I received a phone call a couple weeks ago and the caller asked me if I thought Hartford could ever make a comeback.
My answer was pretty quick and decisive. ABOULUTELY.
In my opinion, there are three major things standing in Hartford's way of making a comeback. Number one is leadership. For probably over a decade Hartford has had some of the worst leadership imaginable, starting most recently with Eddie Perez who was eventually driven from office by the States Attorney and a Grand Jury investigation. Hartford is under the "strong Mayor" form of government. I don't have an issue with a strong Mayor, the problem is Hartford voters have made terrible choices and have been unable to find the right person...yet.
From Eddie Perez to Pedro Segarra to Luke Bronin, all failures in my eyes.
Pedro Segarra was cast into the Mayor's Office by default when Eddie Perez was forced to resign under corruption charges.Then came Luke Bronin, not because he knew or understood Hartford, but because he would make a great puppet to do the political bidding of Hartford's elite who loved controlling political power, such as the DiBellas and others.
Prior to Bronin, I had great hope for retired Probate Judge Bob Killian who ran for the office of Mayor, but there was no way of competing with the Bronin million dollar plus war chest the carpetbagger Bronin had amassed, much of it from outside of Hartford and outside of Connecticut.
I guess even a lousy candidate that very few people knew, can get elected if they are able to buy enough votes. A candidate who probably couldn't have found most neighborhoods or streets in the City without the aid of GPS.
Two other things that need to change are Public Safety and Education. Aside from the Mayor being a failure, both of those are disastrous, No one will move to a City where they don't feel safe, and no parent who has a choice will put their kids into a school system where a decent education is a crap shoot..
I am encouraged as of late because I am starting to hear people talking about the next Mayoral election.. I have been hearing the name of Eric Coleman mentioned. Coleman should be familiar to anyone who has spent more than a few days in Hartford over the last few decades. For most of his adult life, Coleman has been serving the people of Hartford as a State Representative, a State Senator and eventually (and currently) as a Superior Court Judge. Coleman didn't just arrive here with his sights on the Mayor's Office in an attempt to work his way up the political ladder with aspirations of grandeur, or maybe I should say delusions of grandeur like our current Mayor.
I think Coleman has the potential to restore confidence and civility to the Mayor's Office. I also think as current sitting Judge, Coleman has kept his distance from the political influence, That political influence such as the Democratic Town Committee has been one of the major forces in the downfall of Hartford.
If Coleman were to be successful., his first stop after becoming Mayor should be a stop at 253 High Street to hand Chief Thody his termination papers. It will be a tough job to rebuild HPD to the previous levels before Thody decimated the ranks, but it can be done and it has to be done if Hartford is ever going to be safe again.
Another move would be to utilize Hartford's Charter to its full extent and make appointments to the Hartford Board of Education of people that are serious about seeing Hartford's children and their schools excel. The Mayor has the power to appoint the majority of members to the BOE and that should be done with the best people who understand Hartford's Schools and why they have been failing up to this point.
I think Economic Development will also be an issue and it needs to be taken seriously by the next Mayor. Hartford has had far too many false starts when it comes to development and it not only makes the city look bad, it prevents any forward movement. Hartford's Economic development efforts seem to be a hotbed of nepotism ad rewards for political allies rather than any solid efforts.
There will be much more on this in the future , but I hope people will start thinking about Hartford coming back and where they can help with that effort. It can be done and I think Eric Coleman understands what needs to be done. After all of his years serving the people of Hartford, I seriously think he knows what needs to be done
33 comments:
I wholeheartedly concur with your comments.
Yes! I wholeheartedly agree also. With the right "unbought and unbossed" (to quote Shirley Chisholm) leadership along with a dynamic team of intelligent and competent individuals all working together - Hartford can be restored to its greatness.
The day of reckoning is fast approaching for several people. The self proclaimed ironman is going to find himself on the stand in new haven later this year. The the fun will begin. The city will distance itself and allow civil judgements. Many people better get their lies and statements ready for the prime time event. so shine up that 589th place trophy in 211 and get the plugs ready for the jury. Hopefully others choose not to participate in the lies. BJF cant help you now. You burned that last bridge. and yes, city pensions cant be attached by federal judge. so what are you going to do ? So who are you going to call? exactly hot air from 100 pounds.
Yes I agree...it is time to say goodbye to tired leadership...Judge Coleman has fresh new ideas on how to bring Hartford forward.
should also walk across the hall to fire
We are suffering from a case of Bronin Fatigue
Ding Dong , Federal Court Summons comin soon. Compy Comp or C/A not gonna fly. Get that suit pressed for a long couple of days. Better start rehearsing the excuses and blame placement your going to spoon to the jury pool. The civil aspect is gonna shock a lot of people when the judge hammer hits the table.
"I don't recall that occurring under my watch."
"I was following orders issued to me by **********."
"But I'm an ironman !!!!"
"I handled other incidents accordingly."
"The witnesses are lying about my supervisor abilities. "
The clock is ticking.
Soon the audio will be played for all to see the coverup.
The falsified reports.
The selective forgetfulness.
The bell tolls for one person.
That person will feel the wrath of justice!!!
Depends on the meaning of the word “comeback”. It is too much to expect from one man or women in the top leadership position.
In the 70’s politicians had a Hartford based corporate business community which had a stake in the city. Their employees were the vines to the very local corporate branch. Most of the real estate development was completed during this period in partnership with
the “electeds”. The corrupt jokers like Perez and Bronin could not have accomplished this if they held power at that time.
Today we have state deals to try and keep Aetna/CVS from moving, UTC is no more, all the large commercial banks have been swallowed up or died (remember CTs own CBT? Just imagine…but poor leadership as well), same with insurers Phoenix, HARTFORD Steam Boiler, CT General, and smaller firms as well. The city needs investors with a stake in the community and not heavily subsidized investors with government largesse that have a phony ROR on paper. Hartford’s current stakeholders: healthcare and parking. Not enough.
Hartford National Bank and Society For Savings are a couple of more major Hartford banks that come to mind when thinking about Hartford based major banks that no longer exist.
Why doesn’t anyone ask the current mayor about the hundreds of police officers that have left and continue to leave the police department. 12 officers just graduated and all 12 have already reached out to other police departments for employment. If anyone is going to save the City of Hartford, it has to start with the police department. A new mayor has to come in and flush the current command staff down the toilet and start over. There’s no way the police department will be able to function safely by this time next year. Just ask the officers, they will tell you that the way it’s functioning now is very unsafe.
So basically people are literally joining the Hartford police department for the training and the certification. And once they get that they transfer to other towns. And the other towns will take them because they don't have to pay to train them. Meanwhile it's the Hartford taxpayers that foot the Bill. I swear that city is a joke glad I left.
Way to go thodster …
Way to go .
Is it true that hartford cops can bring their pets to work now ? I find it hard to believe that the city or the lack luster police administration would allow un - trained Animals inside city buildings. Not to mention in the booking dept. What if a prisoner or officer has an allergic reaction and dies ? Does the animal have all of it vet shots and papers ? Rabies can kill btw. That would be a huge liability on the booking commander. Maybe less pjs and more attention on his primary job. And where do these Animals use the bathroom ? Are there kennels now inside the police headquarters that city hall approved for ?
Green lantern would never have allowed this to take place in his kingdom.
Kev,
It’s too bad sis y ro did not listen to the few supporters he had to give him the proper advice on how not to treat people like garbage. Even foley tried to help him. But burned that bridge. It is going to be sad when they play that audio in the court for the jury. It is going to be sad when they put all those supplemental reports onto a big projector screen. Nothing matches. A few were honest but there are others. I hope it was worth whatever perk or special comp scam you where promised to turn it o the dark side and drink that tainted kool aid. Once the guilty verdict comes back, I’m sure the city will be more then happy award pensions and order a outside review of the disciplinary process and how lies can be used to frame hard working minority detectives. You could have stopped all this Michael. But pjs are more important I guess. So much for that Star you were promised. Phone records don’t lie. But I’m sure you will.
How many subpoenas got handed out ??
1) 4
2) 10
3) 15
4) 25
5) 30 +
Should be disturbing to the jury and the news media when all of this is out in the open. Much worse then ghost state police stops. Framing minority employees with false allegations. The line of witnesses is around the block. Ready to go. The phone records and text messages. I hope the numerous mcd guys can remember what they actually said in that meeting. Not all of them. But several might need some help remembering and how they documented official documents full of lies. I hope that does not taint the open criminal investigations. There is no reason to lie. What did sis i y do for you ? I hope it was worth it to frame a good man. My advice would be to run and sign up for the fop legal plan. The city will not cover you when that jury comes back guilty. The city will fire you just like “ mr gorillas in the mist. “
Karma time.
# Justice for Sammi . Com
Kessler was fired!????
Nothing on the stolen credit card that was used in Manchester by one of the elite chooses ones??
Leave her alone. Always attacking minority females fellas eh ?
anonymous 12:03,
are you condoning her behavior? I would think that as a Police Lieutenant you would know that you can't use a credit card you claim you found in a parking lot.I think that is called larceny. And why does it have to enter in that she is a minority female. Wrong is wrong no matter the race or gender.
I personally like her but i would expect much more from a role model for the community she serves
In the past Larceny always resulted in termination.
Kevin are you saying a police LT found a credit card and instead of turning it in or doing a report she used it for personal reasons??!!! C'mon man that couldn't have happened???!!
Another hpd woman of color attacked. When will this ever end ?
Indeed. And now he promites a medical monopoly, yet another dangerous conflict of interest. Will Hartford healthcare be supporting the bronin's future political ambitions and schemes?
Healthcare should not be a stakeholder. Bronin is promoting a monopoly. Where does it end? Might HPD one day expect free access to personal medical records? Something is wrong with a mayor ( or mayorS since the couple rules as one) who continuously violates conflict of interest, allows city council to violate the mayors own edict against favoritism/ nepotism ( John Gale and both his and son and son in law are fine examples. Hale donated $10,000 to the west end civic association and his SIL appointed to lead the Farmington Ave Business District. No one EVER talks about this. ) there is a reason Hartford ( not) Healthcare is being sued, yet Bronin doggedly supports this out of control monopoly. Gale's family also supports HH monopoly in Hattford. WHY BOTHER TO CARE.
Eric Coleman would be a refreshing and terrific choice for mayor. Let's encourage Eric Coleman to say yes and run!
We still need a charter revision. "Strong Mayor" has just about ruined city hall and our city. "Strong Mayor" encourages and perhaps even permits the lack of transparency and conflicts of interest, tendency to ignore guidelines and rules, shady deals, which all are foundation for more corruption. Perhaps even real estate intimidation or other shenanigans just to benefit friends of city hall or favored corporations or certain leaders, might be around the corner if it hasn't already begun in some way.
None of it makes sense for any city. We are the capitol of CT. We should be a beacon!
And the retort " if you don't like it, leave," is facile and ignorant.
We have a right and responsibility to hold our officials accountable and to work to effect positive change. Else why hold elections at all? From the street level view city hall is appearing a little shadier each year. Will we reach really shady bit by bit one day,unnoticed, and ask when we get to a far lower point- how did this happen?. Requiring transparency would be a start towards eliminating shenanigans and these ethical hiccups.
Further, the public needs to have a vote in positions for the school board. So I disagree with Mr Brookman on that point. We need MORE elected requirements, not more set ups for someone to be grateful to the mayor or others in city hall.Maybe we should have a police commissioner instead of the department reporting to the mayors office via a chief who was appointed. The majority must be elected rather than appointed. Appointments always open the door for some type of shenanigans, quid pro quo, etc. If someone owes a debt of gratitude to an elected official, it is the beginning of a mess.
Note: the drunk driving issue of a police chief, DeadPool, and even city council members who completely ignore the mayor's own edict against nepotism and favoritism .( even though he took a long time to get there but I applaud that he did that important work. )I also applaud the mayor's work during quarantines and the fine work of HPD during times when other cities experienced more violence.
A city economy also cannot be built on taxes and new construction which the city can't support either.)
What remains MOST puzzling is why Hartford residents look the other way and put up with these early warnings of potential for corruption and poor governance?
While donations and appointments are likely unconnected, the fact that there was significant donation and also an appointment of a relative also being a committee chair in WECA...well its all needs more transparency. No one else who is ih nconnected gets these opportunities. Further WECA will not say who was the lawyer who donated time to revise their rules and regs for the board. Suddenly they can have non transparent meetings out of state...that was weird. PLUS if a resident speaks up they are doomed. No one wants a board member in the west end civic association who is transparent.
The weca board perhaps unintentionally, is communicating to the public they are ok with hidden agenda, even if they are not.
Its great residents contribute. Its great people volunteer.
Its difficult when an organization founded by Carl Dudley with an intent to promote civic education and participation and community GOOD now will not allow residents to comment openly in meetings, except by prior approval.
This is an area where Eric Coleman may lead the way for change.
Why bother to attend meetings when we know the connection to city hall on the board is the reason fo rdd any and all action. Quite different from Carl Dudley's vision. These are a shame.
Its great to donate but hopefully considering how activities will look to residents who arent hand picked to be on the weca board will one day be considered.
Further When people have a public position and are supported by relaives in city hall, there is a precedent for publuc comment and inquiry. You are publuc personas.
why hasn't anyone ever questioned the real estate deals that the City Treasurer has made for himself!
And others.
Departments other than hpd. More people than just city hall. But whistleblowers get run out of town. Kevin is doing Gods work.
Are you certain about city treasurer? Which treasurer and is it true?
Then why did you donate to the Bronins' campaign, which is public information, censored from this column.
That would be wonderful.
Sad, because there are some very decent folks in hpd.
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