The Maple Avenue Revitalization Group NRZ will meet Thursday night at 6:00PM in the basement of Saint Augustine's Church at 10 Campfield Avenue in Hartford.
Mayor Pedro Segarra is expected to attend.
All are welcome to attend. MARG is one of the most vibrant community groups in the city empowering neighbors to work together for a better Hartford.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT....COME ON DOWN
I'm not sure about you, but I am getting quite tired of the headlines.
"Segarra Raises $100,000" , "Wooden Raises More than $100,000 in Second Quarter"....blah, blah blah blah blah. But does anyone know what are they about and what they bring to the table ? Is the Mayor's Office really for sale?
Segarra claims he will make changes in City Hall if he is re-elected. Why not start now? Wooden claims his experience in the Perry Administration as a benefit to the people of Hartford. People in Hartford that lived through the Perry years might disagree.
And Kelvin Roldan, oh Kelvin, Kelvin, Kelvin what more can we say. Roldan, who has apparently had his moral compass adjusted to point in the right direction in the last couple weeks now will lead us out of the land of corruption. I think Roldan would actually take a pay cut if he became Mayor, and he would also have to start doing some work. And if anyone knows, Kelvin surely knows, that the side deals cut in the Mayor's office definitely aren't worth it.
It is still early, but I'm not hearing much substance. The conversations of substance seem to be coming from the candidates that apparently have already been written off because they are out in the community having real conversations rather than talking to the moviemaker donors in Beverly Hills, CA or wealthy attorneys in Washington D.C. who can write out a $1,000 check and think nothing of it.
News flash...many Hartford residents can hardly even afford a $10.00 contribution because of the mess our politicians have put us into. Our politicians seem to understand fundraising and arm twisting better than they do public policy and what is needed in our community.
I'd much rather see a headline that the candidates are putting forth ideas and showing some vision as to how they are going to turn things around from our previous professional fundraisers able to get elected and satisfy the donors who put them there.
Does anyone else have a problem with the campaign filings that show Shawn Wooden's donors are from outside Hartford by a margin of almost 5 to 1 ? They show only 46 donors from Hartford as opposed to 269 from outside Hartford.
And Mayor Segarra isn't much different. He's a little more balanced than Wooden with 124 donations from within Hartford, but the majority came from outside the city, 176.
And while I'm at it lets not forget Kelvin Roldan's fundraising efforts so he can pay off his buddies, over $15,000 to Matt Hennessy and $5,500 to his FOI scribe Derek Donnelley. Any bets as to whether or not we will see Eddie Perez as a "consultant" on his next filing? Nothing would surprise me.
We all will know how much money they can raise, but unfortunately little will most likely be revealed about what they stand for. What about jobs? What about supporting Hartford's small businesses? What about health care? What about reducing motor vehicle insurance rates equal to our suburban neighbors? What about the looming tax disaster threatening to double every property and vehicle owners tax bill?
Too bad that the only other candidates are actually focusing on the issues and talking to people and answering their questions when they probably should be ignoring the problems and raising money instead if they really want to be taken seriously. Do we really want the issues and some vision to interfere with selecting our next Mayor?
In the meantime, if you want to talk to candidates without writing a check, you just might want to find Stan McCauley riding a city bus with the people who can't write the $1,000 checks, or walk a few blocks with Ed Vargas and listen to what he has to say as they both talk to the real people of Hartford.
And by the way,to the other "professional fundraising" candidates, the real people on the bus and walking to work actually vote in Hartford, the Beverly Hills donors don't.And if you recall, Eddie Perez raised almost $750,000.00 in 2007, look where that got him.
Wooden campaign filing provided by Wooden Campaign
Wooden for Mayor - April 10 Report
BUSINESS AS USUAL AFTER A BRIEF INTERRUPTION FOR A HOMICIDE
The City of Hartford recorded its eleventh homicide today in the area of 67 Oakland Terrace.It is the city's third homicide in less than 2 weeks.The shooting took place a little after 3:30 this afternoon.
A little after 6:00PM I drove by the area and was surprised that the crime scene was already clear, no yellow tape, no police, back to usual. Oakland Terrace is a one way street that runs south between Albany Avenue and Homestead Avenue.
I was cruising down the street pretty slow to see house numbers and see which one was number 67, where I was told the shooting occurred. I know I was out of place, but I knew that most likely a large police presence had just left the neighborhood. As I came up on 67 Oakland Terrace, I was approached by two young males.
They wanted to know what I wanted to "buy. It just struck me as odd that they probably had just witnessed someone they knew murdered in the same spot less than 3 hours earlier and now they were trying to sell me drugs. Had they just moved up in the chain and were taking over the "business opening", or is this the way it always is on the streets.
Are they potentially number 12 and 13 waiting to happen over the other "War on drugs"?
I don't know what the solution is, but I do know it won't be a quick fix. In the meantime the bloodshed needs to be stopped. Eleven homicides so far this year is unacceptable. Not to mention the bodies laying in Hartford and Saint Francis Hospital on life support that are only one breath away from becoming a homicide number, and there are a few of them.
In the meantime, Chief Roberts, it is not a sign of failure to ask for help.Whether that help comes in the form of extra money for increased police patrols and attention or if it comes from outside agencies, it is definitely needed. The State Police are not the answer, but DEA, ATF, FBI and any other alphabet soup agency that can send strong messages need to be asked to come into Hartford as soon as possible in much greater numbers than they are already here.
A long hot summer can spiral out of control quickly and we are way too far into the homicide stats for this early in the year. Mayor Segarra announced this afternoon that we may actually have a surplus. If that's the case, put it to use and start the enforcement today. Don't play politics with Public Safety, send a strong message to the gun toting thugs ruining our City.
Business as usual is not acceptable.
OUCH, THIS MUST HURT
The Mayoral campaign is heating up, and everyone is weighing in.
Kevin Rennie, a columnist from the Hartford Courant and also a blogger at "the Daily Ruction", dailyructions.com, posted his review of mayoral candidate Shawn Wooden's performance on WFSB's "Face the State".
Here are Kevin Rennie's comments:
WOODEN BY NAME, WOODEN BY NATURE
Many people possess high hopes for Hartford Democrat Shawn Wooden’s campaign for mayor of Hartford this year. They may adjust them after Wooden’s embarrassing debut on Sunday’s Face the State.
Wooden should not have been surprised by the first question. It was the classic, “Why do you want to be [insert office here]? Mercy, the Day Pitney lawyer seemed stumped. He rambled like he was trying to pad his billable hours. It got worse. Wooden, who has done well with early fundraising, offered a river of generalities in what ails Hartford and how he’d fix them.
The lowest moment came when Wooden tried to dance around the conviction of disgraced former Hartford mayor Eddie Perez. He would not say if he believed the Perez verdict was fair because, after all, he was never in the courtroom during the trial.
During his halting performance, Wooden promised to provide “serious, meaningful” leadership. His potential to do that was not on display during 12 1/2 painful minutes with Dennis House.
To check out Kevin Rennie's blog, click here
To view Wooden's segment on Face the State, click here
Kevin Rennie, a columnist from the Hartford Courant and also a blogger at "the Daily Ruction", dailyructions.com, posted his review of mayoral candidate Shawn Wooden's performance on WFSB's "Face the State".
Here are Kevin Rennie's comments:
WOODEN BY NAME, WOODEN BY NATURE
Many people possess high hopes for Hartford Democrat Shawn Wooden’s campaign for mayor of Hartford this year. They may adjust them after Wooden’s embarrassing debut on Sunday’s Face the State.
Wooden should not have been surprised by the first question. It was the classic, “Why do you want to be [insert office here]? Mercy, the Day Pitney lawyer seemed stumped. He rambled like he was trying to pad his billable hours. It got worse. Wooden, who has done well with early fundraising, offered a river of generalities in what ails Hartford and how he’d fix them.
The lowest moment came when Wooden tried to dance around the conviction of disgraced former Hartford mayor Eddie Perez. He would not say if he believed the Perez verdict was fair because, after all, he was never in the courtroom during the trial.
During his halting performance, Wooden promised to provide “serious, meaningful” leadership. His potential to do that was not on display during 12 1/2 painful minutes with Dennis House.
To check out Kevin Rennie's blog, click here
To view Wooden's segment on Face the State, click here
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
"SHOW ME THE MONEY"
If you are really judged by the company you keep, political judgement day for Kelvin Roldan may be as close as the Hartford City Clerks office.
After the grenades launched by Roldan in his "anti-corruption" campaign this past weekend, I decided to look at all of the Mayoral candidates filings that were due Monday.
Shawn Wooden's weren't received yet, but as long as they are postmarked by yesterday, that's legal. Ed Vargas's didn't show too much other than he kicked in $10,100 of his own money. Vargas's largest expense so far was $48.73 for printer cartridges.
Stan McCauley's also weren't available yet and by phone he acknowledged that they will be hand delivered to the Clerk's Office today, and he was aware of the $100.00 fine for late filing.
Mayor Segarra's filings were extensive, but very few surprises. He has raised a large amount of money, with the majority of the donors coming from outside Hartford and as far away as Seattle, Washington. Only 124 contributors listed Hartford addresses, 176 outside of Hartford.
Segarra's largest expense appears to be web design and web setup with $8250.00 being paid to a company called "Trilogy" for the design and $2860.00 to "NGP Van, INC." from Washington , D.C. for web setup. Segarra's campaign manager appears to work for cheap with only $5825.00 being claimed for his services. A refund of $1,000 was paid back to the Mayor's partner Charlie Ortiz and was listed as a "refund-contribution".
The interesting filing though was from a candidate who seems to have appointed himself as Hartford's version of the famed corruption fighter Elliot Ness.
If you look at many of Kelvin Roldan's contributors, they appear to have come from the same list of supporters of convicted felon and Roldan's former boss, Eddie A. Perez. You can see the list below, but see how many you can identify. I'll start you off, Susan McMullen, David Medina, John Rose, Christopher Wolf, and the list goes on.
The interesting part is who Roldan is paying with the campaign funds.
I would think that someone who would lob grenades at his opponent for corruption, would try to make sure he would distance himself from the slightest suggestion of impropriety or connections to corruption.
***NOTE*** - Roldan still has not decided what he wants to be when he grows up, so at this time he is still "exploring" his options and hasn't officially announced his intentions. This might make some wonder why he is doing what he is doing and what his real motive is.
Anyway, I digress. If "clean hands" are a prerequisite to lobbing the accusations Roldan did this week, then he might want to stock up on some Purel.
It appears that Roldan's largest expenses so far for his campaign are to individuals who played key roles in Hartford's most corrupt administration that resulted in Mayor Eddie A. Perez getting ready to pack for 3 years in prison. Perez's former Chief of Staff, Matthew Hennessy's business "Tremont Public Advisors" has been paid $15,750 so far according to the recent filings. Perez's former Legislative Liason, Derek Donnelly, has also received three payments totaling $5,000 from the Roldan campaign.
Hennessy resigned from the Perez Administration during the Grand Jury investigation that led to Perez's conviction. He had previously resigned from the Hartford County Sheriff's Office after an investigation into his activities there.
To view Roldans payments to Tremont and Donnelly, click below:
ROLDAN 3-10-11 FILING
Roldan Donors:
ROLDAN DONORS 3-10-11
Monday, April 11, 2011
THE INTENTIONAL "DUMBING DOWN" OF THE HARTFORD FIRE DEPARTMENT
I have tried to repeatedly confirm this information through "official" Hartford Fire Department channels and even through the Mayor. Those requests have gone unanswered. Several sources in the HFD have also showed me text messages sent out and have confirmed that department members have been warned that if they are caught talking to "the media" they face immediate termination. You would think they would have learned something about wrongful termination after the Nolan decision, but I won't beat a dead horse here.
Anyway, a few months ago I received information from sources that that the standards for hiring for the upcoming recruit class were being lowered. The academy time was planned on being cut from fourteen weeks to eight, certification was to only be for Firefighter 1, rather than the normal Firefighter 2 from previous training classes.
The most disturbing part arrived in my e-mail today. Apparently six Fire Department Cadets took the written test. One passed after he had previously failed out of the last academy class. The other five failed the written exam. Apparently plans were in the works to hire the five who couldn't pass the written exam anyways. Once "the media" started asking questions, those plans were apparently scrapped.
Now the disturbing part. Councilwoman rJo Winch and Mayor Segarra have slid an item onto tonight's agenda entitled "Replacement Item #48, AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A FIRE CADET TRAINING ACADEMY PROGRAM AND CURRICULUM.
Interestingly enough, under Winch's ordinance the Cadets who couldn't pass the test, now won't even have to take it. What is the sense of the Cadet program if they can't even pass the test? In theory, shouldn't people receiving special training in the Cadet program be the ones at the top of the list as far as test scores?
According to the Winch/Segarra ordinance :
(1)Fire Cadets must also successfully complete the following components of the Firefighter Civil Service Examination Process:
(i) The Oral Examination
(ii) Physical Agility
(iii)Background Check
(iv)Medical Examination
In case you didn't notice , the written exam requirement has been removed from the ordinance.
For anyone who has never seen a police or firefighters funeral, take my advice, you don't want to. They will send a chill down your spine and have a definite impact on you. I don't want to be viewing any firefighter funerals in Hartford because we have lowered our standards.
And again, anyone who read the Nolan decision can pretty much see as the hearing officer did, that the termination was politically motivated as a result of Nolan refusing to lower the standards. Councilwoman Winch played a role in that when she championed the cause of a recruit, now actually a Firefighter, Felicia Graves. Winch even went so far as to have private meetings in her office with Graves and intervened on her behalf with the Fire Chief at the time.
Reading the hearing officers report shows exactly what is wrong with hiring unqualified persons for apparently political reasons. Even former Assistant Chief Michael Parker testified at Nolan's hearing that he never would have hired Graves when he was the Fire Chief in West Hartford, and he questioned her being hired in Hartford.
If we continue to lower our standards just so that political cronies can get hired, is a potential disaster far off? To read about another Hartford Firefighter who had the standards lowered after he received his employment reference from former Mayor Eddie A. Perez, click here. or here for another story
The Council Meeting's public session,if you would like to comment, is tonight at 6:00PM at City Hall
Anyway, a few months ago I received information from sources that that the standards for hiring for the upcoming recruit class were being lowered. The academy time was planned on being cut from fourteen weeks to eight, certification was to only be for Firefighter 1, rather than the normal Firefighter 2 from previous training classes.
The most disturbing part arrived in my e-mail today. Apparently six Fire Department Cadets took the written test. One passed after he had previously failed out of the last academy class. The other five failed the written exam. Apparently plans were in the works to hire the five who couldn't pass the written exam anyways. Once "the media" started asking questions, those plans were apparently scrapped.
Now the disturbing part. Councilwoman rJo Winch and Mayor Segarra have slid an item onto tonight's agenda entitled "Replacement Item #48, AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A FIRE CADET TRAINING ACADEMY PROGRAM AND CURRICULUM.
Interestingly enough, under Winch's ordinance the Cadets who couldn't pass the test, now won't even have to take it. What is the sense of the Cadet program if they can't even pass the test? In theory, shouldn't people receiving special training in the Cadet program be the ones at the top of the list as far as test scores?
According to the Winch/Segarra ordinance :
(1)Fire Cadets must also successfully complete the following components of the Firefighter Civil Service Examination Process:
(i) The Oral Examination
(ii) Physical Agility
(iii)Background Check
(iv)Medical Examination
In case you didn't notice , the written exam requirement has been removed from the ordinance.
For anyone who has never seen a police or firefighters funeral, take my advice, you don't want to. They will send a chill down your spine and have a definite impact on you. I don't want to be viewing any firefighter funerals in Hartford because we have lowered our standards.
And again, anyone who read the Nolan decision can pretty much see as the hearing officer did, that the termination was politically motivated as a result of Nolan refusing to lower the standards. Councilwoman Winch played a role in that when she championed the cause of a recruit, now actually a Firefighter, Felicia Graves. Winch even went so far as to have private meetings in her office with Graves and intervened on her behalf with the Fire Chief at the time.
Reading the hearing officers report shows exactly what is wrong with hiring unqualified persons for apparently political reasons. Even former Assistant Chief Michael Parker testified at Nolan's hearing that he never would have hired Graves when he was the Fire Chief in West Hartford, and he questioned her being hired in Hartford.
If we continue to lower our standards just so that political cronies can get hired, is a potential disaster far off? To read about another Hartford Firefighter who had the standards lowered after he received his employment reference from former Mayor Eddie A. Perez, click here. or here for another story
The Council Meeting's public session,if you would like to comment, is tonight at 6:00PM at City Hall
WHERE WERE THEY FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS?
Anyone reading this blog should be aware that I haven't weighed in on my choice of who I'm supporting for Mayor.
After this weekends and today's nonsense though, I need to say something or I'll hurt myself biting my tongue to remain silent.
I attended a fundraising dinner Saturday night that was much more political than I thought it would be. Mayoral Candidate Ed Vargas was there, Kelvin Roldan was there , Matt Ritter was there, the "Honorable" Art Feltman was there, Sean Arena was there and amid confusion Mayor Segarra showed up midway through dinner, even though he apparently didn't purchase a ticket. That was apparently rectified and as the saying goes "the check is in the mail.
The buzz from the moment I arrived and throughout the night was "make sure you read the Courant tomorrow, they are going after Pedro". There were all kind of comments as to the suspected content of the article. Would Pedro have to resign? Would he be forced out of the Mayoral race? Would rJo Winch have to take over as mayor? Forget about Pedro, that though alone scared the hell out of me. But then I realized, even if it was bad, Pedro could stall like Eddie did, so we were good until the new Mayor steps in January of 2012.
Throughout the Perez years, including the Veronica Airey-Wilson years, I think I have become pretty good at recognizing corruption and ethical lapses and I have to say, the Courant's article really seemed like nothing to me. I don't intend to belittle the Courant or Jon Lender.Stories like this sell papers and if the buzz Saturday night was any indication, a lot of people probably made it a point to purchase Sunday's Courant.
Even though Segarra should have probably asked the question first if there was any doubt, this amounts to nothing more than mudslinging by his opponents.
In order to be taken seriously when accusations are thrown around, I think you need to be sincere and not look like opportunists. If there was ever a glass house that someone was living in, it is probably Kelvin Roldan. And that glass house from what I understand isn't even in Roldan's district but is most likely in West Hartford, but that's another story.
Kelvin Roldan was neck deep in the corruption scandal involving his former boss Eddie A. Perez. If the Grand Jury record is correct, Roldan played a key role in facilitating some of Perez's activities. In some circles that is referred to as an "unindicted co-conspirator". Just ask "Willie Nunes" about it if you don't believe me.
Then we have Roldan in a position at the Board of Education, apparently created for him, at over $120,000 a year not to mention his bonuses.
Then we have Roldan unable to commit to what he really wants to do when he grows up. Does he want to be Mayor or does he want to be Treasurer? Who knows, but that exploratory committee he has formed is raising money . It should be interesting to see who is donating and who he is paying with the funds raised.
Whether Roldan has actually found out what integrity means is not up to me to judge, but I find it hard to trust the intent of him spoon feeding what many feel is a non-story to the media and then making it appear that he is the voice of truth and justice by calling for an investigation.
Roldan's campaign committee issued the following statement yesterday before the ink was even dry on the Courant's story:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Christopher Cooper, Cooper Communications: 860-836-7491
April 10, 2011
ROLDAN CALLS FOR ETHICS INVESTIGATION OF SEGARRA’S FAILURE TO DISCLOSE PAYMENTS
Public Records Show Segarra Deeply Involved in Spouse’s Business That Received Payments
State Representative Kelvin Roldan (D-Hartford) today called on the City of Hartford Ethics Commission and if warranted, the Chief State’s Attorney’s Office to investigate the failure of Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra to disclose over $120,000 in potentially illegal payments paid by the City to Segarra’s spouse.
The Hartford Courant has reported that since Segarra became a councilman in 2006, his spouse has received over $120,000 in payments as a landlord from the City’s Housing Choice Voucher Program, payments that were not disclosed in Segarra’s ethics filings.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is reviewing the possible violation of federal rules in response to an inquiry from the Courant to determine if payments made to Segarra’s spouse were illegal because they violated HUD’s strict conflict of interest regulations which prohibit payments under the voucher program to public officials or their relatives.
State Representative Kelvin Roldan issued the following statement:
“There may be a logical explanation for these alleged violations of federal Conflict of Interest regulations and Mayor Segarra’s failure to report this information as required under City ethics law. However, if these payments have been ongoing for six years to a business being run out of his law office and the Mayor was aware of them, his failure to disclose them is a serious violation of the public trust. The people of Hartford deserve to have this matter investigated – first, by the City’s Ethics Commission and if warranted, as a criminal matter.
These apparent violations continue a disturbing pattern of behavior by Mayor Segarra during the few months he has been in office – including the approval of a $500,000 payment to the contractor at the center of the city’s recent bribery scandal and a scheme to pad the pensions of retiring elected officials. Now it appears the mayor has failed to disclose City contracts being held by his spouse.
It is time – long past time – for our city government to make hard-working families and dependable employers its first priorities, rather than the friends and relatives of those who hold political power.”
City property records show that all investment properties owned by Ortiz are registered at Segarra’s law office address and according to the Secretary of State, Segarra is the business agent for Ortiz’s real estate investment company, Casablanca Realty and Investments LLC.
I have searched, but I can't find any instance of Roldan calling for any investigations, inquiries or even any statement condemning the actions of his mentor Eddie Perez or even Councilwoman Veronica Airey-Wilson. For that matter, Roldan has not made a peep regarding his other buddy that he shared a campaign headquarters with, recently arrested Sate Representative Hector Robles.
I guess Robles felony charges aren't serious enough for Roldan compared to Segarra's terrible actions. But then again, Roldan is not planning on running against Robles for anything so he must only realize ethical lapses when they may benefit him. But on second thought, Perez's ethical lapses most likely did benefit Roldan, so I guess I can see why he kept quiet on those.
Then, as if not to be outdone by Roldan, Mayoral candidate Shawn Wooden today weighed in on the Segarra "section 8 scandal". Wooden is also someone that I have not found any comments from regarding the Perez scandal or even Robles. But then again, I'll give Wooden the benefit of the doubt since he has only arrived on the scene lately since he decided to run for Mayor.
Here are Wooden's comments below:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: ANDREW GROSSMAN, WOODEN FOR MAYOR
MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2011 (860) 570-2011
Shawn Wooden's statement on Mayor Segarra’s ethical lapse
(Hartford, CT) - Shawn Wooden, Democratic candidate for Mayor, released the following statement today regarding Mayor Segarra's failure to properly disclose his relationship with city contractors and fill out his ethics statements.
"Twice in three weeks, Mayor Segarra has claimed to have forgotten to obey the law. In light of the Courant's investigation and questions raised by a spokesman at HUD, he owes the public a better explanation than that. Claiming memory loss and looking the other way isn't the leadership that Hartford deserves," said Wooden.
"There is a real leadership crisis in City Hall and we must do everything possible to restore the people's trust in our government. These are serious issues and, given the ethical cloud that City Hall has been under in recent years, HUD should investigate this matter on an expedited basis and the U.S. Attorney should investigate as well. Additionally, the City Council must be proactive and look into whether or not a HUD violation would cause the City to be liable for repaying the funds."
"The people of Hartford deserve a government that is open, transparent, honest and accountable. And we deserve leaders who understand the laws and follow the rules."
For more information about Shawn Wooden's candidacy for Mayor, please visit
***.**************.com
After this weekends and today's nonsense though, I need to say something or I'll hurt myself biting my tongue to remain silent.
I attended a fundraising dinner Saturday night that was much more political than I thought it would be. Mayoral Candidate Ed Vargas was there, Kelvin Roldan was there , Matt Ritter was there, the "Honorable" Art Feltman was there, Sean Arena was there and amid confusion Mayor Segarra showed up midway through dinner, even though he apparently didn't purchase a ticket. That was apparently rectified and as the saying goes "the check is in the mail.
The buzz from the moment I arrived and throughout the night was "make sure you read the Courant tomorrow, they are going after Pedro". There were all kind of comments as to the suspected content of the article. Would Pedro have to resign? Would he be forced out of the Mayoral race? Would rJo Winch have to take over as mayor? Forget about Pedro, that though alone scared the hell out of me. But then I realized, even if it was bad, Pedro could stall like Eddie did, so we were good until the new Mayor steps in January of 2012.
Throughout the Perez years, including the Veronica Airey-Wilson years, I think I have become pretty good at recognizing corruption and ethical lapses and I have to say, the Courant's article really seemed like nothing to me. I don't intend to belittle the Courant or Jon Lender.Stories like this sell papers and if the buzz Saturday night was any indication, a lot of people probably made it a point to purchase Sunday's Courant.
Even though Segarra should have probably asked the question first if there was any doubt, this amounts to nothing more than mudslinging by his opponents.
In order to be taken seriously when accusations are thrown around, I think you need to be sincere and not look like opportunists. If there was ever a glass house that someone was living in, it is probably Kelvin Roldan. And that glass house from what I understand isn't even in Roldan's district but is most likely in West Hartford, but that's another story.
Kelvin Roldan was neck deep in the corruption scandal involving his former boss Eddie A. Perez. If the Grand Jury record is correct, Roldan played a key role in facilitating some of Perez's activities. In some circles that is referred to as an "unindicted co-conspirator". Just ask "Willie Nunes" about it if you don't believe me.
Then we have Roldan in a position at the Board of Education, apparently created for him, at over $120,000 a year not to mention his bonuses.
Then we have Roldan unable to commit to what he really wants to do when he grows up. Does he want to be Mayor or does he want to be Treasurer? Who knows, but that exploratory committee he has formed is raising money . It should be interesting to see who is donating and who he is paying with the funds raised.
Whether Roldan has actually found out what integrity means is not up to me to judge, but I find it hard to trust the intent of him spoon feeding what many feel is a non-story to the media and then making it appear that he is the voice of truth and justice by calling for an investigation.
Roldan's campaign committee issued the following statement yesterday before the ink was even dry on the Courant's story:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Christopher Cooper, Cooper Communications: 860-836-7491
April 10, 2011
ROLDAN CALLS FOR ETHICS INVESTIGATION OF SEGARRA’S FAILURE TO DISCLOSE PAYMENTS
Public Records Show Segarra Deeply Involved in Spouse’s Business That Received Payments
State Representative Kelvin Roldan (D-Hartford) today called on the City of Hartford Ethics Commission and if warranted, the Chief State’s Attorney’s Office to investigate the failure of Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra to disclose over $120,000 in potentially illegal payments paid by the City to Segarra’s spouse.
The Hartford Courant has reported that since Segarra became a councilman in 2006, his spouse has received over $120,000 in payments as a landlord from the City’s Housing Choice Voucher Program, payments that were not disclosed in Segarra’s ethics filings.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is reviewing the possible violation of federal rules in response to an inquiry from the Courant to determine if payments made to Segarra’s spouse were illegal because they violated HUD’s strict conflict of interest regulations which prohibit payments under the voucher program to public officials or their relatives.
State Representative Kelvin Roldan issued the following statement:
“There may be a logical explanation for these alleged violations of federal Conflict of Interest regulations and Mayor Segarra’s failure to report this information as required under City ethics law. However, if these payments have been ongoing for six years to a business being run out of his law office and the Mayor was aware of them, his failure to disclose them is a serious violation of the public trust. The people of Hartford deserve to have this matter investigated – first, by the City’s Ethics Commission and if warranted, as a criminal matter.
These apparent violations continue a disturbing pattern of behavior by Mayor Segarra during the few months he has been in office – including the approval of a $500,000 payment to the contractor at the center of the city’s recent bribery scandal and a scheme to pad the pensions of retiring elected officials. Now it appears the mayor has failed to disclose City contracts being held by his spouse.
It is time – long past time – for our city government to make hard-working families and dependable employers its first priorities, rather than the friends and relatives of those who hold political power.”
City property records show that all investment properties owned by Ortiz are registered at Segarra’s law office address and according to the Secretary of State, Segarra is the business agent for Ortiz’s real estate investment company, Casablanca Realty and Investments LLC.
I have searched, but I can't find any instance of Roldan calling for any investigations, inquiries or even any statement condemning the actions of his mentor Eddie Perez or even Councilwoman Veronica Airey-Wilson. For that matter, Roldan has not made a peep regarding his other buddy that he shared a campaign headquarters with, recently arrested Sate Representative Hector Robles.
I guess Robles felony charges aren't serious enough for Roldan compared to Segarra's terrible actions. But then again, Roldan is not planning on running against Robles for anything so he must only realize ethical lapses when they may benefit him. But on second thought, Perez's ethical lapses most likely did benefit Roldan, so I guess I can see why he kept quiet on those.
Then, as if not to be outdone by Roldan, Mayoral candidate Shawn Wooden today weighed in on the Segarra "section 8 scandal". Wooden is also someone that I have not found any comments from regarding the Perez scandal or even Robles. But then again, I'll give Wooden the benefit of the doubt since he has only arrived on the scene lately since he decided to run for Mayor.
Here are Wooden's comments below:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: ANDREW GROSSMAN, WOODEN FOR MAYOR
MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2011 (860) 570-2011
Shawn Wooden's statement on Mayor Segarra’s ethical lapse
(Hartford, CT) - Shawn Wooden, Democratic candidate for Mayor, released the following statement today regarding Mayor Segarra's failure to properly disclose his relationship with city contractors and fill out his ethics statements.
"Twice in three weeks, Mayor Segarra has claimed to have forgotten to obey the law. In light of the Courant's investigation and questions raised by a spokesman at HUD, he owes the public a better explanation than that. Claiming memory loss and looking the other way isn't the leadership that Hartford deserves," said Wooden.
"There is a real leadership crisis in City Hall and we must do everything possible to restore the people's trust in our government. These are serious issues and, given the ethical cloud that City Hall has been under in recent years, HUD should investigate this matter on an expedited basis and the U.S. Attorney should investigate as well. Additionally, the City Council must be proactive and look into whether or not a HUD violation would cause the City to be liable for repaying the funds."
"The people of Hartford deserve a government that is open, transparent, honest and accountable. And we deserve leaders who understand the laws and follow the rules."
For more information about Shawn Wooden's candidacy for Mayor, please visit
***.**************.com
Sunday, April 10, 2011
"WE THE PEOPLE" ON THE AIR
It took a little while to get accomplished, but tomorrow at 1:00PM "We the People" will start airing a weekly hour long program on Hartford Public Access Television.
In January, the "1 Hartford" program stopped production. That program was produced by Stan McCauley and the time commitment was extensive. Stan apparently wanted to focus on his run for Mayor and also a had a new baby on the way.
Many people called and asked when we were going to start the program again, and eventually enough people asked so myself, Hyacinth Yennie and Gerry Pleasent decided to move forward with a new program. The program will be weekly at 1:00PM and will air live on Channel 5 in Hartford. We will also have the capability to take phone calls and questions. The program will be recorded and re-aired on Saturdays at 10:00PM.
The program will also be available on the internet and once I have those details, I'll post them here.
If you have any suggestions for guests or for topics you would like covered, feel free to let me know
A RESPONSE TO A COMMENT
Earlier today "Proud Htfd Conservative" said...
Regarding your response to Anon 9:12, you realize that there's little to nothing that you can do as a council member for education. You have to be on the Board for that. But it's a politically popular thing to run on.
also
Given the shrinkage of the Republican Party in the City, and with Cory Brinson running to actually get voted on by the people, do you think there's room for another conservative person on Council? I think you're registered Dem but we all know better. At the end of the day, you're a conservative (Safety, Controlling Taxes, Reducing Spending, Business Retention & Development)
Lastly, what would be your strategy? Go after Cory and take the one Conservative spot (provided the WFP keeps 2) or go after the lowest vote getter of the last election which was Deutch?
but my two cents, Run!! You got my vote!
It seems that many people are under the misconception that when we went through Charter change to a strong Mayor form of government, we also accepted a "weak" Council form of government. That is the furthest thing from the truth.
Because this Council has chosen to neuter themselves and give all power to the Mayor is their fault, not the Charter of the City of Hartford. Under the Perez Administration, and even now, the Council has been referred to as bobble heads, puppets and even the rubber stamp Council, which they are.
The Hartford City Council has a huge amount of power that they have chosen not to use. The fact of the matter is that no money can be spent without their approval. No Department head can be appointed without their approval. They have the power as a Council to remove any Department head appointed by the Mayor.
As far as the Council not having any control over the Board of Education, that is also untrue. The Board of Education would have a very hard time operating with their budget funds which are appropriated and allocated by the Council. The Board has no money to build schools without the Council. They might not be able to dictate how day to day operations are conducted but I would imagine a Superintendent wanting to renovate or build a new school might want to listen or react to the Council's concerns if the Council actually exercised some of their authority.
As far as the comments "liberal vs. conservative", I prefer to call it right versus wrong and what is in the best interests of the City of Hartford and its people. And I'll even go out on a limb and say that after the November election, there most likely will not be a Republican on the Hartford City Council. Corey Brinson did not arrive at the Council after some overwhelming groundswell of support for him.
There was a lot of behind the scenes arm twisting and deals cut to appoint Brinson after his aunt vacated her seat after the corruption scandal. In my mind that doesn't automatically translate to votes and support in the community. The five votes it took for his appointment is a far way from the 2,500 hundred or so he will need to get elected on his own.
Further complicating that even more is the state of the Republican Party in Hartford. The Republicans in Hartford missed an opportunity to display what they stood for when they virtually remained silent throughout the whole Perez corruption scandal. Although it is difficult to speak out on an issue when your own highest elected Republican was also neck deep in the scandal and was arrested also.
As you mentioned, I am a registered Democrat now. I was a former Republican and also a member of the Republican Town Committee. The reality is that I left the GOP after I reached a level of frustration with the lack of direction and incompetence of the party leadership and their failure to address issues and adapt to a changing political climate. You can only bang your head against the wall for so long until you realize you need to make a change if you truly want to make a difference.
And it wasn't the issue of corruption that finally "broke the camels back". At a Republican Town Committee meeting, the majority was downplaying the role of the Working Families Party. I had warned that anyone that ignored the efforts of the WFP would be doing it at their own peril. There was no WFP presence at Hartford City Hall at that point. That same year, two WFP members took 2 of the 3 minority seats on the Council and the following year a WFP member ran a campaign for Registrar of Voters and won.
Although the Working Families Party is probably even more liberal than the average Democrat, they "have their eye on the prize". They are focused, they are organized and they know how to get their candidates elected. That is something that the Republicans can't even come close to or claim that they know how to accomplish.
Unfortunately, as I said before, I predict that there will not be a Republican on the Council after the November election. The working Families Party will work hard to take all three minority seats, and I think they have the resources and the organization and probably most importantly the political will to make it happen.
With probably about 700 active Republican voters in Hartford, that is a long cry from the number necessary to win a Council seat.
As far as my strategy, it's probably quite simple. I intend to run a campaign based on facts and vision. Not a campaign based in the gutter as we see going on already in the Mayor's race. I have a history of what I believe in for Hartford and identifying waste and problems in our city government as well as responding to and working with people who have felt excluded. I receive phone calls, e-mails and even people approaching me in public with problems that they need help with.
Helping someone is not a Republican or Democratic issue or even "conservative vs. liberal. It is a matter of decency and realizing that we are all pretty much in the same boat.Not to get on a soap box here, but the old saying "united we stand, divided we fall" is something we need to focus on as a city, as neighbors. Downtown is no better or doing more for the City than Upper Albany. The Westend is no better off or facing different problems than Barry Square or Frog Hollow. We are a small city that needs to get away from the divide and conquer politics that were perfected onder the Perez years.
I sincerely wish that it wasn't necessary to run affiliated with a party and candidates would only be on a ballot as an individual with no party designation after their name.
I intend to run for what I stand for and not because I'm willing to pledge some sort of crazy blind allegiance to the Party line. If it works, fine, if not I'll still be around doing what I have been doing and trying to make a difference. There are plenty of other people out there doing the same thing, and that is what will change the City for the better, not whether we have enough conservatives or liberals on the council. Lets find people that make decisions based on what is best for Hartford, not what the party tells them to do.
And your comment as to what I stand for "Safety, Controlling Taxes, Reducing Spending, Business Retention & Development", are those bad things?
I realize those are goals usually associated with the Republican mantra, but they might not be a bad thing for the entire Council to focus on whether you have an "R", a "D", a "WFP" or any other combination after your name.
And thanks for your promised vote :)
Regarding your response to Anon 9:12, you realize that there's little to nothing that you can do as a council member for education. You have to be on the Board for that. But it's a politically popular thing to run on.
also
Given the shrinkage of the Republican Party in the City, and with Cory Brinson running to actually get voted on by the people, do you think there's room for another conservative person on Council? I think you're registered Dem but we all know better. At the end of the day, you're a conservative (Safety, Controlling Taxes, Reducing Spending, Business Retention & Development)
Lastly, what would be your strategy? Go after Cory and take the one Conservative spot (provided the WFP keeps 2) or go after the lowest vote getter of the last election which was Deutch?
but my two cents, Run!! You got my vote!
It seems that many people are under the misconception that when we went through Charter change to a strong Mayor form of government, we also accepted a "weak" Council form of government. That is the furthest thing from the truth.
Because this Council has chosen to neuter themselves and give all power to the Mayor is their fault, not the Charter of the City of Hartford. Under the Perez Administration, and even now, the Council has been referred to as bobble heads, puppets and even the rubber stamp Council, which they are.
The Hartford City Council has a huge amount of power that they have chosen not to use. The fact of the matter is that no money can be spent without their approval. No Department head can be appointed without their approval. They have the power as a Council to remove any Department head appointed by the Mayor.
As far as the Council not having any control over the Board of Education, that is also untrue. The Board of Education would have a very hard time operating with their budget funds which are appropriated and allocated by the Council. The Board has no money to build schools without the Council. They might not be able to dictate how day to day operations are conducted but I would imagine a Superintendent wanting to renovate or build a new school might want to listen or react to the Council's concerns if the Council actually exercised some of their authority.
As far as the comments "liberal vs. conservative", I prefer to call it right versus wrong and what is in the best interests of the City of Hartford and its people. And I'll even go out on a limb and say that after the November election, there most likely will not be a Republican on the Hartford City Council. Corey Brinson did not arrive at the Council after some overwhelming groundswell of support for him.
There was a lot of behind the scenes arm twisting and deals cut to appoint Brinson after his aunt vacated her seat after the corruption scandal. In my mind that doesn't automatically translate to votes and support in the community. The five votes it took for his appointment is a far way from the 2,500 hundred or so he will need to get elected on his own.
Further complicating that even more is the state of the Republican Party in Hartford. The Republicans in Hartford missed an opportunity to display what they stood for when they virtually remained silent throughout the whole Perez corruption scandal. Although it is difficult to speak out on an issue when your own highest elected Republican was also neck deep in the scandal and was arrested also.
As you mentioned, I am a registered Democrat now. I was a former Republican and also a member of the Republican Town Committee. The reality is that I left the GOP after I reached a level of frustration with the lack of direction and incompetence of the party leadership and their failure to address issues and adapt to a changing political climate. You can only bang your head against the wall for so long until you realize you need to make a change if you truly want to make a difference.
And it wasn't the issue of corruption that finally "broke the camels back". At a Republican Town Committee meeting, the majority was downplaying the role of the Working Families Party. I had warned that anyone that ignored the efforts of the WFP would be doing it at their own peril. There was no WFP presence at Hartford City Hall at that point. That same year, two WFP members took 2 of the 3 minority seats on the Council and the following year a WFP member ran a campaign for Registrar of Voters and won.
Although the Working Families Party is probably even more liberal than the average Democrat, they "have their eye on the prize". They are focused, they are organized and they know how to get their candidates elected. That is something that the Republicans can't even come close to or claim that they know how to accomplish.
Unfortunately, as I said before, I predict that there will not be a Republican on the Council after the November election. The working Families Party will work hard to take all three minority seats, and I think they have the resources and the organization and probably most importantly the political will to make it happen.
With probably about 700 active Republican voters in Hartford, that is a long cry from the number necessary to win a Council seat.
As far as my strategy, it's probably quite simple. I intend to run a campaign based on facts and vision. Not a campaign based in the gutter as we see going on already in the Mayor's race. I have a history of what I believe in for Hartford and identifying waste and problems in our city government as well as responding to and working with people who have felt excluded. I receive phone calls, e-mails and even people approaching me in public with problems that they need help with.
Helping someone is not a Republican or Democratic issue or even "conservative vs. liberal. It is a matter of decency and realizing that we are all pretty much in the same boat.Not to get on a soap box here, but the old saying "united we stand, divided we fall" is something we need to focus on as a city, as neighbors. Downtown is no better or doing more for the City than Upper Albany. The Westend is no better off or facing different problems than Barry Square or Frog Hollow. We are a small city that needs to get away from the divide and conquer politics that were perfected onder the Perez years.
I sincerely wish that it wasn't necessary to run affiliated with a party and candidates would only be on a ballot as an individual with no party designation after their name.
I intend to run for what I stand for and not because I'm willing to pledge some sort of crazy blind allegiance to the Party line. If it works, fine, if not I'll still be around doing what I have been doing and trying to make a difference. There are plenty of other people out there doing the same thing, and that is what will change the City for the better, not whether we have enough conservatives or liberals on the council. Lets find people that make decisions based on what is best for Hartford, not what the party tells them to do.
And your comment as to what I stand for "Safety, Controlling Taxes, Reducing Spending, Business Retention & Development", are those bad things?
I realize those are goals usually associated with the Republican mantra, but they might not be a bad thing for the entire Council to focus on whether you have an "R", a "D", a "WFP" or any other combination after your name.
And thanks for your promised vote :)