of a town.
The data for the maps comes from one of two places at the Secretary of the State's website: The municipal information comes from the list of Towns, Cities and Boroughs-Officers and Statistics. The general election information comes from the many election results pages that can be accessed through the Secretary of the State's homepage: http://www.sots.state.ct.us.
The maps began as blank templates or something like it. They were all originally images posted by the state (often from the Dept. of Economic and Community Development, which makes great maps), which I downloaded and then modified as bitmaps in Microsoft Paint. If you want to see the Excel files I created to determine margin of victory, there is an example here.
Is this what you wanted to know?
The District Watch sites are interesting. I hadn't seen the 5th District one, is it new?
Post a Comment