A strange state

I've been a resident of Connecticut for 32 months now.  It is a New England state, but, perhaps because of my age, I still feel like a newcomer. I know the way to my daughter's house, the grocery store, the gas station, the drugstore and a couple of good restaurants.  But I thank my GPS a lot when I have to leave the immediate vicinity.

There are other aspects of life in Connecticut that I find odd.  For example, tonight I attended a candidates night for those seeking to be elected in Bloomfield.  Like all Connecticut towns, this election is on a partisan basis; there is a Democrat ticket and a Republican ticket.  In Massachusetts local elections are on a non-partisan basis.  I don't think I'm being chauvinistic when I say Massachusetts local elections produce better candidates.  In Massachusetts you focus on the candidates and ignore the party.  There are good candidates in every town whose merits are not party-based.  One issue at tonight's meeting was the lack of female town officers.  That was not a problem in any town in which I lived.