GOSHEN — State Sen. Andrew Roraback (R-30) announced Oct. 20 that he is running for the congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Chris Murphy (D-5). With the announcement (made at the town hall in his home town of Goshen), Roraback ended months of speculation over whether he would try for the Republican nomination for the 5th Congressional District, which includes the Northwest Corner (including Torrington) and extends east to the cities of Waterbury, New Britain and Meriden, and south to Danbury.Roraback delivered a brisk speech explaining why he has decided to run.“I’m an optimist,” he said. “I believe in the essential goodness of the American people.“But we are at a critical point. Unemployment is high, despair is growing.”He noted that public approval of Congress is very low. “Sad to say, it’s with good reason. “The common-sense pragmatism of a New England Republican is in short supply.”In a phone interview Sunday, Oct. 23, Roraback laid out his positions.On the economy, and specifically about the “stimulus” spending that the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats have used to try and revive the national economy, Roraback declined to be a Monday morning quarterback.“I don’t think it is of great value to look back and spend time critiquing failed policies.”“The American appetite for stimulus spending is in short supply,” he continued, especially when people do not see tangible benefits.He said that as he travels the Northwest Corner asking if citizens believe “the money Washington spends reaches your house or community, very few people say ‘yes.’”On taxes and tax reform: “We should be open to any plan that has the twin virtues of simplicity and fairness. Government has to be very cautious about raising taxes in a time of economic duress.”He noted that,“It’s hard to love jobs and hate the people who create them. We have to recognize that the people who make decisions [about creating jobs], a lot of them are on the sidelines because they are unsure of what the future holds.”On the announcement Sunday that U.S. forces would be out of Iraq by the end of the year: “It’s regrettable that the administration is unable to solidify a relationship with the Iraqi leadership such that soldiers there could be given a basic package of protections, which is vital to the mission.”On energy policy, Roraback began with the furor over the federal Energy Department’s loan to Solyndra, a green energy company that went bankrupt. “How can you not be totally disillusioned by that? I’m a big believer in clean and alternative energy, but it has to be market-based, able to stand on its own two feet. Government can play a role as a catalyst but it can’t be a crutch.“There has to be a balance between responsible environmental protection and taking advantage of domestic sources of supply. The alternative is further dependence on foreign sources.”On man-made climate change: “There is ample evidence to suggest that both human and natural factors are having an inpact on climate change.”And on so-called “cap-and-trade” legislation: “The issue has to be looked at globally. We should be very careful about asking America to be the leader” and not apply the same standards to the rapidly growing economies of India and China.Asked if the federal government has become too big and intrusive, Roraback replied, “The framers intended some limitations on the reach of federal powers. We have allowed the federal government to grow in a way which is burdensome.”And on himself: “If people are looking for a center-right person, whose record shows he is in step with the vast majority of people in the 5th District, then I am your candidate.”It’s a crowded field. Also running for the Republican nomination are Justin Bernier, Lisa Wilson-Foley, Mark Greenberg and Mike Clark.On the Democratic side, there are four candidates: Chris Donovan (speaker of the state House of Representatives), Elizabeth Esty, Dan Roberti and Mike Williams.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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