In a classic example of the wheeling and dealing that went on for the Council replacement seat, the final selection wasn't even part of the recommendation solicited from the public. The attached letter from the Democratic Town Committee sent to the Council on July 30, 2010 indicates that their selection process supported Arnaldo Sierra and Raul deJesus. Alexander Aponte apparently didn't even make the cut in the public selection process.
This appears to be just another sham process to make it look like our elected officials were listening. Many members of the public actually attended the public interviews and listened to the candidates who submitted to the process on July 12, 2010. For those that don't recall, July 12th was in the midst of one of the July heatwaves when the temperatures went above 90 degrees with terrible humidity.
I am sure that many of the attendees, as well as the candidates, would have preferred to be somewhere else but attended to be part of what they thought was a legitimate process. But then again, nothing in Hartford politics is even close to legitimate.
In the end though, the loser of the interview process was actually the winner of the Council's vote. Alexander Aponte, who didn't even place in the interview process was the ultimate beneficiary of the arm twisting and horse trading. Although Councilwoman Winch switched her vote after she pledged she wouldn't, it seems to be working out well for her. A special meeting has apparently been called for Tuesday to coronate her as the new Council President.
And if you don't think there were dirty deals, ask yourself why if only 5 votes were needed for approval, then why did the Councilwoman cast the sixth vote. The answer is simple, her Council Presidency was riding on her support of Aponte and by voting no and crossing the Aponte supporters, she would not get their support as Council President. It must have been a tough choice for her, keep her word and do what she had promised or trade her vote, support Aponte and get the prize she has been after- the Council Presidency.
The hell with what the people want, our elected officials know better I guess. Maybe next year we can encourage voters to choose candidates that actually listen to their constituents and realize they are there to represent the people, not promote themselves.
HERE IS THE LETTER FROM THE DEMOCRATIC TOWN COMMITTEE:
DTC Recommendation Letter
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3 comments:
the town committee is full of sh**, there never was a vote to establish any pecking order of suggested candidates.I suspect the attempted fix was in for Raul DeJesus via Minnie to Holloway and Kickback Watkins.However Cal and others had other ideas.
The HDTC is the recepticle of the worst in Hartford...outright criminals...corrupt and morally bankrupt people...
the worst though is yet to come..stay tuned.
"the recommendation solicited from the public"
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since when does the HDTC represent the public? Sounds like someone is kissing up to them nice and early for consideration for next years race. Talk about horse trading.
Sad thing about this is that it seems no matter what the people want the politicians do as they please. Raul is a great kid, he has to stay away from Minnie he shows great leadership skills i see him in office soon, Sierra I dont know much about him but him comes off like a person that is willing to help out Hartford they both should join forces. I hope they can clear house next year if they both decide to run.
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