New Haven Independent

On the raucus streetcorner outside the Garde Arts Center, DeStefano supporters outnumbered Rell’s by about 10 to one. New London cops brought props — a Mustang and a Jet Ski — to deride the governor (to represent a Rowland-era gift; and the vehicle her son stole, respectively).

Mike and Alicia Smith, of the Sprague Republican Town Committee, tried to make a little pro-Rell noise with two pairs of inflatable sticks, that were quickly drowned out by labor megaphones. Mike Smith, a former member of the teamsters’ union, questioned the significance of the apparently overwhelming union support. “They take your money and support who they want you to support,” he said. He said he quit the union years ago.

As labor leaders riled up the crowd, Green Party candidate for governor Cliff Thornton (pictured) leaned quietly against a wall. A small but well-organized group of Green supporters chanted, “Advocate democracy! Include Cliff!”

“The thing that people are going to miss is going to be a sharing of ideas,” said Thornton. He said he would’ve pushed the debate on topics such as crime, violence, free college tuition and “real,” Canadian-style, state-sponsored universal health care. As he predicted, those topics did not feature prominently in the debate (DeStefano pushed universal health care, but not the kind Thornton advocates).

Inside the theater, another third-party gubernatorial candidate, Concerned Citizens Party of Connecticut’s Joseph Zdonczyk, jumped up on stage half an hour before the debate began. He introduced himself and gave a short stump speech. “When you shut out a candidate who works to get on the ballot, something is wrong,” he said to reporters. Then he continued his way through the captive pre-debate crowd, shaking hands and talking about burdensome property tax.

Thornton entered the theater for the beginning of the show, then staged an exit in protest after the debate had begun.

To read about the Rell-DeStefano debate, click here.