Wednesday, July 20, 2011

WHEN WILL THE PEOPLE OF HARTFORD REACH THEIR POLITICAL BOILING POINT ?

When I began my run for Hartford City Council, I made a decision to keep the blog separate, at least as much as possible, from the campaign. Today I have reached my political boiling point and "We the People" is a way to get my message out. This is not about supporting myself as a candidate for City Council, but more about pointing out how broken, dysfunctional and even damaging the political process is to the people of Hartford.

The back door political deals and arm twisting that is going on this week is wrong and is not about what is best for Hartford or its people. It is more about political leeches, yes I said that, making sure that funding is kept in place for their nonprofits or protecting jobs for relatives and friends, all on the backs of the people of a city they were elected to represent.

It started with the interview process the individual six town Democratic Committee Districts conducted. Only two districts even held inclusive interviews for all candidates to even try to show some sort of legitimacy. The sixth district and the first district invited all of the candidates to interview. The other districts, such as the seventh and the third, entertained their chosen candidates, excluding the others. It hardly sounds like any open democratic process that our forefathers intended.

I had originally decided to forgo the Town Committee process and petition for a spot in a primary. A member of the Town Committee convinced me not to do that but play by the "political" rules instead and go through the HDTC. The more I see how the "rules" are carried out, the more disgusting the system becomes. I am trying to leave myself out of this, but there are several good candidates that are being pushed aside because of the political gamesmanship. Candidates that would make excellent leaders for the City, but they probably aren't willing to cut the deals to make their lives easy.

People like Andrea Comer, Ramon Espinosa and A.J. Johnson who show promise and common sense are overlooked. Instead, an ethically challenged attorney, a police recruit fired from the HPD police academy for his disruptive attitude, and a current Councilperson who makes the perfect argument why we should have term limits will most likely be endorsed. And lets not forget the mayoral candidate who can't decide what he wants to be or if Mayor Segarra is good for Hartford or still "unfit to lead".

The joke around town is that if you commit a criminal act you will have a much better chance of fitting in and getting the nomination. That's not too far off if you look at the makeup of the Town Committee and consider those that blindly supported and condoned( and some even profited) off of government corruption for the last ten years.

I somehow have a hard time accepting that some of these HDTC members even have the capacity to judge others qualifications when you consider their "lapses of judgement" in the past. I find it ironic that one member of the HDTC will attend tomorrow nights convention to select and judge the various candidates after he spends his day tomorrow in Court. He will be in court on pre-trial proceedings as he gets ready to move forward after his arrest for sexually assaulting a 12 year old child.

Another HDTC member was arrested while he was a city employee after patronizing prostitutes while employed by the City. Another was convicted for "selling" community service hours while employed with the Hartford Court. And you don't have to look too far to find several Hartford Democratic Town Committee members who turned a blind eye and in some cases even defended, the corrupt actions of now convicted felon Eddie Perez.

And in this day and age, how can anyone defend selecting candidates based on a racial quota system? The 2-2-2 system, (2 blacks, 2 whites and 2 Hispanics) was a policy apparently devised under the Perry administration to make sure "equal representation" was in effect. It was wrong then and it is wrong today. I could care less what race our Councilpeople are as long as we are selecting the best, who care about Hartford.

According to numerous sources, at least one HDTC member, John Kennelly is now pushing for a "3-2-1" racial quota system. Three Blacks, two Hispanics and one White.
Kennelly would not return my calls for comment, so I can't even begin to figure out the reasoning behind that move. Maybe if Governor Malloy chooses to meddle in Hartford politics, he might want to address the issue of the overt racism perpetrated and condoned by Hartford's political establishment.

In the meantime, those that are willing to play the political games don't seem to realize that business as usual will still mean no jobs for Hartford's people. Business as usual will still mean taxing many businesses, small and large, out of Hartford. Business as usual will mean that the politicos that have benefited off the backs of some of the poorest people in the country will still be taking care of themselves and their cronies.

It seems that integrity does not matter in Hartford and it is all about the political gamesmanship. I do have to add one caveat though, two of the "rumored" endorsee's I think will be an asset to the Council. Even though I have only had limited conversations with Kyle Anderson and Kate Kowalshyn, I am somewhat impressed by them.

I think it would be very interesting to see no one garner the needed votes tomorrow night and all of the candidates forced to compete in a primary. Everyone starting on the same footing and no dirty deals. Let the voters actually decide who represents them, because the Hartford Democratic Town Committee obviously isn't.

I want to ask every Hartford voter "what will it take to upset you enough that you will actually vote?"

16 comments:

  1. The Crystal Ball knowsJuly 20, 2011 at 3:59 PM

    Kevin's back. This is what we need to see and hear. Hartford is a cesspool and this all needs to be exposed , Ramon Arroyo, Ivan Maldonando, Mamie Bell, and the posers who claim to fight for jobs by picketing the MDC, yet have relinquished their power to the MDC Chair and his son Mark DiBella who have done nothing to make Hartford a better place except to guaruntee huge paychecks for themselves. And Kennelly needs to get his snoot out of the bottle and clean up his own act and make sure he is current on his child support payments before trying to flex any political muscle.

    And I am glad to see that the candidate that had his daughters grades altered at the Bd. of Ed isn't gaining any traction, so no need to embarass him here.

    And where is the Town Chair on all of this? Probably holding campaign meetings in her City Hall office on City time. Can't blame her though, jobs are hard to come by in Hartford, especially if her boss gets bounced out of his Council seat

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  2. Kevin....The Mayor makes believe that he is a novice while he in fact has inherited the reighns of the Perez operation.When he gets caught doing a dirty deal Pedro whines to a reporter like Helen Ubinas " im new here" but that doesnt work anymore as he was on the Council for 5 years and Mayor for 1 year. Pedro also has surrounded himself with immoral types like Mr Kennelly and Kennedy who have fathered children out of wedlock,ethically challenged lawyers like Alex Aponte,arrested felons to be, like Hector Robles and corrupt individuals like Minnie,Ramon,Carbone and Dibella.Those are his braintrust.The town committee is a cesspool of criminals,corrupt and morally and financially bankrupt individuals looking for a handout.Lou ( kickback) Watkins is the Vice Chair and Angel ( navy blue boxers) Morales derives his jollies from dancing in boxers before young teenage men and he is the Secretary of the party.The Chair is going thru a fore closure of a house that she owns and the Democratic Party Treasurer Jay Mullarkey gave money and support to the REPUBLICAN running for Governor, Michael Federle.Then their are corrupt and incompetant individuals still at city hall from the Perez regime, waiting to do Pedro's bidding like they did Perez's.

    And you wonder why Hartford is a poor city?

    Kevin..I for one have no faith in the political process in Hartford and our best hope is that enough of the above get arrested and jailed so that the city can be cleaned up.

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  3. Kevin add Poser Shawn Wooden to the list of phonies running for Council.He spent 6 months telling everyone that he didnt like Minnie,RamonKennelly,Page and DiBella's style of corrupt politics and yet he is now fully in bed with them and on his knees.Wooden appears to have no principles or core values and is able to shred and make new allies as quickly as turning his head. Please go to WalMart and buy Wooden a pair of kneepads.

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  4. Kevin, this is in reference to your statement "[a]ccording to numerous sources, at least one HDTC member, John Kennelly is now pushing for a "3-2-1" racial quota system. Three Blacks, two Hispanics and one White." There was discussion among some members of the DTC (I don't know whether John was one of them) about breaking from 2-2-2 this time and it would have involved endorsing 3 African-American candidates. It was not, as you described, a "racial quota system." It was eaxactly what you say should happen - getting away from 2-2-2 and picking based on merit because there was a lot of feeling that there were a very large number of strong African-American candidates this time around (of which Andrea was one). If it had been agreed to, it would not have carried any weight in future elections (i.e. not a quota and certainly not assurance that it would be 3-2-1 in 2015). If you read Cityline, you would know how and why it did not come to pass. It's really unfair to on the one hand demand an end to 2-2-2 while on the other attack Kennelly for allegedly proposing exactly that.

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  5. My support for 3-2-1 in this endorsement season arose from two successive elements. First, that was the racial make up of, in my opinion, of the most qualified six candidates. Second, such qualified candidates offered a means to finally break the glass ceiling of 2-2-2; an outdated and insulting requirement. I do not support this be the new and future basis for endorsement but do support an end to an unwritten and unpalatable political rule. Certainly, if the 2008 Iowa caucus' can endorse a man of mixed race for President, we can evolve beyond political racial profiling. And Kevin, I apologize for not calling you back sooner, I had planned to do so this evening.

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  6. Tell it like it isJuly 20, 2011 at 4:58 PM

    Mr Wareing;

    The fact you are posting and carrying the water of a person who is an attorney and who recently was sued by both the Hartford Club and the Connecticut Student Loan Foundation for failure to pay back his student loans,who recently received a professional reprimand,and who recently fathered a child out of wedlock and who appears to have a "bottle problem" tell us more about you then about him.

    Mr Kennelly should not even be on the town committee, let alone making decisions for the local party.

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  7. John,

    As you know, I prefer to deal with facts rather than blindly follow. So please enlighten me.

    What makes your selections worthy of representing the people of Hartford and what makes them the " most qualified"? Other than drop out of the Mayor's race, what has Shawn Wooden done to make Hartford a better place in the last five years?

    Even though he doesn't like to admit it, Ken Kennedy has been on the City Council as we saw our mill rate almost double and many small businesees were forced out of Hartford during his tenure on the Council.

    I won't even get started on Alexander Aponte, I'll save that for tomorrow's posts. But suffice it to say that someone his own peers said essentially was involved in fraud and sanctioned for it is not someone I would consider the "most qualified".

    What has Raul deJesus done for Hartford since 2007 when he annointed himself the wonder child and ran for Mayor. I don't even recall seeing him in the community after he had a resounding defeat in the race ( I think around 100 votes citywide) and fired from HPD as a recruit.

    I do back Kate and Kyle Anderson though, they do seem worthy of your pick.

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  8. How I am "carrying water" for John Kennelly? All I did was state facts as I understand them and point out what I thought was an unfair tac taken by Kevin. Had the person involved been Sean Arena or Minnie or rJo, I would have said the same thing.

    As for John he is my friend and I make no secret of that. He is, however, also a grown man and must carry his own water.

    Finally, as for my own character, I feel no need to defend it, especially with respect to barbs tossed from the shadows by those who cower behind their pen names.

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  9. we can evolve beyond political racial profiling
    ------------------------------
    I'll believe it when I see it.

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  10. The pot is boiling now. For all those that can't take the heat...get out of the kitchen!!

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  11. Rich and John;

    The 2-2-2- was put together in the 1980's by 2 elements...the first element were party liberals weighing in like Carbone,Crowley,Milner,Perry et al who wanted to preserve a place at the table for emerging minorities of color in a fair and equal way. Secondly the mainstream more conservative dems wanted no "rebellions" from liberals and minorities and went along with the deal.That being said,here in 2011 I agree with you both that the 2-2-2- has outlived its usefulness and we should revert to a system in which the best 6 win the endorsement, no matter who they are.

    Now as to the party horsetrading as complained by Kevin...

    The folks in the 1980's inherited a political party sytem in Hartford from John's grandfather,Peter Kelly and Carbone.They did "trading" within the local party in the 60's and 70's.The elected officials and party officials in the 80's were "schooled" by Bailey,Kelly and Carbone and we routinely did "trading" prior and during conventions.Each district had a priority candidate and the folks in the district met other folks in other districts and trade..." My district will support A if your distrct will support B from our district" The trading was and is a legitmate way in which a certain amount of geographic equality was maintained,as well as district and party discipline, and was and is routinely done in Hartford and other big cities.

    I would maintain that there is nothing illegal or unethical concerning "trading" and until and unless we reform the system to where we have " open primaries" where there is no endorsement, I dont forsee any change in "trading" in the near future.

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  12. Any Crazy P**a-B***a,
    who thinks that
    54,184 Latinos are gone settle for one council member, is on crack.

    That STUPID BOY,Julio Conception, the Latino showcase VP for the Metro Ass, is stupid. This boy JC can not walk on or speak on a Latino neighborhood, they don't know him or like him.

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  13. ...54,184 Latinos are gone settle for one council member...
    ----------------------------------
    Like I said; I'll believe Hartford rid of racial spoils system when I see it. The "move away" from the 2-2-2 appears not to have been a matter of principle. It just transpired that in this instance there were an abundance of blacks. Next time there might be three whites. Or not.

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  14. Peter,

    if there is an over abundance of candidates that are qualified that's fine, no matter what the race. To just fill slots based upon race is wrong. So far no one has explained what sets these "stellar" candidates ahead of the rest.

    I am anxiously awaiting John Kennelly's explanation though.

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  15. Kevin:
    I'm agnostic on the rights/wrongs of racial discrimination. But, the left is obsessed with promoting it. I'd be fine with enforcing the Civil Rights statutes (as originally envisioned, not as they've been perverted) prohibiting discrimination, but the left would have to make an adjustment, not just to the silly 2-2-2 arrangement, but in how it does the City's hiring/spending. I'm not holding my breath. Let's get rid of the entire "civil rights" legal clap-trap, especially as it is abusively applied to those in the private sector who have a natural right to associate.
    -------------------------------
    A. Minority/Women Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Participation Requirement
    Prime contractors are required to set-aside a portion of work as specified in the contract for M/WBEs. The City of Hartford has established a minimum requirement of 15% with an overall goal of 50% M/WBE utilization. Prime contractors must submit on a monthly basis the Monthly Minority/Women Business Enterprise Payment Status Report for review to determine compliance.

    B. Minority/Female Tradesworker Participation Goal
    The City of Hartford's contracts include a 15% minimum and 50% overall minority/female tradesworker participation goal, by trade, of the total project hours. Contractors must submit on a monthly basis the Monthly Utilization Report (1391-A Form) for review to determine compliance.

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  16. I think any candidate that petitions to get on the ballot has a good shot this year. It means a lot when folks are aggressive in their approach. Four years ago the working families folks were at our doors so much that they deserved a shot. People want change. These forums do not speak for the whole city. Get agressive candidates and get the signatures to get on that september ballot. Some of you have a fair shot.

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