TIME TO STEP UP FOR HARTFORD

I know that there are many of you that read this blog regularly, take the time to comment, and even provide information to expose problems throughout Hartford City Government. I have tried to be a good steward of your trust and I am now calling on your efforts once again to make Hartford a better place. We are facing a primary for Mayor on September 16th. This will most likely be the most important decision voters will be called upon to make regarding the direction of the City of Hartford that we have had to make in many years.

This decision will not, and should not be made based on any phony assumptions. It can't be made based on ethnicity, gay or straight, or even time of residence in Hartford. It must be based on who has the best chance of moving the City we love forward.

The decision can not be based on the endorsements rolled out to fanfare in front of the cameras, many of them questionable in nature. Endorsements that have left myself and others questioning what was offered to get the words uttered in public, when we know in reality the private thoughts are much different. Endorsements that came with strings attached. Maybe a job for a niece or a spot in the Mayor's Office for a daughter.

Maybe we should be looking back in the archives for Pedro Segarra's Twitter feed to see when he really began "loving" the time he spent with Hartford's residents. When did he really begin attending the numerous community events and consoling violent crime victims. I think you will find that much of his performance began very recently when his handlers told him to start acting and looking like a Mayor.

It wasn't happening five years ago, not even 3 years ago, and not even a year ago.

When did Segarra come to the realization that as a Gay Mayor, he should probably support the gay community. For the first time in years , Segarra has spearheaded not one, but two Gay Pride Festivals in Hartford. This after several years without any annual recognition. Was it because his handlers pointed out to him that roughly 10% of the population identifies as LGBT , and that equates to a substantial voting block. Where is the shelter for gay youth who become homeless when their families throw them out after they come out publicly. Many cities, without a gay Mayor, have shown the compassion and shelter these at risk youth.  When was the last time the LGBT Commission met in Hartford on a regular basis? The Mayor appoints the Commission's members, is the Commission even up to full strength?

Did he decide to console the homicide victim's families before he made the decision to cut funding for the Hartford Police Department and decimate staffing levels for several years,  or was it after he was called out for a skyrocketing homicide rate, the highest to this date of any New England City.

When did Pedro Segarra realize his love and his connections to Hartford's residents and neighborhoods? Was it while he was swilling champagne and eating caviar on the taxpayers dollar at Max Downtown with his staff and confidants?. When did Segarra gain his appreciation for the people of Hartford? Was it every night he pushes the remote to open the iron gates of his private residence on Prospect Ave? Is that when he appreciates Hartford and its residents when he realizes he is not going into a violent neighborhood riddled with gunfire and violence?

Does he appreciate Hartford's resident's more when he realizes he isn't going to bed hungry for a lack of food in the refrigerator, like so many of the resident's he says he cares so much about? Does he appreciate Hartford more when he realizes he can turn on the lights in the kitchen of his gated home and not see cockroaches or rats scurrying in the sudden bright light.

I know Pedro's cronies appreciate him more when he cuts the dirty deals for them. I'm sure Saundra Kee-Borges appreciates him every time she looks at her checking account and sees the proceeds of the obnoxious retirement deal Segarra cut for her. A deal that delivered a hefty paycheck to her of probably 10 times the annual salary of many Hartford resident's.

The list could go on and on, but I hope you can realize why Pedro Segarra is the wrong choice to move Hartford forward. More of the mismanagement and incompetence is a future Hartford can not survive.

I would ask that you watch the television advertisement below. If after watching it, you feel the same sincerity of the message Luke Bronin delivers, don't be shy about it. Tell your friends, tell your co-workers, tell your relatives, tell the people in the grocery store. Tell anyone willing to listen why Luke Bronin is the right choice for Hartford. Tell 5 people why Luke is the correct, genuine choice. And then ask them to tell 5 people more. It is time we do the right thing for the City we love.