As I have said here several times previously, Luke Bronin's "Chicken Little" act is wearing thin. The sky is falling chants are wearing real thin. We have been hearing the threats for almost two years now , and nothing has changed . There is still no viable plan for sustainability as requested by the big three CEO's who are still holding the purse strings tight on their pledged $50 million dollar contribution to help the City.
That money will only be released when and if the 3 feel comfortable that Mayor Bronin actually has a plan. So far, it doesn't seem to be a priority for Bronin and no plan has been submitted.
I am not sure Bronin actually has a plan or is even capable of devising a plan. Bronins suburban "share the pain " crusade was pretty much a flop. His shame the Unions into cooperation efforts pretty much went no where, and his constant forays into the halls of the Capitol during the recent session were probably more of an annoyance to Legislators rather than producing any positive results
Originally I would have been opposed to a Chapter 9 Bankruptcy but now in talking to numerous parties, including attorneys familiar with the process, I have to say, in the words of Nike...JUST DO IT.
Nothing has changed financially under Bronin as Mayor. Let me rephrase that, nothing has changed positively financially under Mayor Bronin. It has gotten much worse under Bronin and on the positive side, our financial ratings can't drop much lower.
Every day we listen to Chicken Little, is one more day wasted before we get on the road to recovery, Enough of the false promises and gambling on Hartford's recovery.
A couple months ago, Bronin borrowed in excess of $20 million dollars to be able to pay Hartford's bills. Apparently Bronin felt comfortable borrowing the money based on a promise from a Hartford Legislator that the State of Connecticut would cough up money to bail Hartford out. That might actually be the honorable thing for the State to actually pay their fair share for all the Tax exempt property in Hartford.
But considering we are going on several months with no state budget and the State of Connecticut facing a billion dollar deficit themselves, who would like to place a bet on the odds of any State representative from Hartford riding in on the white horse to save the day. And who in Hartford's delegation has the pull to get the majority of the legislature to buy into Hartford's bail out and get it passed? Clearly not the same State Reps who convinced Bronin the check was going to be in the mail month's ago.
Stop the phony narratives, stop the blackmail techniques and get to work on a plan to turn Hartford around , and give up your plans to balance your budget on the backs of Hartford's Unions. If that involves a Bankruptcy filing then do what you were elected to do and begin leading. It may hurt for a while that you were the Mayor that led Hartford into Bankruptcy, and is probably isn't the next step on the ladder you expected for your political career. More importantly, hopefully, a few years from now, you will also be known as the Mayor that led Hartford out of it
